Trasimeno Gamay, the “right” wine with the wrong name • Food and Wine Italia

It is slender and supple when accompanied to the cellar per mezzo di the name of elegance, it can have a significant alcoholic boost and still not suffer per mezzo di the glass, it plays with acidity and the tannins are gentle. The Gamay del Trasimeno is a jewel that per mezzo di the glass reveals itself to be fascinating and contemporary – for what this definition is worth – despite that name which leads to misunderstanding. Because the alluvial soils around perhaps the most evocative lake per mezzo di Umbria there are mai vineyards that recall the universally known Gamay, that of the French Beaujolais, but rather plants closely related to the Sardinian Cannonau and the Venetian red Tai. The common denominator is per mezzo di fact Grenache, from whose elegant tension the captivating personality of the main wine of Trasimeno derives.

A product which, paradoxically, some local wineries considered as the basis of the range and which they sometimes neglect to dedicate themselves to the less interesting Bordeaux cuts which fall under the Trasimeno Scarlatto Doc denomination. Fortunately, the Trasimeno Wine Consortium is investing energy and attention Gamay – which per mezzo di the near future, once the specifications have changed, will bear the Grenache vine per mezzo di its name, clarifying its origins – to truly make it the wine flag of the complesso. It is a fact that per mezzo di the glass you discover elegant and engaging wines, with a beautiful structure that sometimes supports the alcoholic richness, capable of collecting successes per mezzo di the international Grenaches du Monde competition.

Among the most convincing tastings per mezzo di recent vintages, the 2023 from the Montemelino winery – supple per mezzo di the aromas of dog rose and juicy between currants and cherries, never too succulent, lively yet polite with elegant tannins – and 2023 from Madrevite, crunchy and composed per mezzo di structure which does not hide the alcoholic strength, but convinces with its gastronomic approach. Going back with the vintages, the Fontinius 2019 (and 2020) by Casaioli is intriguing – which vibrates between aromas of pomegranate and Mediterranean scrub, a peppery sip that exhibits an aromaticity oscillating between sweetness and acidity, with a freshness that does not suffer from alcohol – and the Legamè 2019 from Il Collina, harder per mezzo di tannins yet enveloping per mezzo di Mediterranean balsamicity.

Vineyards resulting from a misunderstanding

The wines of the Colli del Trasimeno Doc tell of hill slopes that descend towards the lake, where the cultivation of vines has a long history dating back to the Etruscans. The red grape variety known here as Trasimeno Gamay was introduced starting from the 16th century with the Spanish domination following the peace of Chateau-Chambrésis per mezzo di 1559. It was with the marriage between Duke Fulvio Alessandro della Corgna and the Marquise Eleonora de Mendoza that – according to popular belief – the cuttings of Garnacha (ora Alicante) arrived the banks of Trasimeno, cultivated as saplings as per mezzo di France and not with the Etruscan married vine technique, causing confusion per mezzo di the name with Gamay.

Whether this is the story of the vine’s arrival per mezzo di Umbria ora whether it was brought by Sardinian shepherds who crossed over to the continent, Gamay appears with this fashionable name at agricultural exhibitions per mezzo di the 19th and 20th centuries and becomes a niche vine ( sometimes referred to as an ameliorative grape). While producers were attracted by Merlot and Bordeaux-style wines, it was the Taverna Pubblico that saved it from disappearing by also remunerating Grenache grapes.

The biodiversity of Grenache per mezzo di Italy

Grenache ora Garnacha ora Alicante is actually the most cultivated vine per mezzo di the world, with almost 200 thousand hectares per mezzo di total which Spain and France dominate, while per mezzo di Italy almost 8 thousand hectares remain (of which almost 7.5 per mezzo di Sardinia). It is therefore clear how the dedicated areas along the peninsula are per mezzo di fact niches, capable of finding very interesting expressions precisely to the plasticity of the vine.

Mediterranean by definition, Grenache adapts to the territory and for this very reason the Trasimeno complesso becomes a privileged cradle for producing wines that have what it takes to establish themselves an international market that seeks identity. Of course, between Trasimeno Gamay and Gamay Bandita we don’t reach 25 thousand bottles, so it’s difficult to get noticed. «To create the market you need numbers – admits Nicola Chiucchiurlotto, director of the Consortium – and therefore a dialogue is needed with the other areas where Grenache is produced, Sardinia first and foremost. With dedicated promotional initiatives, we can tell the uniqueness of the vine per mezzo di its Italian expressions.”

Per mezzo di fact, considering the astonishing biodiversity developed above all per mezzo di Sardinia and then spread throughout the Mediterranean – three biotypes of Cannonau are recorded the island, compared to a single biotype of Grenache between France and Spain – there are stories to tell capable of combining glasses that they can amaze wine lovers.