A Year in French Wine (and Beyond)
How do you measure a year in the life? Measure in glugs.
When it comes to trying anything new, I do best with structure. I’ve always been this way, and it’s a big reason why the WSET program has worked well for me, as it captures and highlights key regions, classifications, grape varieties, and vinification methods while delivering it all in a systematic way. A sucker for a good starter kit, I’ll hit the ground running in no time, every time.
La Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels had kicked off 2021 with its pandemic brainchild of A Year in French Wine, a monthly wine club subscription offering an education into the world of French Wine. You could opt to explore the crus of Burgundy, the villages of Champagne, the Tour de France, or the Jet Setter option, which included all the above. Not hard to guess which one I chose.
2021 became my year in French wine, and it was unbelievably transformative. It helped having an obsessive personality in that when curiosity hits, I go all in, fully committed, with that no-stone-left-unturned kind of mentality. A Year in French Wine tapped into my vice for knowledge through insightful winemaking details, regional eccentricities, comprehensive tasting notes, suggested pairings, and accompanying video clips from the producers, usually in the vineyard or cellar. Even now, years later, I find myself recalling the things I learned from those curated trios of monthly bottles, a proxy “passport” for navigating through the regions of France at a time when travel was inevitably curtailed at COVID’s behest.
THE CONCEPT
Because of how much I cultivated from A Year in French Wine, I wanted a similar exploration the year after, but with Italian wine, especially when Italy is home to the world’s largest assortment of indigenous grapevines. With over 350 documented and authorized by the country’s Ministry of Agriculture as well as over 500 other known varieties in circulation, Italian wine would be the perfect pivot with plenty to master, a testament to Italy’s rich tapestry of climates, soils, and winemaking traditions.
The republic of Italy only became unified as a single nation in 1861, making it a relatively “new” country. Prior to this, the regions of Italy had their respective kingdoms, mostly speaking in local dialects. As a result, modern day Italians still harbor a strong sense of regional identity and patriotism, a phenomenon commonly known as campanilismo (Italian for “neighborhood pride”). In fact, many Italians don’t refer to themselves as such, but instead as citizens of their respective regions (e.g., Sicilian, Venetian, Florentine, Neapolitan, etc.). This is additionally compounded by the long historic divide between the North and the South, as the French, Celts, and Germanic tribes ruled the former, while the Arabs, Greeks, and Spanish ruled the latter.
I found this article in Wine Enthusiast, an exemplary starter kit (score!) for this mission. After identifying the 20 regions of Italy, I organized their cited grapes into two categories: primary varieties for ones the region is most famous followed by other varieties for ones the region may also be known. Then for each region, I marked down one main grape and one esoteric grape for full consideration.
My criteria was simple: making selections to maximize regional breadth for further study. For the main grape, I went for more classic expressions, opting for new-to-me varieties where possible (e.g., Vernaccia from Tuscany and Sagrantino from Umbria). Same went for the esoteric ones, picking varieties or blends I had never tried before (or at least not from said regions). Lastly where possible, I tried to allocate one lighter wine (white/rosé/orange) and one darker wine (red) for each region.
What came to be was a robust curriculum on what A Year in Italian Wine would entail: the procurement of 40 different wines, two from each of Italy’s 20 regions.
The cuisines of Italy are just as multifaceted as its wines are, inspiring me to add food pairings as a vital side quest. Moved by the campanilismo sentiment of Italy, I used the wines selected in finding appropriate pairings, a similar dichotomy to how I had decided on grape varieties: at least one classic regional dish (embracing the wine adage of “what grows together goes together”) and another more off-the-beaten path (obliging non-Italian cuisines).
Once compiled, I arranged the 40 wines by season, letting the food pairing dictate its classification. I then had three months to “complete” each season, finding opportunities to consume the 10 wines alongside the prescribed pairings (whether cooked myself or via takeout). Tap through here for Instagram story highlights from my Year in Italian Wine.
Enclosed below was my final syllabus, listed geographically, from north to south, clockwise.
THE SYLLABUS
/ 2022, A Year in Italian Wine /
VALLE D’AOSTA (Aosta Valley)
gnocchi with mountain herbs (Prié Blanc)
cotoletta alla Valdostana (Fumin / Syrah)
PIEMONTE (Piedmont)
brasato al Barolo (Nebbiolo/Vespolina)
Peking-style duck (Freisa)
LIGURIA (Liguria)
campanelle alla pesto Genovese (Rossese)
pan-roasted black bass with herb butter (Mataòssu)
LOMBARDIA (Lombardy)
linguine alfredo with fennel & mussels (Pinot Noir [Pinot Nero] / Chardonnay)
chimichurri flatiron steak (Croatina / Barbera / Uva Rara / Ughetta di Canneto)
TRENTINO-ALTO ADIGE (Trentino Alto-Adige)
Thai duck salad (Schiava)
maccheroni alla pastora (Teroldego)
VENETO (Veneto)
spaghetti alla busara (Garganega)
Carbone-style spicy lumache alla vodka (Corvina / Corvinone / Rondinella / Molinara)
FRIULI-VENEZIA GIULIA (Friuli-Venezia Giulia)
tagliolini al prosciutto di San Daniele (Refosco / Schioppettino)
vanilla bombolone (Picolit)
EMILIA-ROMAGNA (Emilia-Romagna)
tagliatelle alla bolognese (Lambrusco)
ravioli al prosciutto en brodo (Albana)
TOSCANA (Tuscany)
herbs de Provence-crusted branzino & fingerlings (Vernaccia)
Tuscan wild boar ragù al cinghiale (Sangiovese / Canaiolo / Colorino)
UMBRIA (Umbria)
chicciole alla norcina (Sagrantino)
crab linguine with snap peas & mint (Grechetto)
MARCHE (The Marches)
gnocchi with duck ragú (Montepulciano)
ocean perch with brown butter sauce (Pecorino)
LAZIO (Latium)
sweet & spicy razor clams (Malvasia / Trebbiano)
coda alla vaccinara (Cesanese)
ABRUZZO (Abruzzo)
cavatelli with summer cherry tomato sauce (Montepulciano)
mafaldine with pea shoot-meyer lemon pesto (Passerina)
MOLISE (Molise)
Molise-style spaghetti (Trebbiano / Garganega)
New York-style pizza (Tintilia)
CAMPANIA (Campania)
Detroit-style pizza (Aglianico)
Caprese salad (Caprettone / Catalanesca)
BASLICATA (Basilicata)
spezzatino all'uva (Aglianico)
susciello (Primitivo)
PUGLIA (Apulia)
huli-huli chicken (Negroamaro)
purpu alla pignata (Uva di Troia)
CALABRIA (Calabria)
fusilli corti bucati alla pesto Calabrese (Gaglioppo / Magliocco)
red snapper with preserved citrus gremolata & fregola (Zibibbo)
SICILIA (Sicily)
Sicilian pasta with shrimp & almond cream (Carricante)
Vietnamese lemongrass BBQ shrimp (Inzolia)
SARDEGNA (Sardinia)
chicken yakitori (Grenache [Cannonau] / Carignan)
malloreddus with sausage ragú (Monica / Carignan / Bovale Sardo)
THE CODA
Thanks to A Year in Italian Wine, I’ll forever feel confident navigating the Italian selections on a restaurant wine list. Plus, the fun won’t ever stop with Italian wine, as there are hundreds of indigenous varieties left to discover.
With each wine consumed, I had drafted my caption content for @TwoBottleStef, reading up on the given region and grape(s) while collecting cool, relevant facts to append. This practice with each of those thoughtfully chosen bottles was tremendous in advancing my Italian wine education to an extent where I hadn’t needed to study the Italy material too much for the WSET Level 3 exam. The food pairing component served as sensory flashcards by remembering how the food had tasted with the wine and from where it had all come through the winemakers’ stories. It was akin to visiting a vineyard or winery of your favorite producer, where that immersion would elevate comprehension in an extraordinary way.
The next year I followed suit with A Year in Spanish Wine, concluding with an actual trip to Barcelona, Penedès, and San Sebastián. Talk about elevating experiences! This year, I changed it up with a different geographical program of study for 2024 — A Year in Alpine Wine featuring Austria, Slovenia, and Switzerland, with Liechtenstein on the side. (Stay tuned for future Substack posts on these topics.)
I haven’t a clue to where I’ll travel by bottle for 2025, but I look forward to grabbing my maps and figuring it out, one starter kit at a time.
