Southern comfort
Southern Italy has a number of things in common with southern France. Just as in France, southern Italy has long been known as a producer of bulk blending wines and cheap plonk. Producers in northern Italy have also tended to dismiss the south, mirroring their northern France counterparts' views of southern France. Now, just like the south of France some 10 years ago, the region is beginning to change.
In fact, the market for plonk is disappearing as drinkers opt to drink less, but better. Per capita wine consumption in Italy has dropped by half over the past 20 years, so improving quality is a priority here.
A visit to Puglia in late February showed some of the changes that are under way to achieve this. New vineyards are being planted and more modern equipment installed in the wineries. More importantly, there is an increasing ambition on the part of leading producers to show that the south can make good wines. In a further link to France's Midi, some of these vineyards were also highly regarded in ancient times. The Ancient Greeks viewed the wines of Calabria as the best the peninsula had to offer. The wines of Campania were also highly regarded.
Furthermore, investors both from other parts of Italy and abroad have recognised the region's potential and have started to spend here. One of the pivotal moments in the changing perceptions of the south was the decision by Antinori to invest here in 1998. The company has bought 100 hectares in the Castel del Monte DOC in northern Puglia and 250 hectares further south, near Brindisi. There are also a number of flying wine consultants working here.
One of southern Italy's strong points is the use of local grape varieties, such as Aglianico, Bombino Nero, Negroamaro, Troia and Primitivo (which is related to California's Zinfandel). This makes an important point of difference between southern Italy and other countries, such as Chile, where there is still a heavy reliance on international red varieties, in particular Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
It's not all good news, however. The European Union's indiscriminate wine-pull scheme has meant that a number of old, quality vineyards on steep slopes have been grubbed up, while lower-quality but easier-to-work and higher-yielding vineyards on the plain remain. Progress is inevitably patchy as there are still baked, fruitless wines being produced here.
The tasters were led by Caterer wine editor Fiona Sims and wine writer Jim Budd. Also on the panel were Matthew Bradford, wine buyer and general manager at Circus restaurant and bar, London; Jacqueline Franklin, wine consultant; and Federico Graziani, head sommelier at Isola, where the tasting was held.
No price limit was set. Instead, the selection was confined to Basilicata (the largely land-locked instep of Italy), Calabria (the toe of Italy), Campania (around Naples), and Puglia (the southernmost east coast around Bari and Brindisi).
We tasted 23 wines, whose case price ranged from £36 to £141.60. The wines ranged from simple, easy-drinking reds made to drink young to concentrated, more ambitious bottles that need some time to mature.
Discussion after the tasting centred on the region's potential to produce high-quality wines. "The region is just too hot," maintained Bradford. "It's never going to be a great wine-producing region, except for a few specific areas. It's too far south."
Others on the panel were more upbeat. Graziani pointed out that some vineyards in Basilicata and Calabria are high up. "These wines have such different styles. They are made from grape varieties that are not well-known over here.
"Some, like Aglianico, are very tannic varieties and make wines that age well. Producers, though, are making wines that are more commercial and ready to drink younger. Drinkers are searching for something different and new to try."
"The 1999s were quite interesting young wines," said Franklin. "They had lots of fruit, no oak, and were accessible wines." She warned, though, of the danger of throwing new oak at some of these tannic, southern Italian varieties.
Some wines from this area can keep well, but there were several that were distinctly tired. The panel was surprised that both the Copertino 1996 and the 1995 Ciro Riserva Duca San Felice had aged rapidly and were clearly past their best. n
