Wine

SOMETIMES you’d think wine was made in only half a dozen places on Earth.

France and Australia principally, along with say New Zealand, Chile, Spain and California. Whether it’s premium-priced bottles you ill-advisedly spend too much on to impress the neighbours, or more budget-friendly wines you actually enjoy, those parts of the world (and particularly France) do tend to be the ones to grab our attention.

But the shelves of even a modest bottle shop will be sagging under a delightfully diverse array of wines, while a specialist drinks shop will stock a rainbow of styles from 20 countries or more.

There are lots of delights out there for venturesome wine fans willing to explore just a little further, sampling the other wine lands, including Portugal, Germany, South Africa and — to begin with today — Italy.

Italy couldn’t be described as one of the lesser-known wine countries — but it is certainly one of the less frequently explored. But what comes as a surprise even to dedicated Irish wine fans is that Italy remains the world’s largest producer of wine.

The country’s name ought really be a plural noun, such is its wonderful patchwork of cultures and languages. This diversity is expressed too in its food and wine culture, perhaps due to the sustained economic and political power of its cities. For centuries each of these independent statelets coexisted with the peasant food and farming of their hinterland.

The recommended bottles this week are a geographic tour from north to south of country, among them only one that you might regard as a ‘Mediterranian’ wine, in this instance from Puglia, down on the heel of the boot.

* Seapoint Restaurant, Monkstown, Co Dublin, is hosting a Piedmonte night on Tuesday, when four courses will be accompanied by wines from that region. Book (€59 per person) on 01 6638480 or www.seapointrestaurant.com.

Gavi

Tesco Finest Gavi DOCG 2008 Tesco, €9.45

If I were to attempt to persuade a red-only drinker to try whites, I’d probably start with a classy Italian such as this treat from Piedmont in the north west near the French border. Tesco’s offering, a 100% cortese, offers all the pleasing crunch of biting into a fresh and not over-ripe pear. Delish.

Orvieto Classico

Santa Cristina Campogrande Orvieto Classico DOC 2009 Available at independents nationwide at €11.49; reduced to €8.99 at Bradleys, North Main Street, Cork

Oriveto in Umbria, slap bang in the middle of Italy, is best known for classy dry white blends. There’s no oaking or secondary fermentation — just a wine making great play of the grapes’ natural softness to deliver a medium-bodied floral mouthful cut across with a fresh swish of acidity.

Sangiovese Merlot

Santa Cristina Toscana IGT 2008 Available at independents nationwide at €11.49; currently reduced to €8.99 at Bradleys, North Main Street, Cork

Nowadays you’ll find many super wines bearing the ‘lowest’ rank in the Italian appellation system, IGT (indicazione geografica tipica), such as this accessibly-priced well-made modern wine from the ancient Antinori family. A sangiovese merlot blend, it’s all about earthy aromatic herbs and baked cherries.

Barolo

Soliano Barolo DOCG 2005 Aldi, €14.99

So diverse is Italy’s wine tradition that it’s hard to point to one region as its headline appellation, its answer to France’s Bordeaux, as it were. But arguably, Barolo in Piedmont is that place. And in this bottle you have the fast-track to that Italy. It’s a beautiful polished glossy red unpacking a gorgeous spectrum of scents from bitter black cherries via aromatic herbs to tar.

Montepulciano d’Abruzzo

Torre Scalza Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2007 Marks & Spencer, €11.79

Not to be confused with the Tuscan city and its Vino nobile di Montepulciano, the grape which coincidentally bears the same name has found fame in another region, Abruzzo. M&S stock two bright aromatic crackers from the region at round the same price. Here’s the more elegant restrained one.

Negramaro

Li Veli Salento Passamante €13.72 at Karwig Wines, Carrigaline, Co Cork, www.karwigwines.ie

The negramaro grape is relatively new to us — but it was being vinified in Puglia in Italy’s heel since God was a lad. This bottle is not for everyone — amid its bright fruit and intriguing tarry scent, some may miss a more forthright bite and tannic crunch. But it will find fans too for precisely the same reason.