When I left the northeast almost 10 years ago, I was a tad concerned that it would be harder to find good wine down here. I was dead wrong: Houston is a great wine town, generally speaking.
But almost every place I regularly shop (Spec's, Richard's, Whole Foods, and Central Market) have Italian sections that do not do Italy justice. Spec's, especially, has oodles of wines from Piemonte, the Veneto, Sicily, and, especially, Tuscany, but is spotty as to other areas in Italy.
In particular, these stores seem NEVER to have any reds from the Marche region, where my grandparents were born. The Marche has many excellent reds, most common among which are the kissin' cousins, Rosso Conero and Rosso Piceno. They are made from the Montepulciano and Sangiovese grapes. Typically, Conero has more Montepulciano, Piceno has more Sangiovese. Rosso Conero tends to be far more elegant than its rustic cousin to the south, the Montepulciano d'Abruzzo. They're not exactly common in the stores I used to troll in New England and New York, but they are completely non-existent in Houston.
The Aglianico grape is also M.I.A. from Houston wine stores. In my opinion, this is the very best grape grown in the southern half of Italy. Its most famous DOCs are Taurasi and Aglianico di Vulture. When done right, the Aglianico grape can go toe-to-toe with the Nebbiolo grape for weight, complexity, and balance (especially at present, since the overwhelming majority of big-name Nebbiolo wines, like Barolo and Barbaresco, are now made in the so-called "international style," which means it's hard to tell them apart from $%&^!# merlots) (well, actually, you can tell them apart from $%&^!# merlots by their $50-$100 pricetags).
Marche reds and Aglianico-based wines shouldn't be that hard to find, as the stores I've listed obtain their Italian wines from the same excellent importers who also offer Marche reds and Aglianico-based wines. Heck, Spec's, for example, stocks the Sangiovese, Cabernet, and Ramitello from the southern Italian winery Da Majo Norante -- but fails to stock this winery's very best wine: its "Contado" Aglianico. So it's not like Houston stores can't get these wines, they just aren't doing it.
So please, someone, start looking for and stocking these unjustly overlooked reds.
4 comments:
I looked on my company web site and sure enough nothing from that region or with that grape listed! If I request that my company stocks this, what is the price range for a decent wine? Is there anything in the under $20 range worth exploring?
There are several good Aglianicos, Rosso Coneros, and Rosso Picenos that retail for under $20. There are also many that are over $20 as well. Check out what is offered by good Italian importers who sell nationally, such as Winebow (Leonardo lo Cascio), Vias, or Vinifera. They are good starting places.
Oh my gosh! I just got back from two weeks in Campagnia and Roma - you are absolutely right - the aglianico is to die for! C'mon Spec's, give us some (more) good Italian wines!
Tom,
Are you familiar with any TX wholesalers who may be interested in pursuing your ideas? My family runs a start-up Italian wine importing business in CT with our cousins in Italy and specializes in niche Italian wines from family-run vineyards. We are currently looking for a wholesale partner in Texas. Drop me a line at info@vottovines.com if you'd like. Thanks.
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