Ep. 1340 Marco Gandini Narrates Pt. 11 | Italian Wine Unplugged 2.0

By now, you've all heard of Italian wine Unplugged two point o. The latest book published by Mamma jumbo shrimp. It's more than just another wine book. Fully updated second edition was inspired by students of the Vin Italy International Academy and painstakingly reviewed and revised by an expert panel of certified Italian wine ambassadors from across the globe. The book also includes an addition by professor Atilio Shenza. Italy's leading vine geneticist. The benchmark producers feature is a particularly important aspect of this revised edition. The selection makes it easier for our readers to get their hands on a bottle of wine that truly represents a particular grape or region to pick up a copy, just head to Amazon dot com, or visit us at mama jumbo shrimp dot com. For all the super wine yeeks out there, we have a special new series dedicated to you. We are reading excerpts from our new addition of Italian wine unplugged two point o. Wine lovers tune in for your weekly fix only on Italian wine podcast. If you want to own a copy of this new must read Italian wine textbook, just go to amazon dot com or visit us at mama jumbo shrimp dot com. Classifications and categorizations. Searching for quality standards. Why production has evolved beyond the concept of quality differentiation in relation to the various classifications of wines. In other words, the categories outlined in this section do not necessarily reflect the quality of wine as excellent or poor. Rather, quality is now an essential component of any wine classification. While technology and improvements in winemaking practice have made good quality wines in a modern norm. Truly defected or flawed wines are simply not being made anymore. Even the lowest level of qualification in Italy, Vino da Tabra, signifies wines that are perfectly acceptable for basic consumption. So called higher levels of classification indicate more regulations regarding place and production and thereby offer more safeguards for the consumer. On these bases, winds that fall higher on the classification pyramid are often perceived as better. However, If a producer is not particularly skilled or attentive, the resulting DOC or DOCG wine may not be any better than an IGT version made from the same grapes, grow in a lesser quality terroir, and subject to fewer production regulations. A further problem is that the government commissions called to test wines for eligibility and sustainability for designation standard DOC or DOCG often take a lenient attitude to their work diminishing the reliability of the classification process. The European Union divides wires into three main categories. DOP, the origin of origin, or PDO protected designation of origin, IGP in the Katceona geographical, or PGI, protected geographical education, Wines without designation of origin. Italian wine podcast, part of the Momo jumbo shrimp family. The DOP and IGP denominations are aching to the previous Italian designations DOCG denominations that you're reaching the control data guarantee. DOC, the Nomian that you're reaching the control data, and IGT in the Katciona geographical atypica. In Italy, there has also been a long tradition of Vino Datavola, table wine, most most often made from low quality grapes, unsuitable for intensive wine making processes. However, some Italy's greatest wines, such as SASaya, used to be classified as Vino da Tavora because their innovative blends including international grapes and fell beyond the scope of permissible standards of the established classification guidelines. So, at least in the past, Avino Databola designation did not necessarily refer to a low quality wine. To a lesser extent, this still holds true today with producers choosing to make a wine without following classification guidelines for that specific wine's production or provenance. And these wines consequently do not carry an official designation. European Council Regulation EEC number eight twenty three eighty seven provides the protocols line production, mass contain, among other things, specific instructions regarding production area, and demographic base, varieties, and their percentages, standards for Viticulture, including an indication of yield per actor, standards for winemaking, including the alcoholic strength and aging, standards for labeling and packaging. Typology and characteristics of the wine at consumption. The or production protocol describes and sets out the production guidelines of DOP and IGP categories. It is a series of qualitative guidelines that must be observed in the production of a wine, e g, production area, varieties, yield per actor, minimum alcohol content, fermentation, aging vessels, etcetera. The designations of origin and geographical indications are reserved for wine products that comply with the conditions laid down and legislative decree number sixty one slash twenty ten. The pyramid of quality. The qualitative hierarchy of Italian wines can be summarized in the form of a pyramid divided into four levels. The price of a bottle of wine is important, but one should not confuse costs with quality. Price is an important element that contributes to the perception of quality, but it is not the only factor that needs to be considered when deciding the overall quality of a wine. However, due to the strict requirements of Italian wine laws among the strictest in the world, and the financial outlay necessary to comply with regulatory specifications, it is virtually impossible for Italian wine producers to sell a high quality wine below a certain price threshold. Buy a bottle of wine classified DOC or DOCG at a price less than ten euros is a risk. Consumers must consider the extensive costs absorbed by producers and distributors from bought break in the spring, thirty harvests, fermentation, aging, and bottling, including the cost of glass bottles, labels, cords, and foil caps. As well as the logistics of transport and financial distribution to the point of sale. Even if large volumes distributors can sell at a hugely discount prices, there's only so much a producer can do to cut costs before wine quality begins to be affected. While the high price does not necessarily guarantee quality, prices which are very low, almost certainly indicate an absence of quality. Detailing wine classification pyramid takes into account both quantity and quality. The higher a wine is under pyramid, the lower the total quantity available will be as the law regulates the maximum quantity of grapes per actor and consequently wine yields. The regulations also identified places of origin as a direct link to the quality hierarchy of the wines. The figure shows the quality pyramid according to Italian law number one sixty four slash nineteen ninety two, modified following reforms introduced by the European community in two thousand and eight, constitute regulation EC number four seventy nine slash two thousand and eight. In nineteen ninety two, law number one sixty four maintained some of the guidelines of the previous law number nine thirty, but also introduced important innovations. The general guide lists are based on the connections between wine and territory, but include additional particulars such as enhancement of designations, introduction of IGT, TGI, Indicazione geographic etipica, I e, typical geographical indications, harvest selection, which allows the possibility of using grapes from the same vineyard for several designations of origin. Recognition of some areas, I e, more restricted areas within the designation of origin, mandatory instruction of chemical, physical analysis before marketing. In two thousand and eight, the European Union implemented a process of reform across the entire wine growing and production industry. The reforms aimed to align the wine growing and production legislation with data already existing for other quality agricultural and food products awarded DOP and IGP labels. As a result, two main categories emerged. Wise with geographical indication, wise without geographical indication, such as generic wines. In addition, Italy continues to allow the use of previous acronyms that characterize Italian quality wines, DOCG, DOC, and IGT that can either be reading together with the new ones or used alone. At the bottom of the pyramid are common table wines. The regulation, this case, are virtually non existence, and very ordinary wines are generally placed in this category. In some cases, producers choose to place excellent wines in this classification. Many wines in this category are undoubtedly poor, often labeled without a vintage date, without the original production, without specifying the varietal of the blend, leaving consumers into dark as to what is in the bottle. The paradox here is that a few notable wines in this category are actually high quality wines. The outcome of experimentation outside the classification regulations and or the result of a producer's choice to forgo the classification system entirely. The most famous example is Tignanello, Antinore's experimental blend of San Jose, cabernet sauvignon, and cabernet franc, first produced in nineteen seventy one, which fell outside the scope of the county regulations. IGT wines are placed in the second tier of the pyramid, where legal guidelines are slightly tighter. A protocol of regulation is provided and enforced. Though rules are not as strict as those four d o c and EOCG wise. The IGT category is characterized solely by the indication of the geographic area of origin. The grape varietal and production ear are not legally required, so may or may not be included on the label. Up to eighty percent of the grape juice to produce these wines must come from the area in which the wine is made. And the wine itself must resemble wines historically produced in that region. Hence, the adjective, typical, or typical. This category is an important one because it contains many quality wines favored by wine lovers on a budget. Allow we moral Lee Way in the grape varieties legally permitted in the plan has given producers greater freedom to experiment and apply a newer purchase to wine making. For less aspirational producers, the IgT classification becomes a catchall category for labeling wines produced with lesser quality grapes and vinified without the cost of prolonged aging and expensive winemaking techniques. In the third tier, DOC wines are viewed as an artist step up in quality. The bureaucratic and legal requirements, which must be met to receive the DOC classification are complex and the law is so strict that failing to meet just one criterion results in the loss of the DOC status. The DOC classification was instituted in nineteen sixty three. And is modeled on Francis AOC, Apilación de Rijin Contole. It refers to a specific wine production zone. To use the DOC classification on the label, The wines must be produced following a very detailed set of specifications, including the precise origin of grapes, alcohol percentage, length of aging time, and use of wood. Anological, chemical, and organoleptic parameters, such as the maximum yield per actor, are also carefully controlled. A DOC wide producer is strictly bound to theidisciplinati protocols approved by min serial decree, and Italian Ministry of Agriculture maintains a database of vineyards and each DOC wine status. Listen to the Italian wine podcast wherever you get your podcast. We're on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, EmailIFM, and more. Don't forget to subscribe and rate the show. If you enjoy listening, please consider donating through Italianline podcast dot com. Any amount helps cover equipment, and publication costs. Until next time.