About eight years ago, I traveled for 10 days in Italy with some really good friends and wine drinkers. Tuscany made me fall in love with wines from this region. Having seen the hillsides, valleys, and the luxurious vines, I feel a kinship and sense of familiarity when I drink Italian wines. I smell the earthiness in the luscious reds and enjoy the lushness of the greenery that I taste on the palate. The kiss of the sun and coolness of the nights is evident in the well balanced presentation of fruit and acidity. Every sip makes me want to go back.
A wine maker once explained to me that wine is about the soil, the sun, and water. I can't argue with that because grapes, like any other fruit or vegetable, need those key ingredients to grow. We all know that the amount of water and sun impact the rate of growth and ripeness, and we know that every soil isn't as fertile as others. Therefore, the same grape doesn't grow the same in all parts of the world. So what are we experiencing in our glass is a direct "taste" of where the grape was grown. The beauty of studying wines from a specific region is that you learn to understand the nuances of grapes from that particular part of the world. What's in your glass brings travel to you. Next week, we bring Italy to Richmond.
The Vine Wine Club's Winter Wine School presents "A Tour of Italy: Italian Wine Class" on Wednesday, October 14, 2015. Taste delicious wines from various wine regions such as Gavi, Brunello, and Barolo. Learn to appreciate what makes these regions so special.
I hope to see you in class!
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