It is now official.
I have now had as much wine since we moved to
Italy as I had consumed in my entire life previous to this move, which is not very much.
On our previous visits to Italy we always enjoyed trying the wines available in the different areas, and I never tasted a wine variety I did not like. I make no claims to being a wine aficionado and I tend towards the drier varieties which are common here so I am always pleased with the selections.
When we lived in Corrales we would share a glass at dinner and occasionally when eating out and we were always on the look-out for a good bargain on wines from the Mediterranean area when shopping in different stores. New Mexico actually has the longest wine producing history in the United States; wines were produced there by the Spanish years before any wines were produced in California. Here in Italy wine is a part of life, as much as bread and water. Each region has its own wines and here in the Piceno region they are Rosso Piceno, Rosso Piceno Superiore for reds and Falerio and Pecorino for whites. (Yes that is Pecorino, like the cheese).
A friend at one of the local cantinas told us that you can’t have pasta without some wine; it just isn’t good for the digestion. Digestion is very important here, you certainly don’t see all the ads for heartburn remedies. Wine is also included in many of the meal prices in this area; a house wine served in a carafe. Despite the amount of wine that is served we have rarely see public drunkenness and when we have it has been someone who undoubtedly speaks English.
I had some of my family fooled for many years that I actually knew a lot about wine as they always enjoyed the wines we had with meals. That is, until I disclosed my secret for shopping for wine in the US; I usually looked for the red “Italia” stamp on the top of the bottle. With that mark we were never disappointed.
If you want more information on wines from Italy and the Piceno area, an excellent source is Brendan’s web-site at the The Roman Wine Company.
2 comments:
Thanks for the shout-out! I have started a new wine blog to accompany the site blog.romanwineco.com. I'll be sure to add a link to your blog / business this weekend.
Ciao,
Brendan
I think you should do a follow up on this subject sometime by going to the ipermart at Val Vibrata and reporting on how you can buy bulk wine in a store (go to the back of the store) from pumps that look like gasoline pumps. Bring your own container and give us a review of the quality of this inexpensive wine.
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