Borsa Vini: Italy’s untapped potential.
On May 15th we attended ‘Borsa Vini; an event all about Italian wines organised by Pitch PR in the Netherlands, on behalf of the Italian Trade Agency. Thirty-two quality wine producers from all over Italy proudly presented their wines in order to connect with potential new customers and importers.
Italian Wines
Part of the day was an insightful session led by Roos Stevens , a top Dutch sommelier, who started with some background information on the Italian wine scene. With around 50 million hectolitres a year, Italy produces the most wine in the world. And unlike most countries, where there are only certain regions that are suitable for making quality wines, Italy is covered in vineyards north to south and east to west. Add the many native grape varieties and it doesn’t come as a surprise that there are many different types of Italian wines. So let’s dive deeper into some of these wines!
A Wealth of Wine
It is always tricky at events like this to decide which wines to taste. There are simply too many to try them all. Borsa Vini thought of a great way to introduce everyone to various wine makers by organising several blind tastings throughout the day. All sessions had seven different wines and at the end of each session the group voted on the favourite of that tasting round. All winning wines will be featured in the Dutch magazine Foodies with a advise on food pairing and a recipe.
Our favourite from the first blind tasting session was a 2020 Chianti Classico DOCG. The wine is produced by Nardi Viticoltori, a family-run business that owns forty hectares of property, with ten hectares of vineyards located in the Chianti Classico area in Tuscany. The wine is made of 90% sangiovese, 5% canaiolo and 5% colorino. It has aged in large barrels for ten months and another six months in the bottle. The wine has a beautiful bright medium ruby red colour and aromas of red fruit such as raspberries and red cherries but also some spices like pepper and notes of cedar wood. As you would expect, the wine has a nice acidity and soft tannins. All in all a great example of a Chianti Classico. We award this wine with a 90 point DWA score.
After the tasting we visited all the individual producers to taste a selection of their wines.
The Producers
What follows is a top 3 (in no particular order) of the wines we tasted and the wineries that impressed us most.
1. The Farm Hunters
TFH is a young company founded by two wine professionals in 2020. They work with winemakers from all over Italy and bring together the best that Italy has to offer. They market many different wines, such as Prosecco, Brunello di Montalcino, Barolo and even Super Tuscans. All their wines have a common style; they are modern, drinkable and – most importantly – enjoyable.
The one they are most proud of is the 2021 Fraya Appassimento DOCG from Puglia. The grapes are dried in the sunny vineyards of southern Italy for at least a month, causing most of the moisture to evaporate leaving highly concentrated and intensely flavoured grapes. The wine has deep aromas of black cherries, plums and spices, but also clear notes leather, tabacco and cacao. It is a full-bodied wine that cries for a savoury meal like a beautiful Osso Buco (DWA-score 83).
2. Ca’tullio S.S.A.
With 100 hectares of vineyards, Ca’Tullio covers several terroirs in the northeast region of Friuli within the DOC Friuli Aquileia and DOC Friuli Colli Orientali. What makes them stand out is the fact that they produce single-varietal wines that are clean, crisp and easy to enjoy. Ca’Tullio has a clear brand and their wines make sense, which make them easy to understand for the consumer. No difficult labels that vary for certain wine types, but one clear style telling you exactly what to expect in the bottle.
We tasted the ribolla gialla, fiulano, and the pinot grigio. The wine that stood out, however, was their Traminer Aromatico 2022 DOC Friuli Aquileia. A beautiful and exciting straw-yellow wine, very aromatic with floral aromas and citrus tones, but still with enough freshness and light acidity so that it doesn’t get too heavy or intense (DWA-score 90).
We were also pleasantly surprised by their Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso 2020 DOC Friuli. This is a local grape that shows up as an elegant, fruity wine with a lovely acidity. The wine has a vibrant purple red colour with aromas of small red fruit, such as blackberries, raspberries and red cherries. It is a wine that can be enjoyed when it is still young and is best served slightly chilled (DWA-score 90).
3. Silvio Carta
Silvio Carta is a third generation company based on the island of Sardinia. They immediately stand out because Silvio Carta does not only produce beautiful wines, but also various spirits and liqueurs such as limoncello, gin and vermouth. We tried their Vermouth Rosso di Sardgena, which was intense but very smooth and tasty, with notes of ripe fruit such as resins, but also hints of pine and laurel.
We also loved their Cannonau di Sardegna DOC Serenata 2021. A wine made from 100% cannonau, a grape variety also known as grenache or garnacha. The wine has a ruby red colour and beautiful rich and seductive aromas of plums, red cherries, figs and some mocha notes. Just from smelling the wine, you expect it to be powerful and intense, but on the palate it is much more elegant due to it’s nice acidity (DWA-score 87).
Conclusion
It was a great pleasure to be able to taste all the beautiful things that Italian winemakers have to offer. The event was very well organised and we got to try some new wines (and even liqueurs), which is always very exciting. Now we just have to hope that these winemakers got matched with importers in the Netherlands, so that we can buy and enjoy their wines!
This event was covered for Dutch Wine Apprentice by our own Chanti de Jong (@vinoconchanti). We would like to thank all producers that came to share their wines and Pitch PR for organizing this event.
