Ep. 392 Sangiovese Lambrusco... | Dynasties of European Wine

Welcome to the Italian wine podcast. My name is Joy Living in. And for the next several weeks, I will be bringing you some choice narrated content from the book San Jose, Lambrusco, and other vine stories written by mister Science himself, Professor Atigio Shenza, and Serena Eimaccio. Published by positive press dot net. To get a copy of the book, the Kindle version is available on Amazon and hardcover copies are available from positive press. If you like the content we share each week, consider donating to our show. Find details at italian wine podcast dot com or on our social media channels. Sit back and get your geek on as we jump into the details stories and science of Italian wines and vines. The great dynasties of European wine. Can the success of French wines be summed up with words like terroir, Chateau or Gancrou? Wines to drink, but also to collect Bordeaux, Champagne, burgundy, loire, and provence, are the most famous areas dedicated to the production of wine which have always yielded huge fascination by markets and consumers around the world. French Viticulture is one that seems unafraid of competition always succeeding by innovating without ever losing sight of its traditions, rather enhancing it and making it the key message of its promotional communication. But let's take a step back. If we go back to the reality of life in the medieval cities and countryside of Europe, wine consumption was certainly not linked to pleasure or curiosity, but to a conscious choice based on solid rationing. Drinking this alcoholic beverage had the advantage of providing both calories and hydration in a safer and healthier way than drinking regular water, which could often be contaminated by dangerous microorganisms. In a subsistence economy such as this, wine was produced for self consumption. It was mixed Viticulture in which the vine was grown on trees. And that in Italy has remained constant over the centuries at least until the appearance of American diseases in Europe, Phylloxera above all. Mass transit and commercial routes like in Burgundy and the proximity of important Atlantic ports such as Bordeaux and Nantes encouraged cultural exchanges with the people who pass through these places, stimulating the creation of new products through increasingly advanced techniques and in response to consumer demands. The ships that left for distant lands, first for the French colonies in North America, then those towards South Africa loaded with the typical motherland goods provided a stimulus for the production of wines and spirits. Due to long navigation times, combined with high cost of transport. These spirits were not only able to withstand months of travel, hence reducing the volume of wine transported. But upon arrival at destination, the spirit was diluted with water, must, and other aromatic substances to create a drink that recall the flavor of wine. In this scenario, Viticulture becomes innovative because of necessity. There is investment in research and the selection of more suitable vines for over ripening because they are able to accumulate more sugar, produce more alcohol, and are therefore more stable over time and more transportable. And in the inological techniques that allow for the creation of high sugar and alcohol content during the fermentation phase and in the diffusion of distillation. The alcohol produced is mainly used for strong mists and wines. Knowledge, competition, and capital. They call it permanent innovation, and in the technological sector, It began towards the end of the seventeenth century. It was a phase of change that concerned the production of five wines for aging and sparkling wines above all. There were many causes for this veritable revolution. First of all, there was an increasingly well founded awareness in the field of chemistry and microbiology with the identification of yeast as fermentation agents and for the use of sulfur dioxide as an antiseptic and preservative. And discovered by the Dutch who used it to disinfect transport barrels. From the middle of the nineteenth century onwards, the French school and pastor in particular boosted this research. Another decisive element was the start of the industrial production of heavy glass bottles thanks to the contribution of the English industrial revolution. At the base of everything in six fifteen fifteen, the king of England James the first declared an edict prohibiting the use of wood to feed the ovens in the production of glass. And instead, coal was to be used. This fuel increased the temperature of the furnaces considerably allowing for a better melting of the silica and the possibility of producing thicker and more resistant bottles. This improvement happened also thanks to the skills of the workers in the furnaces, mostly Venetian immigrants who had learned the trade in the glassworks of Murano. The production of champagne, however, could not have taken hold if the cork had not been invented. After being discovered in the region of Catalonia, it began to spread throughout Europe through the pilgrims who traveled the via Francigena and found its first use in bottling beer in England at the end of the seventeenth century. A painting by Jean François de toi from seventeen thirty entitled Oyster Lunch depicts a group of diners looking upwards in surprise their eyes following the cap thrown from a bottle into the hands of a waiter. It illustrates that in those years, the production of sparkling wines as we know it today was a real novelty which attracted the curiosity of bystanders. In addition to knowledge, however, a fundamental aspect of innovation was the presence of capital, especially for those who produced and bought wines for aging. Having capital at one's disposal allowed one to better with stand the waiting times for the aging of wine in sellers. But moreover, a healthy bankroll was the only way to buy bottles and caps well in advance of making a profit through sale. In the eighteenth century, the English developed the product of wine suitable for transportation and commercialization in the bottle. Such wines were characterized by a good sugar content and were stabilized with the addition of alcohol to the fermenting must. The use of the bottle not only favor transport and prolong the life of the wine, but it introduced a new aspect to the market. That is the possibility to store the product. In this way, it became possible to control the evolution of wine over time and manage supply, avoiding price drops due to the need to sell wine immediately because of its precarious stability and lifespan. Finally, the existence of competitive markets stimulated research and the need for knowledge as well as the growth of capital, giving a stable boost to innovation. All this however is not enough. For the Viticulture of a nation to guide the entire Inological world establishing standards and records of excellence that last the test of time, it is necessary to have raw materials of the highest quality right from the start. We already described Pino in the previous chapter. Now let's imagine metaphorically speaking, it is the flag bearer in a large team of champions. This grape is favorite above all. It is the symbol of Burgundy culture. It has also managed to draw attention to the wines of Champagne and to the Italian sparkling wines produced with the classic method, such as Trento doc, Franca Corta, and Artalanga. Chardonnay, the great potential of Pinojalo. All around the world, pink or gray grape varieties are often found and preserved in special collections. These are not mistakes by some curator. They are variants of colored berry chardonnay. In all likelihood, and given that one of the two parents was certainly a blackberry. It is probable that these colored variants are also the oldest and preceded the white berry that we now know and identify as chardonnay. The reasons that led wine growers to keep only the white berry variant in production are unknown. Perhaps the so called little ice age which occurred in Europe between the fourteenth and eighteenth centuries was at least partly responsible for this election since in this period due to obvious climatic problems, mainly white grapes were used. Verieties that not only had an earlier maturation, but also did not have the defect to producing wines with a dull color due to low summer temperatures. Burgundy played an important role. It was a link between northern and southern Europe, especially during the period of great religious pilgrimages. The consumption of wine was quite widespread and this required the selection of vines that were stable in their yield, as well as in the composition of the must, even in climactic conditions that were not particularly favorable. Chardonnay, like many ubiquitous varieties, has an excellent sugar storage capacity. Good tolerance to drought, as well as good control of tartaric acidity and synthesis of the aromatic substances which characterize the variety. On the other hand, it is very sensitive to some viruses curling and crumpling. Flavicence Dorre has been added to this list in recent years as well as Pierce's disease even if only in California. A disease caused by the same bacteria that destroy the olive trees in Pulia. Since it has a pinot parent, chardonnay, has inherited an important intra varietal variability, that is manifested in the great wealth of clones, different both for the degree of productivity and for its aromatic potential. From a practical point of view, it is possible to distinguish between clones to be used for the production of sparkling wines and still wines to be consumed young or to be fermented in Barriques. The great eonological interest in this vine is also linked to its ability to interact with the soil conditions and the environment. This gives rise to wines that while they are able to maintain some sensory elements that make them absolutely recognizable, allows them to be differentiated. They can be faithful and sensitive to expressions of soil with more or less clay or limestone and warm or cool climates by virtue of the range of characteristic descriptors that no other vine can boast. Be careful not to commit a sin. This is a very serious one, and that is thinking that Chardonnay is an international vine capable of providing wines with a standardized taste. It would mean not recognizing this variety's most important gift that is chardonnay can achieve great environmental nemesis, making its wines effective witnesses where they were produced. The chardonnay vine arrived in Italy along a different path. And often, if not almost always, became so assimilated with the Pino Bianco vine that it was distinguished by the name Pino Jalo until the seventies. In Piamonte, one can find it in various collections from the eighteenth century. In Trentino, it was introduced by the Austrians in the late nineteenth century under the name of Pino Chardonnay. At that time, Italian Tybrel was not experiencing prosperous economic conditions, and so the varieties they chose to plant were the most productive, such as Vernacha and Trebiano. It was thanks to Julia Feraris intuition and knowledge of European Viticulture that this fine was spread into Trentino and in parts of Frioli. In his dual role as a nursery man and producer of sparkling wines, he understood the qualitative potential of chardonnay despite its low yields. It is no coincidence that the first important installations dating back to the mid twenties of the last century were those of Sorni de la vise and the ones in the surrounding areas of trento. Thank you for listening to this week's installment of San Jose, Lambrusco, and other vine stories. We hope you expanded your horizons and gave your brain cells an Italian wine workout. We'll see you again next Thursday and remember. The kindle version of the book is available on Amazon and hardcover copies are available from positive press dot net. If you feel inspired to make a donation to our show, please visit us at the Italian wine podcast dot com. Find Italian wine podcast on Facebook and Instagram. 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