Quanto a recent years I have participated quanto a dozens of meetings dedicated to the future of Italian wine.
The themes are almost always the same: climate change, decline quanto a consumption, new generations, sustainability, internationalisation.
Much more rarely, however, do we witness a discussion quanto a which these arguments are translated into a concrete proposal.
This is what happened during the conferenza “Orvieto DOC: Plurality of Souls”, promoted by the Orvieto Wine Consortium.
An appointment which, at least quanto a intention, could represent a watershed not only for this denomination, but also for the way quanto a which many Italian DOCs could the coming years.
Because the issue is not simply low alcohol content. The topic is much broader.
How does a historical denomination evolve without losing its identity?
And it is a question that concerns practically all Italian wine today.
For my part, quanto a recent years I have developed a conviction: many Italian denominations still communicate wine as if the market were that of the nineties.
The consumer, however, has changed. He doesn’t bevanda less because the wine has become worse. He drinks differently.
for more eclettico, more gastronomic, more dynamic wines, more compatible with a lifestyle quanto a which consumption is more occasional and more conscious.
At the same time, climate change is profoundly changing work quanto a the vineyard.
Higher average temperatures mean increasingly earlier ripening, greater sugar accumulation and, inevitably, wines richer quanto a alcohol. It’s not an opinion. This is a fact that affects practically all wine-growing areas of the Mediterranean. Ignoring it would mean standing still while everything changes.
Orvieto’s proposal
It is precisely from this awareness that the project launched by the Consortium quanto a 2024 was born.
The objective is to develop a new interpretation of Orvieto DOC characterized by a naturally lower alcohol content, greater freshness, more evident acidity and easier drinking, without resorting to dealcoholization and without distorting the territory.
It is a fundamental step. Today the debate often risks confusing two profoundly different concepts.
the one hand we find dealcoholized partially dealcoholized wines. the other hand, there are wines that arise naturally with lower alcohol content thanks to precise agronomic and oenological choices.
They are two completely different worlds.
Quanto a the case of Orvieto the path taken is that of viticulture. Slightly early harvests. Canopy management. Choice of the freshest vineyards.
Search for balance between aromatic maturation and technological maturation. A philosophy that aims to preserve acidity and taste tension. Personally I consider this distinction fundamental. Because wine continues to be the result of a territory and not of a correction carried out subsequently quanto a the cellar.
Low alcohol doesn’t necessarily mean simpler wines
This is probably where the most interesting is played. There is still a very widespread prejudice.
Many automatically associate lower alcohol content with lower quality.
Quanto a reality the relationship between alcohol and quality is much more complex. Alcohol certainly contributes to the structure, softness and perception of portata. But it is one of the components that determine the complexity of a wine.
Sometimes too high an alcohol content even tends to compress the aromatic component, amplifying the pseudo-caloric sensation and reducing gustatory precision. A “lighter” wine may instead be more readable and enjoyable. Naturally acceso one condition: that the grapes are not immature and are supported by a certain balance between acidity, extract and flavour. Otherwise the risk is producing simply immature, lean and diluted wines.
And that’s exactly the point. Lightness cannot become a . It must be a consequence of the balance that is increasingly complex to achieve, starting from the vineyard.
The true heritage of Orvieto is the territory
The aspect that struck me most during the conferenza was the great work of characterizing the territory. Too often we hear generically about terroir. Here, however, the concept is translated into concrete elements. Five large pedological areas.
Volcanic soils.
Clays.
Sands.
Alluvial deposits.
Limestones.
Each with different effects acceso the behavior of the vine and the sensorial profile of the wines.
The volcanic soils generate wines with strong acid tension and interesting sulphurous and iodine nuances.
The sands favor elegance and finesse.
Clays build structure and portata.
The alluvials give fragrant and immediate wines.
Limestones add precision, acidity and evolutionary capacity.
This great pedological facet probably represents the most precious heritage of the denomination and, perhaps, the one that is even less talked about.
There is not just one Orvieto DOC
The title of the conferenza — Plurality of Souls — perfectly summarizes the new approach.
During the tasting, four interpretations of the denomination were proposed.
Orvieto DOC with low alcohol content.
The Superior Classic.
An old vintage.
The Orvieto Noble Rot.
And this is perhaps the real news.
Not the introduction of a new typology, but the official recognition that a great denomination can express itself through different languages.
It is a concept that has always been found quanto a the many wine-growing areas of the old world. Why should Orvieto do it?
The Noble Rot: a heritage to be rediscovered
Among all the souls of the denomination there is one that I continue to consider extraordinarily undervalued.
The Orvieto Noble Rot.
This is one of the very rare cases quanto a which an Italian DOC expressly contemplates this type quanto a its specifications.
The particular climatic conditions – autumnal mists followed by dry and windy afternoons – allow the development of Botrytis cinerea quanto a its noble form, naturally concentrating sugars, acidity and aromas quanto a the grapes.
Quanto a a historical moment quanto a which everyone is looking for distinctive elements, this represents an identity card of enormous value. Perhaps still too little valued and castrated by the erroneous concept of relegating the service of “sweet” wines only with dolce and at the end of the meal. Dismantling this technically incorrect and anachronistic conception can give space to these wines with extraordinary complexity and unexpected drinking if well combined and contextualized.
Time continues to be an ally
The choice to present an old vintage is also very significant. It’s a precise message.
While we talk about fresher and less alcoholic wines, Orvieto simultaneously reminds us that it also has a notable evolutionary capacity.
The 2020 sample demonstrates how longevity is not a nostalgic exercise, but an intrinsic characteristic of the denomination, favored by the balance between variety, soil and pedoclimatic conditions.
It is a double identity that I consider a strength.
Because contemporary wine does not necessarily coincide with wine intended to be drunk within a few months.
Listening to the market doesn’t mean chasing it
Riccardo Cotarella expressed a concept that I agree with and which I summarize below:
If the market shows a new demand, the world of production has a duty to ask itself. Not to chase every trend. But to understand if there is a credible and high quality way to respond to that need. The difference is substantial. Following the market means chasing. Interpreting it means guiding its evolution. They are two profoundly different attitudes.
My considerations
My perception regarding the activities carried out by the DOC are positive despite having a certain distrust towards “low alcohol”, as I have always considered it necessary to have thoughtfully ripe grapes for the production of balanced wines, based acceso the oenological and taste objective, obviously.
Quanto a fact, I don’t believe that low alcohol content represents the solution to all wine problems. It’s not. The risk of producing banal wines will always exist. Just as there will continue to be consumers looking for important, profound and structured wines. What I consider very interesting, however, is the method.
A historic denomination has decided to change without denying it and without suffering it. It has chosen to invest quanto a technical research, quanto a the study of the territory and quanto a the valorisation of its different souls. At a time when many DOCs seem to limit themselves to defending what they have been, Orvieto instead tries to ask itself what it can become.
And perhaps this is precisely the most important reflection.
Denominations should not be afraid to evolve. They should be afraid to stop doing it.
Francesco Saverio Russo
#WineIsSharing
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