[Closed] Who drinks Italian wine?

Amarone is pretty 'robust'

nothing better than a good chianti

Me, tonight, I'm off to the Enoteca. I shall report back !

P.S Zinfandel - really ? I thought that was all sugary yank stuff and to be avoided - do they do a primo one ?

Limiting yourself on pretty much anything means you're bound to miss out. There are some fantastic Italian wines and plenty of them will hit your abv requirement...

Im quite a fan of a good Gavi 🙂

montepulciano d'abruzzo is lovely for lunch. used to be the case that any imported here would be passable but i'm seeing more and more plonk.

hels - Ravens Wood zinfandel is a joy.

Can't believe I used such a wanerky word as robust to describe wine 😳

My apologies.

Gavi.

I drink very little wine, but every time I have a Gavi I love it.

(But it's white, so you "proper" wine drinkers won't approve.)

Get a grip Derek - For the true connoisseur, Devon's where its at

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White wine is proper wine too.
Even up North.

I'm much the same. I tend towards the chewier end of the new world stuff; nice solid Chilean Merlot or a Cabernet. European wines are a complete mystery to me.

Good thread, I'll be reading with interest.

Wine comes in white? Really?

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Lets be frank here, if you're going to drink white wine, you might as well wear a ra-ra skirt. Thi is as light as a wine should get.

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It goes in the fridge and everyfink

Do real men drink white wine? Or blushes?

touch paper lit, back away to a safe distance!

White wine can be a nice summer drink, but wouldn't usually be my first choice. See also, cider.

P.S Zinfandel - really ? I thought that was all sugary yank stuff and to be avoided - do they do a primo one ?

Zinfandel is the same grape as Primitivo grown in Puglia Italy, so that might be a starting point by the sounds of it. Some Puglia wines are superb. Otherwise look into Amarone (pron - amarone-eee) or it's similar cheaper Ripasso (Amerone and Valpoli blended).

Rippasso is less meaty than an Amarone but still fantastic.

Had a nice Casa Contini Brindisi riserva* from co-op, £5.99 and delicious

*I only know as the bottle is still on the table in front of me

Give me a glass of Prosecco or Verdicchio over yer hairy-arsed Aussie Shirazes any day of the week. If I wanted to that [b]NOW BRUSH YOUR TEETH[/b] effect, I'd keep a bottle of undiluted Ribena cordial and a bottle of Buckfast handy and mix them both together for largely the same taste and mouth-feel.

Italy is the biggest wine producing country in the world by volume (I think!) There's a fair bit to try!

Good recommendations above - Amarone is fantastic. Brunello de Montalcino is amazing but pricey (and make from Sangiovese grapes which are used as the base for most of the Chianti Classicos).

Barolo is complicated - get someone who know what they're talking about to help with it!

Gavi de Gavi is most definitely wine and is far too easy to drink with a lazy lunch in the sun.

Riesling is my absolute favorite. Dont really fancy red but Italian red wines are OK. The best red wine I ever had was an unknown argentinian but never found out the name.

Smart phones are great to take a photo of any label that you want to remember - as demonstrated here of all places....

http://triathlete-europe.competitor.com/2012/02/22/12-into-70-3-will-go/

IMO warmer the weather the nicer italian wines get.

Higher end Italian wines are great if you like robust wines. If you like Barbera, then can recommend the (excuse the oun) Conan the Barbera. Not a light wine, but full of flavour if you like fuller reds.

Italy generally is wonderful for exploring wines although personally find that the price jumps to the really nice stuff is a bit too much.

+1 for the Primitivo wines from Puglia and Sicily

That Tarrango stuff is just not right! Red wine in the fridge?!

I prefer Italian red to French, and love Barbera D'Asti.

mmmm, barolo !

I don't drink Italian very often but when I do it's usually pretty good. I tend to go for Spanish more often than not but have recently being buying S.African. I received a couple of £20 off vouchers from Laithwaites the other day so will be placing an order for a case of mixed red and there's acouple of Italian wines in there.

Ps. I always thought white wine was made as cleaning agent for when red wine gets spilt ?

Kev

I sometimes drink wine..sometimes its red...sometimes its white...sometimes its italian

its all wine really

if you like it drink it

Riesling is my absolute favorite

Alsatian wines are dog rough 😉

If you like reds towards the lighter end of the spectrum, the ones beginning with B are worth exploring.

Bardolino, Barbaresco, Barbera D'Asti.

Ps. I always thought white wine was made as cleaning agent for when red wine gets spilt

I use it for removing oil stains from the driveway.

*must get that sump plug replaced*

Rippasso is less meaty than an Amarone but still fantastic.

Ripasso refers to the method of production rather than the wine itself, using either partially dried grapes or leftover skins within the maceration. Amarone is produced with partially dried grapes so is technically a ripasso wine.

Just to confuse matters, it also refers to a type of Valpolicella wine produced using leftover Amarone grapeskins.

Anyway, Amarone is a good shout, but you're looking at £15 for a half-decent one. There's also a sweet red that tastes like port called Recioto della Valpolicella (also made with the ripasso technique), and if you're pushing the boat out, have a look at a super Tuscan such as Ornellaia.

Best thing to do is buy a copy of the Larousse wine guide.

Amarone uses partially dried grapes, Ripasso uses the leftover skins along with undried grapes - ie re-passed

Falanghina is a barely-known Italian white - I love it and I put it down as a 'white wine that red wine drinkers might like' and Greco di Tufo is another Campania white with flavour. Chianti Classico is a good point to hit Chiati for lots of flavour. Amaroni is good, especially when it has the name Masi on the bottle. Taurasi is a DOCG (near Naples) that I used to buy wine from and enjoyed it (best over 4 years old). Solopaca is a really hard-to-find red that might be a bit dry for some but I liked it (when I could get it). Anything made by Feudi di San Gregorio is very special and worth keeping a look out for.

Amarone uses partially dried grapes, Ripasso uses the leftover skins along with undried grapes - ie re-passed

Amarone,Recioto and Ripasso wines all include a dried-grape element in their production technique: the first two through drying the grapes directly, Ripasso indirectly by using the leftover dried-grape skins that were used to make Amarone & Recioto.

At least, that's how it was explained to me by my local wine merchant.

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