Ep. 397 Sangiovese Lambrusco... | Family Atmosphere: Sauvignon

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. Family atmosphere, sovignon. The shape of its leaf reminiscent of selective vines makes one think of a vine derived directly from wild flora. The name itself, which, as we previously mentioned, comes from the word Savage, wild, is a second clue that points in this direction. History says that its place of origin is the gown estuary area. Abordeaux Origin is supported by a mention dating back to seventeen twenty In the upper medocque relating to the first wine made with this vine. We find it again a few decades later, seventeen eighty three, cited in sancerre as sauvignon Fume or Fume Blanc. It is a vine characterized by great richness and morphological variability. The result of the accumulation of many changes over the centuries especially present in the loire valley. Which could confirm its origin in this area. Sovignon lends itself to at least two distinct in illogical interpretations. The sub varieties from the Southwest with the yellowest berries that are used for the production of and the green berries that are used for the dry wines of the center of Turena. In the older vineyard, there is also a mutant with a Moscato aroma, which is no longer propagated. There are also red, pink, and violet, sovignans. These have an intense aroma, but have become quite rare They are practically only grown in Chile. The golden age of sovignon was undoubtedly the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Perhaps it was the white and vermillion wine that Rabelle, a devoted apostle of the divine bottle. Made gargantua and Pantagrual drink. Then the great frost of seventeen o nine decreed its almost total abandonment because of its low production as winemakers took advantage of more generous vines such as Shanim Blaine and cabernet Frin. It was only after the second World War that it returned to widespread cultivation thanks to the interest shown by other wine growing areas. Its genealogy is very complex with the direct first degree relationship, parent child, with the Traminer Sabanin. It is the brother of Shenin Blonde and through its direct descent from Treminer. It has close ties more or less with a large number of varieties. Some of these include Preeti Mossang, Preetit Malier, Sylvana, and Vertello. Trust to name the most famous, as well as with Pino. To which it is a grandson. It is also related to a vine, poor in aromas and acidity, but rich in body and color, which often is used in blends with sauvignon both for the production of dry wines For example, the whites of bordeaux, and for the production of fine sweet wines in soterna and mon basilac. The characteristic aroma of its grapes reminiscent of green peppers and tomato leaves is due to a chemical compound also present in cabernet called isobutyl methoxipyrazine, IBNP to which other sulfurized aromatic products called mercapto methylpentanes, are added during alcoholic fermentation, which brings out hints of boxwood, passion fruit, gorse, and citrus peel. The difficulty in managing the instability of pyrazine in grapes and masts due to the maturation phenomena soil and climate characteristics of the terroir and winemaking techniques has limited its spread in temperate and cold environments such as northeastern Italy. As well as the fresh areas of coastal, California, and New Zealand. In Italy, sovignon first arrived in Ferulli at the end of the eighteenth century mixed with Semilon and perhaps, A minor variety present in the Bordeaux area that has some morphological similarities with sovignon and is now known as the former tocai. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, it was present in many ampelleragraph collections. From these, it then spread to almost all Italian regions, especially on the adriatic side. It produces excellent wines with a light taste of dried figs, pumpkins, and sometimes it is perfumed with Moscato. This variety is suitable for aging in the bottle. These are the results obtained from the vinification of sovignon in these areas. It is a variety better suited to the hills although it cannot stand strong winds due to the fragility of its shoots and to poorer and coarser soils which keep excessive vigor at bay. Premature maturation is its Achilles heel. In wet years, it suffers from botrytis damage and is sensitive to downy mildew and powdery mildew attacks. Its production is not particularly abundant. In the past, it was used for its aromatic qualities and high alcohol content. This kind was also used as a blending one to improve Trebiano or other white grape varieties that had a poor shelf life. Sovignot finds its highest expression in France. Here are the types of wine obtained from this vine are based on two main environments of cultivation, the loire valley in Bordeaux. In the first, the denomination of Sancerre, the wines have green aromatic tones with hints of cat pee and black currant buds. While in the pulis fume, denomination of origin, the wines are more again when young with fruit and cassis notes. Insights with the presence of flint materials, the aromas are reminiscent of gorse. Upon maturation, they acquire a flint like characteristic especially when the area of land and the denomination of origin is predominantly rich in flints. Sylics. In other small denominations of the terrain, this Pielo's flavor sometimes becomes excessive. Despite strict observance of the rigid production rules and vinification in the two denominations by wine growers, there is currently a profound reinterpretation of the aromatic profile of these wines. This is in order to prevent them from being confused with the variety wines of friuli and New Zealand. Growers try to attenuate the green tones and instead develop aromas of tropical fruit and citrus fruits. In the Bordeaux area in the region called entre de Maille, this vine was removed from over half the hectares of this land between the end of the nineteen sixties and the beginning of the nineteen seventies. Later, however, given the success achieved in the new world, they were replanted with the idea of producing wines with a very different sensory profile compared to the past. Sauvignon based wines are mainly reduced I e protected from the air with rapid pressing. Fermentation is achieved at low temperatures in Barriques. Moreover, the wine is left on the finest leaves for a long time thereafter sterile filtration is employed and glutathione is added as an antioxidant. The sensory profile is modified no longer providing for green tones or the aroma of cat pee and current. On the contrary, cedar, citrus, and mint are enhanced as well as the feeling of softness and alcohol. The aging in the bottle leads to the evolution of particularly elegant minerals. In California, for environmental reasons, sovignans are closer to the bordeaux style than to that of the loire. They do not present with the aggressive, almost wild descriptors of the Sancerre vines typical of cool temperate climates and that are direct expressions of the vine rather than of inological techniques. An exception is the style of the so called Fumet Blanc, which had an important initiator in Robert Mondavi. In which the taste of toasted wood is integrated more or less well with the varietal descriptors, mainly citrus and white fruit peach apple, often brought by the semenol with which it is sometimes grown. New Zealand and Chile on the other hemisphere offer a counterbalance to California. Their wines were inspired by those of the loire and successfully so. In particular, the area of Marlboro in the northern part of the South Island, It has a terroir capable of producing quality sovignon comparable with that of the best French wines of the loire. 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. Our Twitter handle is at itaewine podcast.