Ladies and gentlemen, it’s National Wine Day in the USA. However, we can all be sympathetic, no matter where we are at the moment, right?   *** sympathy mode on > grabbing a glass of wine ***   I did some research about its origin, but unfortunately I wasn’t able to get any real result. Pity… Well, let’s get back to the birthday-boy here now, shall we? What is wine? You can click here to see one of the first articles here in the blog. Personally, I take the traditional concept of wine, which is an alcoholic drink made by fermenting grapes, where the yeast turns sugars (from the grape juice, the grape must) into ethanol. But don’t take it for granted …   Memories: “Molecular Wine” I’ve read something quite peculiar a couple of years ago, about a sort of lab-wine from Ava Winery (San Francisco, USA – now Endless West?) and their claim got my attention “We can turn water into wine in 15 minutes.” The company, founded by Mardonn Chua and Alec Lee, has tried to replicate Moscato d’Asti and the Don Pérignon Champagne from scratch, by mixing different amino acids, acids, sugars, volatile organics (responsible for the aromas) and ethanol, to name a few. Meaning: no grapes are used in the process! Why would they do that? This is Ava’s reason why: In 2015 we found ourselves face to face with a $10,000+ bottle of wine that permanently changed the wine industry and legitimized wines from the new world. That bottle was a 1973 Chateau Montelena, and it was hopelessly out of our reach. But what if we could recreate it, molecule by molecule? Certainly it should taste the same. And while the replica might not bring as much pleasure to our egos as drinking a $10,000 bottle of wine, it should bring pleasure to our palates. We started Ava with the goal of making the great vintages accessible to all. While the Mona Lisa is one of a kind, its replicas would not exist if they did not bring some enjoyment to their owners. In many ways, widespread distribution of the replicas helps reinforce our appreciation for the originals. Ava’s mission is to recreate the experience without having to recreate the process.   It looks like the company’s concept has worked out, in the end. Endless West now has one type of wine for sale: Gemello. According to the company: Gemello, which means “twin” in Italian, is the world’s first molecular wine. Created without grapes, it contains zero pesticides or sulfites, and requires 95% less water, 80% less land, and 40% fewer carbon emissions to produce compared to conventional winemaking. Unapologetically indulgent, Gemello is leicht effervescent with notes of orange blossom and mango, and hints of peach and lychee. 750 mL | Neutral Spirits with Carbonation, Natural Flavors, Caramel Color and Beta Carotene for Color. 6% alc. by vol. Fancy Science Fair project? Or a valid alternative to wine? You name it! However, they would have a hard time selling it in Europe under the name “wine”, as the European laws consider wine “the product obtained exclusively from the total or partial alcoholic fermentation of fresh grapes, whether or not crushed, or of grape must”.   Memories: 2 + 2 = 4 and 2 * 2 = 4 Further reading has drawn my attention to another company that is into replicating wine – but it seems like they’re doing it with real grapes. Guess the name of the company??? Replica Wine! They basically urge people not to spend a fortune just to buy a fancy bottle of wine, as you can buy their replica for a smaller price – carefully reproduced by their well-experienced staff: Our chief wine officer, Brett Zimmerman, is one of fewer than 200 master sommelier active in the world today. Brett approves every single wine before it ever finds its way into a bottle. Back then I wondered why a Master Sommelier would join the wine-replication business…   The BIMW way of celebrating it tonight… Even though it would be nice to taste the “wine” and the wines mentioned above, I’ll stick to a good glass of sparkling Verdicchio tonight – Ale! Warm weather is finally here – and that screams for aperitivo! What kind of wine will you drink today?    

Many people get intimidated by the Italian wine classification – and that gets worse when they don’t speak the language. But fear not! By the way, what’s your mood like today? Do you remember those nice books with multiple endings when you were a kid? I’ve had a lot of fun with those! So… If your brain lusts for knowledge, you can read the whole timeline. If you want to go straight to the point, read only the “2011 and beyond” section. To make the story short… 1861 – 1930: Vini Senza Indicazione In 1861, Italy was born as a country, and back then, there was no special “Italian designation”.   1930 – 1963: Vini Senza Indicazione + Vini Tipici In 1930, the scenario started to change and the Minister of Agriculture set 3 levels of classification for the Italian wines, known as Vini Tipici: Special Wines (= Vini Speciali) Superior Wines (= Vini Superiori)  Fine Wines (= Vini Fini)   1963 – 1992: Vini Senza Indicazione + D.O.S. + D.O.C. + D.O.C.G. In 1963, the D.P.R. (= Presidential Decree) n. 930 regarding the Denominazioni di Origine dei Vini (= Wine Designation of Origin) was issued – a big step for Italian wines! As a result, the new classification system became: Vini a Denominazione di Origine Semplice (= D.O.S. = Simple Designation of Origin) Vini a Denominazione di Origine Controllata (= D.O.C. = Controlled Designation of Origin) Vini a Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (= D.O.C.G. = Controlled and Guaranteed Designation of Origin) Therefore, thanks to this law, the first wines classified as D.O.C. (= Denominazione di Origine Controllata = Controlled Designation of Origin) came out in 1966. The very first Italian wine to be awarded the D.O.C. status was the Vernaccia di San Gimignano (Tuscan white wine made from the namesake grape, upgraded to D.O.C.G. = Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita = Controlled and Guaranteed Designation of Origin in 1993).   1992 – 2009: V.D.T. + I.G.T. + D.O.C. + D.O.C.G. As a matter of fact, it worked really well for many years. However, as time went by, it just wasn’t enough and it no longer satisfied the market’s needs. In 1992, the Law n. 164 introduced the idea of sottozone (= sub-areas, meaning specific areas inside a Wine Designation of Origin) and the I.G.T. designation (= Indicazione Geografica Tipica = Indication of Geographical Tipicity), among other things. One could then find 4 designations for Italian wines: Vini da Tavola (= V.D.T. = Table Wines) Indicazione Geografica Tipica (= I.G.T. = Indication of Geographical Tipicity) Denominazione di Origine Controllata (= D.O.C. = Controlled Designation of Origin) Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (= D.O.C.G. = Controlled and Guaranteed Designation of Origin)   2009 – 2011: QWPSR + Table Wine The European Union (EU) is responsible for ~70% of the global wine production and ~60% of the global wine consumption. In 2008, the EU regulations regarding wine issues started to change and in order to simplify things, 2 main categories were created in 2009: Quality Wine Produced in a Specified Region (= QWPSR) Table Wine and Table Wine with a Geographical Indication So QWPSR in Italy was equivalent to D.O.C. and D.O.C.G. put together. The Table Wine group displayed only the country of origin, whereas the Table Wine with a Geographical Indication also allowed to display the region of origin and in Italy the I.G.T. wines fell under this category. However, some prejudice revolved around the word table, because it evoked the idea of a low quality wine – in Europe. On the other hand, in America, table wine referred to “wine with an alcohol content below 14% ABV”.   2011 and beyond: PDO + PGI Now to the recent Italian wine classification. From 2011, the two groups above have been replaced with: Denominazione di Origine Protetta (= Protected Designation of Origin = PDO) Indicazione Geografica Protetta (= Protected Geographical Indication = PGI)     The EU defines PDO as products that are “produced, processed and prepared in a given geographical area, using recognized know-how”. In Italy, this group includes D.O.C. (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) and D.O.C.G. (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita). The PGI refers to the geographical area in which it is produced, processed, or prepared and it is equivalent to the former I.G.T. (Indicazione Geografica Tipica). Its production regulations are less severe than those applied to the PDO wines, but it does not mean that PGI wines are bad. Mind you, though, that the designations I.G.T., D.O.C. and D.O.C.G. are still used in Italy; they have not vanished! Overall, you shouldn’t think that a D.O.C.G. is better than a D.O.C. or an I.G.T. It’s a vintner’s choice to classify their wines one way or another (given the fact that they’re of course compliant with all the rules imposed on each category).   TO D.O.C. OR NOT TO D.O.C: Basically, the difference between I.G.T., D.O.C., and D.O.C.G. in the Italian wine classification lies on how strict the rules (stated in Ministerial Decrees) are in order to fall into those categories. That is to say: D.O.C.G.: a small elite group of wines, produced in a small territory, its grapes and wines must be produced in a small area of origin, strict chemical and physical analysis are performed by the Authority, it gets judged by tasting panels and usually, before becoming a D.O.C.G., the wine keeps the D.O.C. denomination for at least 10 years; D.O.C.: the rules here aren’t quite as strict as D.O.C.G.’s, less chemical and physical analysis are performed (compared to the previous category); it gets judged by one tasting panel, grapes and wines are produced in small/medium areas of origin and usually, before becoming a D.O.C., the wine keeps the I.G.T. denomination for at least 5 years; I.G.T.: grapes and wines produced in vast areas of origin and it’s possible to mention the grape variety on the label.   Italian Wine categories: At the present time, you can find the following designations in Italy: 118  types of I.G.T. (PGI) 332 types of D.O.C. (PDO)    74 types of D.O.C.G. (PDO) After all, I guess the story about the Italian wine classification wasn’t so short after all, was it?! Do not feel discouraged by all these names, because they’ll come to you with time. Why should I know these things, you say? Because each designation has got certain characteristics. For example: if you talk about “Barolo D.O.C.G.”, you know that this wine is made from Nebbiolo grapes; whereas if you talk about “Falerio D.O.C.”, you know that the wine in your glass is made from Trebbiano Toscano, Passerina and Pecorino grapes – AND eventually a 4th grape variety, in some cases. In either case, are you particularly keen on any I.G.T., D.O.C. or D.O.C.G.  wine?