Inside IWM

The Inside Story from Italian Wine Merchants

Praising the Unappreciated Wines

Choosing the delicious obscurity

The "obscure" Riesling

After reading Jane’s recent blog post about the wine bar Terroir and its new location in trendy Tribeca, I was eager to give it a try. Not only am I obsessed with Terroir in its original East Village location, but when I heard there was another, even bigger Terroir only minutes down the 4-5-6, I was ecstatic.  Terroir’s “Summer of Riesling,” wherein it’s offering only Riesling for its by-the-glass whites, exemplifies how committed the bar’s owner is to being an advocate for this misinterpreted variety. Riesling is my most favorite white wine of all, but try telling someone who drinks oaky Chardonnay from Napa that they have to order a glass of that “ultra-sweet, boring” white from Germany, and you will see a striking response.

The Rieslings my friends and I tried at Terroir were diverse, unusual and enthralling. Enjoying glasses of the oft maligned Riesling got me thinking about some of the lonely white, Italian grape varieties that get overlooked in the face of their showier cousins. Take Pigato, for example. Grown on terraced vineyards and boasting notes of flowers and a salty minerality, Pigato—one of my favorite obscure varietals—is indigenous to Liguria and is a relative of the more popular Vermentino variety.  Hardly anyone has heard of it, and it’s yummy.

Malvasia, also known as Malvoisie and Malmsey in France and Britain, originates from ancient Greece and produces wines high in alcohol with some residual sugar. Most Malvasia is meant to be drunk within one to five years, although the Prince Alberico Boncompagni Ludovisi, of Fiorano fame, managed to create some superb and shockingly well-aging Malvasia wines. There’s also the late ripening, very vigorous Garganega, which grows in the Soave Classico region and is known for its light aromatics of lemon, almond, spice and appears mostly in blends. Paolo Bea’s Santa Chiara is a great place to try a complex blend, including 20 percent of the Garganega grape.

It’s easy to step into the known. It’s easy to drink that oaky Chardonnay, and there are times that call for the known quantity. However, drinking Terroir’s Rieslings, reflecting on the unsung Italian varietals, delighting in the less appreciated, I also see the beauty in the obscure. They’re new, they’re different and they’re just, well, so cool.

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What’s More Important Than Terroir?

Quite a Bit, Actually

For years, the concept of terroir has been heralded as the most important component in determining the quality of a wine. A word that encompasses a broad territory, “terroir” is not merely the soil in which the wine is grown, but also the drainage of that soil, the direction the vineyard faces, the microclimate where the grapes grow, and even natural elements like surrounding flora and fauna.  These various and sundry factors will influence the quality of the fruit that’s growing on the vine. Moreover, an individual vineyard’s idiosyncratic terroir helps to explain how the same winemaker using the same technique in different plots can make wines of differing quality. This umbrella concept of “terroir” began in Bordeaux to help explain the extraordinary nature of the region’s wines, and because Bordeaux has long been the best-travelled and most famous wine-producing region, this notion soon gained acceptance around the world. However, I am not sure that terroir is the single most important component in determining a wine today.

There are a few reasons why I’d make that startling claim. For one thing, many parts of the world are showing a modern style of winemaking that is creating a certain homogenization of wine.  Wines are cleaner, more consistent and, to a certain extent, remarkably similar. These wines have maximum ripeness and thus high alcohol, a generous amount of oak and a rich texture. Many wine aficionados would argue that wines have been “Parkerized.”

However, I must ask a question: can we say that the influence of Robert Parker is so great that he has caused people around the world to change the way they are making wine today? While I would suggest that Parker’s influence is considerable, I do believe this is an easy answer to a far more complex situation. In response to “Parkerization,” I have to raise the visage of the wine consultant, like Michel Rolland, who is the most successful consultant in this profession. Wine consultants suggest ways that producers can tweak their wines in order to make them more recognizable, marketable and profitable. Certainly the role of the wine consultant has played an enormous role in shaping the manner in which producers around the world make their wines.

Germane to the question of terrior is the criticism that these international-style wines are void of terroir. It would seem as though these international wine consultants are able to produce their 90+ rated wines without sensitivity for the land.  If the terroir were the most important component in shaping the wine, it would not play a secondary role or be eliminated from the final expression, and wines that seem like they could have hailed from anywhere—as opposed to clearly Toscana, clearly Brda, clearly Burgundy, or clearly Sonoma—would get far lower scores. They also wouldn’t sell as well.

To take the argument one step further, Burgundy is an area where terroir is cherished. The terroir is evident in each bottle. However, in one grand cru vineyard there may be as many as 60 different producers. While the location of the vines in the producers’ vineyards will have an impact on the overall quality, it is the vinification technique of the winemaker that will ultimately shape how the wine tastes. And it’s on that point, the point of the producer, where we get to the heart of the matter. While the terroir plays a critical role is determining the raw material that the winemaker works with, the winemaker makes the ultimate statement.

Perhaps the best illustration for the importance of the producer’s hand would be Josko Gravner. In the genesis of his winemaking career, he was known as the leader of the modern movement, using technology to shape the manner in which his wine was produced. Then he did a 180 and began to embrace a totally opposite, ancient technique using clay amphorae to make his spectacular wines. In both cases, his wines were true to the region in which they were produced, but the technique was completely different. The resulting wines were also very different.

While terroir is a critical component in shaping the overall quality of a wine, it will only determine the parameters of what a wine can be. Ultimately, the person making the wine will determine the final product.  There are winemakers who are more gifted than others. There are people who have a passion, a conviction that allows them to take extraordinary raw material and give it a wine apotheosis. This is the artistry of the process. This is where a talent combines with material to create something extraordinary.  More importantly, I would argue that wine is ineffably complex: there are so many unique components that will influence the overall quality of the wine that it is more important to learn to appreciate the wine for its individuality rather than to predetermine what made it special.

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