The Hottest Trends in Italian Wine

If you wanted a precise snapshot of the current status quo of the Italian wine industry, you'd be hard pressed to find a better venue than a Tre Bicchieri tasting. These events are the creation of the Italian publication Gambero Rosso – known as the "Italian wine Bible" – that has for 32 years now, published a yearly guide, in which tens of thousands of the country's wines are reviewed, with the highest rating being Tre Bicchieri, meaning "three glasses."

For the just released 2019 Guide, the tasting panel at Gambero Rosso included more than 22,000 reviews from 2500 producers, with a mere 447 wines receiving the coveted Tre Bicchieri honor. "We taste almost everything," says Marco Sabellico, senior editor for the wine guide. Clearly receiving a top honor is an important recognition for those producers fortunate enough to be named among the country's finest wines. What's great is that the Tre Bicchieri award is reserved not only for the country's most famous reds, such as Barolo, Amarone or Brunello di Montalcino, but also wines such as Greco di Tufo from Campania, Gewürztraminer from Alto Adige and even a Lambrusco from Emilia Romagna, as well as dozens of other local offerings. If you're a wine lover, especially one who adores Italian wines, this is welcome news, and again, this is evidence of the tremendous work being done by Italy's vintners.

I recently attended the kickoff tasting for the 2019 guide in Rome, and asked Sabellico a few questions, including the basic one of what drives quality in Italian wines. "Viticulture in Italy is responsible for the incredible growth in quality over the last two decades," he remarked. "Of course, we rely on native varieties such as Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, Nero d'Avola, Nerello Mascalese, Verdicchio, Trebbiano di Soave and Garganega that are the key ingredients of the greatest Italian wines. There are many more coming now, because there is continuous work on the rediscovery of old varietals. Once they are brought back to light, they show an amazing potential."

"So we are very proud of those who highlight new terroirs such as Etna a couple years ago, like Puglia fifteen years ago. Tasting everything every year gives you a different point of view, a different perspective in judging the wines, so our team of 70 people is very committed, as we taste more than 45,000 wines every year. We taste almost everything."

I was also curious to know what were the biggest surprises for him over the almost 30 years he has been tasting for Gambero Rosso; specifically, what regions in Italy these days had recently improved the most in terms of quality. "The south is growing," he commented. "Even Sicily which had a reputation for big, full, fleshy, overripe wines is showing a great potential of finesse, elegance and balance, even with the classic varietals like Nero d'Avola, with a modern interpretation of elegance more than structure. Etna is a fantastic terroir that has given incredible results."

I also asked several producers that received Tre Bicchieri recognition this year (all had been given this honor in previous years as well) about their specific success and what lay ahead. Listed below are their responses (the wine that was awarded Tre Bicchieri this year is mentioned in parentheses after their name).

The Tre Bicchieri tasting is organized by Gambero Rosso, the best-selling guide to Italian wine.

Sergio Germano, winemaker, Ettore Germano, Serralunga d'Alba, Piedmont (Barolo Lazzarito Riserva 2012)

"I think in the last ten years, quality in Barolo has improved, but I think we have a good possibility to improve again. Regarding pricing, the potential of Barolo is not less that Burgundy, but as Barolo is much younger than Burgundy, there has not been as much history or marketing. We need to run fast, but I hope not too fast.

"Our potential is very high, but it is important to be careful of foreign investors, as the price of some land in Barolo is very high. However, this does help to confirm the potential of our area and improve the image and perception of our land in the world.

"My challenge is to characterize my wines in greater detail, plot by plot. I try to run my winemaking with the traditional style, with long macerations, and aging in large casks. I'm happy for many producers that have increased production and purchased land. It is good for our reputation, but it is important that we don't lose our tradition. We need to maintain the land with its original appearance."

Giacomo Neri, winemaker/propietor, Casanova di Neri, Montalcino, Tuscany (Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova 2013)

"About Casanova di Neri, our vines are getting older, especially the Tenuta Nuova. Today we have greater complexity and wines with longer aging potential because of these older vines.

"The manual selection of the clusters and the optical selection of the berries allow us to improve the level of our wines. We also bring more attention and experience to the quality of the wood we use as well as the aging time in oak.

"Our philosophy was, and still is, to invest a lot in the vineyards and in the cellar, as this gives us great results in terms of quality and personality in our wines. It has been a long process that started about 50 years ago in Montalcino, combining love and passion.

"We can offer great and unique wines for a fair price. The price, of course, is then set by the market and the requests. We sell a lot of wine in about 50 different countries. A lot of wine lovers want to know more about us, by visiting where the grapes are sourced. We are very happy to show our vineyards and our cellar to help them better understand our terroir and our philosophy."

Stefano Illuminati, co-proprietor, Illuminati, Controguerra, Abruzzo (Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Colline Teramane Riserva "Zanna" 2013)

"People are considering the Montepulciano variety. The wine is very famous in the market as everyday wine. The Zanna is coming from a perfect DOCG area "terroir" – the vines are 55 years old – and is produced only in the very best years with a scrupulous selection of grapes. The private Abruzzo wineries, particularly Illuminati, are fighting from 40 years the cheaper wines of the cooperative wineries with Montepulciano d'Abruzzo.

"My personal opinion is that the grape has a very high quality potential that even today has not been expressed yet. The situation that I personally regret is that to enhance my wines in the foreign markets I must first talk about my history, my family, our philosophy, my territory (in the heart of the DOCG Colline Teramane) … after that at the end I talk about the grape Montepulciano, just because it does not have a great reputation. I dream to have many other examples of Valentini and Illuminati (and a few others) as flagships of the Montepulciano in the World.

"For promotion, especially in Abruzzo, the dream is to export to the world that the region is not only able to produce quantity and cheap wines but also fantastic wines (suitable terroir, low production, selection and limited quantity) able to compete with the most Italian famous red wines."

Antonio Capaldo, proprietor, Feudi di San Gregorio, Sorbo Serpico, Campania (Taurasi Riserva "Piano di Montevergine" 2013)

"In Italy, today, Taurasi is considered one of the most important red wines, of course behind the wines made of Sangiovese and Nebbiolo, but still well known by consumers. Of course, more in the South but also in other regions. In the international markets, awareness is quite low although experts and sommeliers attribute great quality and potential to this outstanding varietal.

"This is due to a variety of factors: overall low quantity produced (mostly devoted to the domestic market for simplicity) but also stylistic factors making the wine less approachable for an 'average' consumer.

"We are working to increase drinkability and pleasantness of the wine, without losing the authenticity and the adherence to the terroir. Less extraction, more attention to the quality of tannins, and aging in larger oak are all actions going in this direction.

"In general, I believe that the quality of Italian wines is growing in the perspective of the international consumer. We, as producers need to work better on our commercial strategy to increase the capability of our consumer reach capability, and expand from our traditional positioning in Italian restaurants."

A personal selection of the Top 12 wines at this year's Tre Bicchieri tasting

Sparkling

2011 Ferghettina Franciacorta Pas Dosé Riserva 33

White

2016 Livio Felluga Terre Alte

2017 Pietracupa Greco di Tufo

2017 Marisa Cuomo Furore Bianco Fiorduva

2017 Schiopetto Collio Friulano

Red

2013 Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva Il Poggio

2016 Sesti – Castello di Argiano Rosso di Montalcino

2013 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova