Occasionally wine makers will produce a “late
harvest” Arneis, a sweeter more dessert style
wine.
Verdicchio
This wine comes from a grape grown primarily
in the Marche region. The name is a derivative
of the word “verde” which means green, referring
to the yellow-green skin of the grape which gives
the actual wine a slight greenish hue. The nose
and crisp with a high acidity and distinctive nutty
those characteristic Italian straw wrapped bottles.
This grape can be used to make sparkling
wines as well.
RED WINE
Nero d’Avola
This grape is grown in Sicily and the name
translates to “Black of Avola”, the town of Avola
far south of Sicily. It has a slighty sweet, peppery
-
nins. This wine appears dark red in the glass with
-
times compared to New World Shirazes. Nero
d’Avola is used to make Marsala wine as well.
And on a more personal note, this is one my most
favorite Italian red grapes.
Dolcetto
This grape variety is mainly grown in the
Piedmont region. The grape name means “little
sweet one” although the wine is somewhat dry.
The name has many crazy origins. One suggests
that the grape itself is sweet and produces sugary
juice. Another suggests there is a perception
of sweetness in Dolcetto wines. Either way, the
wine produced by the Dolcetto grape is dry with
perfumey bouquets and rich, fruity, ripe-berry, lic-
Primitivo
A grape that is hard to explain but easy to
to explain. To make a long story short, the grape
and wine we know as Zinfandel from California
actually started out in Italy as Primitivo and has
only recently been genetically DNA tested to
prove this fact. The grape originally came from
the Apulia region, the “heel” on the Italian boot.
Unlike Zinfandel, Primitivo has been found to have
far superior qualities – earlier fruit maturity, higher
yield and lower bunch rot. The wine has a blackberry,
anise and pepper taste with a higher alcohol
feel to it than most wines lending itself to
hearty meat dishes and bold cheeses.
With any luck you have read this and thought
about trying one or all of these delicious Italian
gems. So, head over to your local wine shop ir
Italian restaurant and order one today. As the
Italians say, “Buon vino, buoni amici” – Good
wine, good friends!
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