Ep. 1912 Colorino Group, Greco Group by Julianne Farricker | Italian Grape Geek

The Italian wine podcast is the community driven platform for Italian winegeeks around the world. Support the show by donating at italian wine podcast dot com. Donate five or more Euros, and we'll send you a copy of our latest book, my Italian Great Geek journal. Absolutely free. To get your free copy of my Italian GreatGeek journal, click support us at italian wine podcast dot com, or wherever you get your pods. Welcome to the Italian Great Geek Podcast. Join us as we explore personal stories of travel and tasting with Italy's must know grape varietals. Chart your own course with my Italian Great Geek journal, your personal tasting companion to accompany the series. Available now on Amazon with thanks to Clangelo and Partners for their generous support with this project. Well, good morning. Good afternoon. Good evening. I am Julie Faraker, also known in Italy by Julia. I am a Vin Italy. International Academy Italian wine Ambassador and certified educator. And besides that, I'm also the co owner of the Italian seller. It is an online Italian wine shop. We also have a location in Virginia and we specialize in Italian wines. So a hundred percent Italian wine and of course olive oil. And while I am not talking about Italian wine or Italy, I am also a high school English and social studies teacher, so I'm about to end my twentieth year, teaching America's youth. But my introduction to Italy is because when I think about why I have such passion for Italy and its wines, it's olive oils. Basically, any product that comes from Italy, it is the thanks to my mother and my grandmother from the island of ischia. Or if we were in Naples, they'd be calling it ishkia. And then, of course, my grandfather came from the volcanic island of Stromboli. So for me, I grew up with Italian culture and traditions, and it's just something that I've been pursuing ever since I could get on a plane and travel. So I've been very fortunate to reach all twenty regions of Italy. And even though I feel that I've seen, you know, every corner of that beautiful country, there's still just so much more to see. So my future will hopefully be living in Italy. That's what I'm working towards. And in the meantime, I will be continuing to study wine and talking about Italy and its beautiful wines and grapes. So Well, thank you for joining me. And today, I'm going to be talking about different grape groups. So you've probably heard some episodes that had to deal with individual grapes and the characteristics But we need to remember that in Italy with a country of six hundred native grapes, we also have grape families. And when we talk about grape families, that means we'll have a shared name and then grapes that will fall under that umbrella. Something to keep in mind as a wine student just because they will share a prefix or the main name that doesn't necessarily mean that they're all a related and, b, share the same wine profiles. Some that will be talking about be red grapes and white grapes within the same group family. So let's begin. Our first grape family is called, And coolerino is an obscure Italian black skin grape group variety from Tuscany. As the name suggests, its main use is as a blending ingredient to add color to wines. So think about it, coolerino. You're adding color to wines. As well as being deeply pigmented, Colorado small berries have elevated tannin levels. During harvest time, they can easily be identified in the vineyards as the leaves turn dark red near maturation. Aeromatically, the variety is somewhat muted. So very interesting to know it's contributing color, but aromatically, it is not going to be enhancing wine. And when we think about the Colonial group, so this is where the family part comes in. We have the main members, Cularino Del Valdarno, Cularino Dipisa, Cularino deluca, and Cularino Americano. Now the main grape from this family that usually gets the most attention would be the because it shows the best winemaking potential. And I'll talk about that one specifically later. But if you notice of the others that I've mentioned, there was always some type of a preposition. So the preposition d signifying geographic location. So I mentioned that this grapefruit was from Tuscany, and then that's why I had mentioned Colerino Del Del Dorano. Colerino di Pisa and Colerino di Luca. So Luca and Pisa are very close to each other. However, something to always keep in mind as a wine student, you change your soil, you change your location, you basically change your grape. So this is why it's very important to make sure to study geographical location when talking about great families. So during the nineteen nineties, Holidayino became very popular with producers for correcting the lighter he used Sangiovese based wines of Kianti and Vino Nobile de multichannel. More recently, however, improvements in winemaking techniques and better vineyard practices have resulted in San Jose fruit that is far superior to that produced in the past. Thus, Colerino isn't utilized as much. So its main objective was to help support the Kianti and Vino Nobile, the multiple channel wines that are San Jose based. However, just to recap, right now, it's not utilized as much because San Jose has really upped its game. So I would say that many listeners most likely started their Italian wine journey with a chianti style, chianti type wine, and have encountered coolerino. You just probably didn't think about it. And although it's more commonly used as a blending component, coolerino is sometimes made as a varietal wine. That's not very common, but it does occur. And if you do want to try to find one, you would find it under the generic I GT Toskana designation. So just remember IGT, it's the broad indication of area of Tuscany, and you might find some producers that will have it. However, if you're looking to more of the wine profile itself, let's just focus on Colorino Delva Darno as the main one. So in the vineyard, this particular grape would be disease resistant and hardy, as well as later ripening. And unlike other colderinos, its pulp is clear instead of colored, Therefore producing colorless juice when pressed. That's something very interesting to highlight and remember. And in the glass, it will have a deep violet color. It is full bodied and assertive in its structure. It smells and tastes of dark berries, black licorice, and blackberry jam with menthol and herbal notes. It's quite a lovely profile. As it is a late ripening variety, some wines may show a green streak due to a lack of ripeness and cool, rainy years. And if you do find it, it's still dry, and of course, a red wine. Your highest quality plantings are found in the county roofina zone and is added anywhere from one to ten percent to San Juese wines to increase their color. So Chianti Lufina, so if you remember with Chianti and Pianti classical, there are different zones. This would be where it would be most apparent. But if you're looking for other ways to find Colrino Dela Donaldano, We're going to be dealing with some of our DOP wines. So it's going to be blended in a Kianti classical doc g, Kianti doc g, Vino nobeli de multiple channel doc g, as well as many other tuscan based wines. As it is a trademark of Tuscany. Of course, many producers will still try to utilize it. It's just not as a parent anymore as it was in the past. So for pairings, if you do find one, I would say If it grows with it, it goes with it. That's how I try to always approach wine and food. So with Coronino being something of a tuscan nature, I would try to stick with more tuscan style dishes. So, you know, I was thinking about a bistec of fiorentino with Gross Marino. And, of course, even if you find some of the wonderful sandwiches in Fieranza, I think that would go really well with it. So I would hope that on your Italian wine journey, you would be able to identify the importance of Colerino in the past of the Chianti style wines. But understanding that, you know, it's more of a supplementary grape, as well as the other ones in this family. So they will share some characteristics, but, really, if you're looking to try to identify one, Colerino del valvão is your key. Are you enjoying this podcast? Don't forget to visit our YouTube channel, mama jumbo shrimp for fascinating videos covering Stevie Kim and her travels across Italy and beyond. Meeting winemakers, eating local food, and taking in the scenery. Now back to the show. And welcome back, So we're going to continue to talk about different great families. So we were just discussing Curino, and now we're moving on to Greco. Now if we're looking at our Italian dictionary, you're probably thinking Greco. Does that mean Greek? Well, yes, it does. But something to remember with this grape family is that it doesn't necessarily mean that any grape that has the good echo prefix would necessarily be from Greece. Now anything to know about Southern Italy one zero one is that it was originally settled by the Greeks and much of the culture, much of even, you know, the type of wine, bringing wine and grapes to Southern Italy was from the Greek. So there's a very strong component in Greek history. Even interesting enough is that if we think about DNA, even of Southern Italians, as I can attest to that, that many will share current DNA with many Greeks, especially from the island of Cree. So that's something to keep in mind even thinking about our grapes. So historical records and archaeological findings suggest that the Greeks introduced this variety to Southern Italy during their colonization in eighth century, BC. Hence the name Greco. These ancient wine cuttings would have come from thessaly, a region of grease known for its viticulture. The Greeks recognized the potential of Compania's fertile soils and favorable climate. Planting vines that would flourish and eventually evolve into the Greco grape we know today. So let's think about all of the different grapes that share the Greco name. So the Greco family set includes Greco, Creco Jalo, Cracobianco del Pullino, Cracobianco Dichiro, Cracobianco Didonechi, Cracobianco Dileiano, In addition to even a red wine, great. Okay. Now, again, to go back to an Italian grammar lesson, just remember that the preposition d is over from. So when we talked about and how there was a distinction between Corolino del Luca or Corolino Vpisa for geographical location. Some of the ones that I had just mentioned, it's the same thing. So when I said, Again, focusing on geographical location versus gonna go bianco bichiro. But just remember, your preposition of d or Dell when it's combined will show up very frequently when learning about Italian wines. However, this prefix also would show up in other spellings. So when you think of Grequito and Grechanical, but they're not related. So it's good to remember that Greco is basically a nod to the Greek past of Southern Italy. Again, as it was, settled by the Greeks, I believe that their first stop was the island of Biscilla. So from that standpoint, note the connection, but doesn't necessarily mean that these grapes will always be related and that they will always have a Greek background. But if we're thinking about the family as a whole, there are basically two main grapes in this family to focus on. So I don't want to use the term generalized. But if you see itself. That main grape is famously grown in the province of Avilino, historically known as the Opina, located inland, some thirty miles east of Napoli in the sea, and in and around the town of Tulfo, named for its tufacious soil. The grapes are exposed to a climate that enables them to retain acidity as they ripen. The rich volcanic soil gives the resulting wire its complexity and mineral quality. This area is also home too, Falangina, Alianico, and Feano, the powerhouse grapes of Compania. And if you think about it just before we continue, you might have heard Greco Ditufo before. Just note that Greco is the grape, and then Greco d Tufo is the wine. Specifically noting again, pop quiz, preposition of d, location. So if it's the Greco that's grown in Tufo, in that area around Avelino, the producers will be making a gonna go be too full, and it will have a certain profile thanks to the soils that are there. And if we're looking in the vineyard, This grape is late ripening, disease sensitive, and it's the site selection of is of the utmost importance. And in the glass, the wines show great depth and structure. Greco based wines will usually have a deep lemon hue, almost golden. As well as having a rich palette. And for our wine students, this is something important, a trademark oily mouth feel. That's something to keep in mind during a blind tasting. As as soon as you're feeling that oily mouth feel, and you're hitting the other boxes, you're probably in critical detail for land. And as well, you'll find marked acidity and the higher alcohol level. And some of the aromas that you'll find, again, Still trademarks of Greco will have flowers, peaches, and honey. They are very well known as a young wine. However, they do have the potential of aging. And while you're also tasting it towards the end of your palate, It'll usually conclude with a clean and persistent finish, and it has a well balanced acidity, and it will make sure that the rich flavors don't empower, and you'll have a really enjoyable fresh wine. And over time, this wine may develop additional flavors with notes of honey and toasted almond, becoming more prominent in aged bottles. So some of you also might be wondering aging white wines in Compania, Well, as much as it probably wasn't as popular in the past, when we think of some producers, producer notably named Dimail. So he has an agriqola in this area, and he also works with Fiano. He works with Alianico as well. He has been known to be one of the benchmark producers for aging companion white wines. So Compania is a really important wine region for this case, because we're thinking about the Tallahassee wine, of course, the red wine that hopefully you've encountered before, but also white wines as an aging factor. This is something to really look into and find some of these wines as well. So you're going to be looking for specifically Greco d two four doc g. So that is a wine that did no one at Cioni O reach and a cuompro latte and get a pizza. So we're looking for that specific one. And when you're looking for the difficulty, Tufo wines, the styles, if you're in Tufo, the grapes will be grown on higher steeper sites, and they can really show their elegance and mineral focused elements there. But if we're looking at other parts of this Abolino area, Montefusco, for example, at a lower elevation, the wines will demonstrate more structure and weight. So really site selection is important. As I had mentioned before, you change your soil, you change your location, you change your grape. So could I go really shines in the two full area? And if we're looking for other producers, so as I had mentioned before, Dimail, he's really been doing well with aging white wines, Massro Veradino is another name that's synonymous with white wines in Campania, San Paulo, Donna Kiara, and Benito Ferara. So this wine in itself, we have to talk about food now. If we're in Campania, It's a medium bodied wine, and it will complement, of course, let's think about it. Seafood. So shrimp scampi, clams, calamati, but they're very versatile. So because of her herbal and floral notes, they would be really great for even chicken or even some pesto. I've done that before. And usually pesto, of course, I want to stick with liguria, but Sometimes we need to think outside the box. And, however, I would be remiss if I didn't stick to Compania dishes because that is as my region. So pizza Margarita. Of course. And then seafood risotto, but we cannot mention Compania without Mutsarella. So some fresh Mutsarella, maybe even fried. But if we want to even think about how burata is really becoming very popular, You won't really find it as much in Campania that's more from the neighboring region of Puya. However, Burata would also be a really pleasant compliment to Greco de Hufo wines and make sure to serve chilled. But besides Greco, In this sense, if we're looking for another style that could be sweeter, then we would be thinking about the Greco bianco, Greg. So Greco, as itself, that's going to be making the dry white wine. But Greco bianco, So we're going to move a little bit south of Campania into Calabria. This one specifically will make a wine that is more of a honeyed air dried type of dessert wine. And you'll find that in the Craco Di Bianco DOC. And it's usually sometimes attributed to also having some origins with Malvasia de Leipari, which produces another similar dessert style wine of Malvasia Dela Leperi, the wine. But these are two really different wines from Natcretco Family. And I hope that you're able to enjoy them soon. Listen to the Italian wine podcast wherever you get your podcasts. We're on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, ImaliFM, and more. Don't forget to subscribe and rate the show. If you enjoy listening, please consider donating through Italian wine podcast dot com. Any amount helps cover equipment, production, and public costs. Until next time.