Wines of Northern Italy

The items which appear on the average dinner table have changed enormously over the past 20 to 30 years. Many consumables may always have been around, but not so long ago may have been regarded as rare treats for special occasions. 

Perhaps no consumer item fits the latter description better than wine. Yes, it’s been around for centuries and yes, a certain class of British citizen would have enjoyed wine with every meal throughout the ages. But many of us who remember the 1960s, 70s or even 80s will recall a time when wine was regarded as an exotic and exclusive drink enjoyed by the likes of aristocrats and ambassadors. Then along came mass-produced bottles of Liebfrauenmilch, Blue Nun and Mateus Rose - and we were away… 

Today wine is everywhere. And it is from everywhere. Go to any supermarket in the region and the longest aisles you’ll see devoted to a single item will be those selling shelves and shelves of fermented grape juice, bottled in places as diverse as Romania and Chile.

And what about the wines we drink on those special occasions when we go out to eat or when we’re staying at a nice hotel? We’ll be shown a dedicated wine list or maybe even have a sommelier to advise us. All well and good. But have you ever wondered where those wine lists come from or why that sommelier has certain bottles on hand? Those wines didn’t end up in the restaurant or hotel’s cellar by accident. Someone chose them - and presumably chose them for a reason…

Which brings me to why I spent some time recently in Northern Italy. 

The massive Wyndham hotel group owns a well-known brand called Ramada which has nearly 850 hotels in more than 60 countries. Not long ago it launched its “Say Hello to Red” initiative after teaming up with wine expert - author and blogger, Dr Jamie Goode - who has crafted a special red wine list for some of Ramada’s many destinations.

“From lighter flavours, to full-bodied warm reds and spicy wines with more complexity - each participating Ramada hotel has stocked a bespoke selection of red wines, featuring different styles aligned to Jamie’s recommendations,” says the blurb. “Each wine has been carefully selected to appeal to a wide range of taste buds, whether you are a wine aficionado, or just want to try something new…”

A PR working for the company contacted me and said: “Come to the Ramada Plazo Milano, meet Jamie, taste some of the red wines he’s chosen and join him on a field trip to the famous Bardolino wine area where one of his wines (the Guerrieri Rizzardi Bardolino Classico) was sourced - and meet one of the region’s famous winemakers.”

And so it was that I got to learn first-hand how a wine-expert goes about choosing the bottles we see in our restaurants and hotels. 

As we stood in the new Rizzardi winery building just outside Bardolino on the shores of Lake Garda, Jamie told me about his work…

“The idea behind doing this list for Ramada was to focus on their exploring the world. They’re a very large hotel chain and they’ve got hotels all over the place and they wanted me to put a small red wine list together that they could roll out across some of those hotels that would reflect the diversity of the locations that they’re based in. Also I wanted to pull in some wines with some real diversity. 

“So as part of that we thought it would be fun to invite you to come to one of the wineries that’s on the list. I think visiting a vineyard is a really nice way of bringing to life a wine,” said Jamie.

“Wine has a flavour that is local - a flavour that is contributed to by the environment and the place and the culture where the wine is grown. That is the really fascinating thing about wine. Because you can’t just make the wine anywhere - it is a wine of place.” 

Jamie looked out at the vineyards which were draped in shrouds of mist and rain and continued: “This area produces a range of wines - white and red - but I think the red wines are particularly interesting because they are made from grape varieties like corvina, rondinella, molinara that produce lighter-style, floral, elegant, fresh red wines with real prettiness to them. 

“In some ways there is a mysterious connection between the place and the wine. The French talk about terroir, but it applies too wines all over the place. There is something rich and cultural about a place where the people work together to create certain styles of wine that become very much entwined with that place. 
“And when you taste the wines it’s almost like you are transported to that place.”

Certainly that is true with some of the highly characteristic wines of Northern Italy. To find out more I talked to Olimpia Rizzardi, who is part of the family which owns many of the vineyards on Lake Garda and in Valpolicella. 

Stainless steel wine vats at Rizzardi

“We started our business in Valpolicella in 1649 - and here in Bardolino our ancestor brought the property in 1430,” she said as we walked through the vines under an umbrella. “So it’s a long time ago that we started to be winemakers. And all that time we’ve been making wine.
“But the wine now is very different. The world has changed and our taste has change - and the hygienic way of thinking has changed. Also the climate has changed - so it’s a combination of elements that are different,” said Olimpia, whose family business now produces more than 750,000 bottles of different wine every year. 
“Everything is more calculated - we are more attentive about everything,” she told me. “If you want to guarantee quality you have to be very attentive, and the technology helps. If you want to produce thousands and thousands of bottles you obviously need a very organised system. Today we have have an organisation that needs to cover all the details perfectly. 
“And for that we need a very modern wine cellar and a modern way with agriculture,” she said as we took shelter in the new high-tech winery building a mile outside the historic village of Bardolino.
“It doesn’t mean you concede your tradition. We still have our grapes - the varieties are Italian names corvina, rondinella, molinara… So we keep tradition, but in a modern version. 

“We built the new winery in 2011 but, as I said, the history of the family is really old - before that we bottled our wines in the centre of Bardolino. We still own the old walls of the village - we bought them in 1434 an we kept the winemaking there until ten years ago. Then it became impossible. Bardolino is a very touristy place - there are many people. The streets are too narrow. For the amount of wine we produce it would have been impossible.”

The family has converted some if its ancient lake-side wine-making buildings to shops and restaurants and is planning a museum, but Olimpia insisted that her family’s new winery did not lose any trace of its traditions…

“The wines need to maintain their character otherwise it means you can buy the same wine type all over the world,” she said. “People identify with Valpolicella or Bardolino because it comes from here - and not because it can be from anywhere in the world.”

That, in a nutshell, is what we consumers need to be thinking next time we’re walking down one of those supermarket aisles looking at the countless wines. If we are happy to even seek out certain types of potato for different dishes we’re planning to make - it’s time more of us consumers thought way beyond the simple question, red or white?

FACT FILE

Martin stayed at the Ramada Plaza Milano, located two minutes from the Milan subway, and close to the city centre. Average rate is 120 euros per room per night, including taxes. www.ramadaplazamilano.it