Ed McCarthy - Italian Wine for Dummies

Italian Wine For Dummies, Mini Edition

by Ed McCarthy and Mary Ewing-Mulligan

Italian Wine For Dummies, Mini Edition

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Copyright 2011 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

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ISBN: 978-0-470-41428-6

Manufactured in the United States of America

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Introduction

A t this moment in time, Italy is the most exciting wine country on earth. The quality of the wines has never been higher, and the range of wines has never been broader. Nor have more types of Italian wines ever been available outside of Italy.

The quality of Italys wines has been growing steadily for about two decades. Now, finally, the message has leaked beyond the small cult of wine lovers who have loyally followed Italian wines, and into the mainstream of Americas wine consciousness. You can now find Italian wines in three-star French restaurants. California wineries are trying their hand with Italian grape varieties and Italianate wine styles. New York City even boasts two all-Italian wine shops.

Although Italys wines are more desirable and more available than ever, theyre no more comprehensible. In fact, the proliferation of new wines and new wine zones has made Italian wine an even more confusing topic than its always been. (All the obscure grape varieties, complicated wine blends, strange wine names, and restrictive wine laws observed or circumvented make Italian wines just about the most challenging of all to master.) Yet comprehensive, up-to-date reference books on Italian wines simply werent available in English. Italian Wine For Dummies, Mini Edition, begins to change all that.

Icons Used in This Book

Advice and information that makes you a wiser Italian wine drinker is marked by this bulls-eye so that you wont miss it.

When you see this sign, you know that youre in the territory of a common misunderstanding about Italys wine. We alert you to help prevent confusion.

Some issues in wine are so fundamental that they bear repeating. Just so you dont think we repeated ourselves without realizing it, we mark the repetitions with this symbol.

Where to Go from Here

Youve got your minibook copy of Italian Wine For Dummies, Mini Edition now what? This minibook is a reference, so if you want to know more about Super-Tuscans, head to Chapter 3. Or if youre interested in finding out more about Barolos, flip to Chapter 2. Or heck, start with Chapter 1 and read the chapters in order... you rebel. If you want even more advice about Italian wines, from the intricacies of wine laws and labels to the wines of Sicily, check out the full-size version of Italian Wine For Dummies simply head to your local book seller or go to www.dummies.com .

Chapter 1

Born to Make Wine

In This Chapter

A leader of the pack

Forty centuries of winemaking experience

Italys wine diversity formula

The trend toward quality

W hen most people think of Italy, they think of food. (History, art, or fast cars might be other associations but food would have to be right up there, near the top of the list.)

As central as food is to Italys personality, so is wine. For most Italians, wine is food, no less essential to every meal than bread or family. Wine, in fact, is family, and community, because nearly every Italian either knows someone who makes wine or makes wine himself.

Wine to Boot

The Italian peninsula, with its fan-like top and its long, boot-like body, has the most recognizable shape of any country on earth. But its recognition exceeds its actual size. Italy is a small land; the whole country is less than three-quarters the size of California.