An Italian Grand Tour--No Packing Required
I’m getting ready for another sojourn to the backroads of Europe, and as usual, it's another full itinerary of producers to meet, vineyards to hike through, and meals to share… and once again, we’ll be covering a lot of ground.
This time I’ll be zig-zagging across northern France, from Alsace and Luxembourg, to the Loire and onto Burgundy. I love these trips because of the great diversity I encounter: people, landscapes, architecture, foods, and of course, wines. They say that travel completes the education... well, these trips are an education.
It’s got me thinking about the “Grand Tour,” a 17th-century custom that continued well into the 19th century. This was a tradition of young aristocrats traveling across Europe to take in the art, architecture, music, literature, and culture of Europe, sometimes for up to two years. Seeing and experiencing the wonders of the continent was considered a capstone to a gentlemanly education.
Of course, Italy was always the key destination, filled with the ruins of Antiquity and the art and architecture of the Renaissance. But if the art, music, and architecture were the reasons to go, it was the food and wine that were the reasons to stay for two years!
Italy is a magnificently diverse country--the landscape, the culture, the food, and the wine. So, to inspire some wanderlust in all of you, I’ve created a vinous Grand Tour of Italy for you: Four wines to take you around Italy… only this won't take you two years to complete!
These four wines follow a rough outline of a typical itinerary: starting in the North, with the Piedmont, then on to Tuscany, a stopover in the Dolomites, and then a visit to the far south, with Sicily.
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1) Contrada di Sorano Dolcetto 'Autin' 2022
Brimming with blue and black fruit, and a crack of black pepper, succulent to its core. A delight to drink, the sort of thing the Piedmontese locals sip with their meals, while they wait for the Barolo to age in the cellar.
2) Poggio al Sole Chianti Classico 2022
Pure Sangiovese packed with fresh cherry fruit, savory herbs, and energetic freshness, with the elegance and refined structure of Burgundy. Lovely aromatics in the glass give way to a mouthful of pure pleasure--silky, with delicate tannins, and a generous complexity.
3) Corvée Lagrein 'Passocroce' 2020
Dark and aromatic, like a cross between Syrah and Pinot Noir--brambly blackberry and blueberry, hints of cocoa, and high-toned notes of star anise and black pepper. Silky smooth, with a light, dusty tannin.
4) Cantine Pupillo Nero d'Avola 'Re Federico' 2022
From the sunny shores of Sicily, this is no over-ripe fruit bomb. Rather, it's an elegant and vivid wine with acidity that makes it pop, with aromas of dark plum, married with red fruit and savory herbs.