Okay so evening everyone welcome From uh from all the corners of the World that you’re joining from uh my Name is julia from wsct school in london Thank you for joining us this evening Uh for anyone who has not yet been to Any of our webinars we’ve been running a Series of these um while London has been under lockdown um and We’ve been unable to do our normal Series of events While that has been disappointing it’s Been great to see so many people join These So i’m so glad to see you all here again For another Um what i’m sure will be excellent Session uh with nina here on tuscany Um so i’ll pass over to nina in just a Second the only thing i’d like to say is If you can just Keep your questions until the end and We’ll try and keep an eye on those and Leave some space to answer those And the recording for this will be Available um through our website or on Youtube Afterwards that’s it from me over to you Nina Uh thank you very much julia thank you Uh hello everybody and welcome To this webinar discover tuscany Um i’m sure a few of peop a few people i Already i’ve seen a few pictures go past
And i’ve recognized a few faces so Welcome to those people who know me i Think probably a few of you have Attended some of these sessions Up at birmingham street in london and if You haven’t then Uh make that one of your places to go Next year because Some of the sessions are fantastic and For those of you abroad then I actually think they should carry on With these webinars because i think it’s Great actually to be able to To actually see some of these lectures Without having to travel several Thousand miles So um tuscany obviously uh in italy for Those of you who know me I married an italian so that’s where my Link to italy camp comes from And i actually met my husband while i Was living in tuscany so we both Spent quite a lot of time there several Years on and off in tuscany he was a Medical student and i was bombing around Europe as you do when you’re in your Early 20s And that’s where we met and we stayed There for several years and Thoroughly got to love the region of Tuscany I have many many memories of sitting Under the leaning tower of pisa Getting slightly tipsy and uh sitting in
Cafes Eating frog’s legs and drinking vin Santo and i just I just have the most glorious memories Of living in tuscany it’s And my daughter i sent her there i say Sent because she had absolutely no Option It was an absolute you’re going to have A gap year and you’re going to go to Italy And you’re going to learn to speak Italian so i sent her to We sent her i should say to florence for Her gap year And she has always said that it was just One of the most rewarding Years of her life she just loved every Single second of it So if you haven’t ever been to italy Tuscany i think is probably one of the Most visited parts of italy and it Genuinely is Stunning all the way around it’s full of Architecture and history and the most Fabulous food And of course rather a lot of good wine As well So um julie can we move on a slide Please thank you so Just starting off really because i mean I’m sure most of you know where tuscany Is but it does You know i can’t assume that so just to
Give you Just to clarify you can see italy there So tuscany is There in the sort of that blue area to The Uh west of the country Uh it goes right up to the pennine Mountains which run down the center of Italy you can see them all the way From piumonte liguria down the center of Italy all the way Down to to sicily the apennine mountains And so Many of the vineyards within tuscany Sit within the foothills of those Pennine mountains and They do have a big effect on on the Grapes that are grown there You can see the left the left map is Gives a little bit more detail On the regions that we find in tuscany And we will go into It in much much more detail obviously But i think just you can see Just from the the map how hilly it is so This Is a hilly area the whole of tuscany There’s mount small mountain ranges Throughout the whole of tuscany and These have a big Impact on the uh on the grapes that are Grown and where they’re grown But it also as you can see has rather a Large coastland so
Um not they have to say not the greatest Place to go if you are for a beach Holiday because there aren’t that many Beaches But um it has lovely cliffs and Beautiful water unless you’re too close To pisa in case The water there’s not brilliant actually But further south beautiful clean waters And lovely lovely lovely coastland There’s I think there’s some more pictures Coming up but that coastland has a big Impact Also on the grapes that are grown and The wines that are produced There so they they’re quite different The wines that are produced on the in The coastal ranges to those that have Produced Inland and i’ll talk about that if i had My glasses of wine here i’d be able to Taste them but i haven’t i’m just i did See somebody is drinking a modeling of Gansano so very nice and and a couple of People have got a brunelli montalcino so Even nicer i’m just jealous actually Right um Dude i will come back to these maps so Don’t worry too much and please if There’s a real question that you think You really need to know now then please Just pop it up there and Julia can shout it at me um right could
You move on please julia So just i look at the climate and the Soil so i’ve just mentioned it briefly Just there But it has tuscany does have a warm Mediterranean climate but especially at The coast As soon as you go inland you start to Get protection and if you look at that Map you can see that Pretty much everywhere beyond the coast There is Some kind of mountainous area which Protects The vines but it also shields the vines From the warm mediterranean air So in fact as soon as you get through Those um sort of coastal ranges It gets a little bit cooler until you Get to some steep slopes into chianti Classical where the steep slopes Then take that sun that just beats down On them However as soon as you get inland even Further and you get higher up you are Then Affected by the nighttime cold Temperatures And that obviously has an effect on the Ripening of the grapes so that really Warm temperatures during the day And cold at night more rainfall Inland on the coast it’s drier and it’s Warmer so that has an effect on the
Wines that are produced there and we’ll Talk about The grapes that are grown and the wines That are produced in those areas as we Go through this seminar Just a quick look at soils i know some People love soil some people Just can’t be bothered with them but i Just i love soil and galestro is the Main The important soil that we talk about we Talk about the soils of chianti classico You find it throughout the whole of Tuscany but it has little spots of it Galestro And alvarez that calcareous The soil in that bottom right hand Picture Basically most of tuscany has these free Draining soils which are great in fact For Uh for grape growing they the perhaps One that is a little bit Different is the soils that you find on The maremma Which is the coastal ranges so right Actually on the coast Going down to the sea there is clay and Gravel and in fact We’ll talk about it more later but that Clay and gravel is very similar to the Kind of soils you would find in Somewhere like bordeaux Which is why in in the marina we have a
Lot of the bordeaux international Varieties grow there Because they suit those clay gravel Soils San gioveso which is the main great for In tuscany Isn’t that happy on that clay soil so That’s one reason Why it doesn’t grow there’s quite so Much but again We’ll we’ll look at that in more detail A little bit Further on uh julia thank you So this i had to put this up here Because anybody who Who knows me knows that um i like to eat As much as i like to drink and whenever You whenever you teach about the wines Of italy And in fact anywhere pretty much all the Old world countries but i kind of find The Italians it’s more important culture and Food Is just as important if not more so wine Comes second First comes food that is the main thing And the culture Wherever you are in italy has affected Over Millennia if you like the foods that They grow there And the foods that are that are grown They’re produced there will affect the
Grapes which are then grown because they Have been Designed over centuries to to Match the foods that you eat and it’s no Accident you know that the Sandro is tannic you know if it wasn’t a Tannic red grape it wouldn’t go Anywhere near as well with that wild Ball Or with that bistek of fiorendina so you You can see how that would work so Beautifully Mushrooms truffles the flavors the Strong flavors that you get in tuscan Cuisine Just work so beautifully with the grapes Which are grown In tuscany and you find that everywhere In italy Also the the just the history of of Tuscany there’s a lot of nobility There’s a lot of Ancient wealth and it’s a lot of those Noble families which were those that Invested In the vineyard in a lot of what has Happened in the vineyard Over the last couple of centuries has Been promoted by those noble families so It’s In your way you can say it’s no accident That tuscany has been successful as a Wine region Because of its history because of its
Culture and Just having a look at that you’ve got That okay i don’t know how many you’ve Had A beast called florentina that’s that Big enormous Thick steak which is cooked on a really High heat Still almost raw in the middle and then Just left to rest in its own juices and Then Sliced downwards and so oh i can’t Explain how good that actually is And the flavors of wild boar the last Time i was in Tuscany i was in siena and we had a Plate of pasta with a Wild boar ragu with a bottle of chianti Classico and i can I swear that that is just got to be one Of the most divine I can still remember what the food Looked like on the plate because it left Such an Impression on me and the wine those kind Of things i think they’re just as Important as the wine that you drink And porcini mushrooms obviously you know The flavors they match and they just Lend themselves so beautifully To the cuisine although i have to admit Those porcini are actually From farnam so but in surrey in england But um i know i can’t tell you where
They i picked them because Because there are too many of you to Kill in one go so um i can’t tell you Where i got them But uh the flavors of those mushrooms Along With tuscan wines is just perfection They do go rather well with Wines from other places as well but i Just have to I always have to bring this up because i Just think if you understand a bit about The culture of a region And you understand a bit about the food And the flavors you would expect to get It just makes so much more sense when You taste those wines And italy almost without exception the Wines Are drunk to go with food and here in Tuscany out there almost more so because Something like sangria is the main red Grape the acidity levels the tannin Levels in there Without food it just doesn’t work so Well so When you’re for those of you that are Tasting you’ve got a glass of something If you can i would recommend that just Grabbing a little piece of Meat or cheese or something umami or Something especially a bit of protein And you’ll just see how that changes Immediately the flavors of the wine
Especially the tannins The protein and the tannins just work Together and it just changes Everything so i would definitely Recommend that you try and do that and Sorry you’re always all going to be Absolutely raving this by the end of This Session if you haven’t eaten already Okay um julia please Thank you right so um just we’ve got to Talk about the tuscan whites Because they’re important although i Think most people when they think of Tuscany they do think Of red wine and quite rightly so because The white production is really quite Small in comparison But i wanted to bring up two in Particular because I think a undervalued a lot of people Don’t Have never heard of the first one the Vernacular Um but i just think if you know Everybody drinks the same thing Not everybody because you’re a wine Lover so you probably actually have a Very Diverse cellar or you drink lots of Different wines but It’s amazing how many people if you ask Them have they ever heard of a vernacha Di san gimignano they’ll say
No you know because it’s a small Quantity of wine and in fact it’s also It’s decreasing as well I think it’s quite sad it’s decreasing It’s because they’re harder to sell so If you happen to own a vineyard covered In dead nacho grapes And you can sell them you can sell that Wine for so much So many euros a bottle but you can get An extra five euros per bottle if you Make candy then you kind of you can’t You know you Why grow it i suppose but i think it’s a Shame and i think uh If you’ve never had the nacho de san Gimignano this is homework i’m setting You Um you need to find one and taste it Because they It’s it’s a very interesting great it’s Not like anything else really but nacho It has a It says classic fresh italian acidity It can sometimes be even slightly meaty So it actually goes well Also with meat rather than just with Fish you can have it with vegetarian Meals it goes really well But it always has this slight bitterness To it and it has quite a nice a good Mouth Feel so it’s not i don’t really know Ever how what to compare it with there’s
Another great variety But i think it’s definitely one to try Somebody drinking one Somebody said i can’t read the little Things about the glasses Oh yeah so yeah the vermentino so the The next development you know this Now this is a little bit of a personal Opinion so Um everybody has everybody likes Different things i love Fermenting it is definitely at the Moment one of my favorite grape Varieties And uh and i think i i see it as being a Future grape that we Will all be drinking in large quantities If i’d done this presentation 10 years ago that probably wouldn’t have Been on this slide because it’s a Relatively recent Uh a recent advance that vedimentino has Started to be grown more and more in Tuscany And it’s good actually because without The nature you take away that nacho And the only other great white grape That was grown in any Quantity was malvasia and trebianos As as i’ve noted there i think i don’t Really need to do anything else it’s Just it’s useful for for making brandy That’s not clearly anything else Um but uh i’ve got a noise there julie
Have you got something Okay uh vermentino on the other hand It’s just the most beautiful grape it Gra It ranges from really quite light and Zesty right through to something With almost an oily texture to it lovely Mouth Feel citrus almonds peaches Pears it can be a really quite Delightful Grape and it’s growing in popularity in Tuscany Especially on the marima especially on The coast And if you think about it that does make Sense because vermentino is most famous Perhaps In in sardinia where there’s a lot of Vermentino grown in sardinia and again Another piece of homework for you try a Vermentino from sardinia Obviously try one from tuscany but it’s Still there’s not a huge amount of it Being exported yet but i believe it will Get There will be more and more also in Tuscany It’s a lot of the top producers that Have taken it on so we’re finding a lot Of the top chianti classical producers Are a lot of the uh the tuscan um Uh the tuscan producers at the coast are Making venomentino
And unfortunately because they are this Is with the big boys and the big girls If you like These wines can be really quite pricey So they’re not exactly accessible to Everybody So just as a trial if you want to get to Know the great bermentino then i would Suggest sardinia Piemonte it’s known as favorita longadoc Russian in france they Are starting to grow more and more of Edmentino for i think the same reason it Actually Just such a lovely great and of course In tuscany so You it is around and it’s just can you Tell i like it It’s a it’s a lovely grape so that one Homework go and try some vinematino Because it’s delicious Okay um julia please thank you Uh just a question there whether or not They differ um A little bit yes because sardinia and um Sardinia and corsica They’ve been growing vermentino for Centuries and so Very much you can go in range from Styles from Very very light and easy easy drinking Right up to some extremely important Vegement gino In tuscany like i said it’s very much
Being grown by Some of those important producers on the Coast and so the styles are really quite Luscious So a little bit bigger but as as it Becomes much More of a popular grape i think we will Start to see it Being grown in a much more easy drinking Style in tuscany as As it becomes more and more popular Right so Moving on to to chianti and Uh as you can see i’ve got candy roofing Out there cadmignano There’s a lot of information on this Page so please feel free to go back and Have a look at it another time But just to uh just to sort of clarify Things a little bit Canty’s obviously the main producer of Red wine In tuscany it’s it’s huge now i’m i’m Going to give you some information about Chianti and chianti classical Um several times over i should imagine Because I don’t know how many of you have drunk Yante classical regularly Or chianti regularly in the last 20 Years but those of you Who have sort of maybe my age or even Older Will probably remember chianti in these
Bottles with a straw With the strawberry believe it or not They’re actually coming back again i’m Starting to see them for sale again Which i think is bizarre because it must Be very very difficult to produce but um They did go through a period when the Quality Of chianti and also the quality of the Canticas classical i think there’s no Point in pretending Was really well rustic and Rough were definitely words which often Came up When you talked about chianti and clones Of chianti classical there was very Definitely A movement amongst chianti producers to Produce Quantity over quality and quite rightly In many respects Because it was it was sold all over the World Millions and millions and millions of Bottles of chianti and chianti classico Were sold all over the world So it was a case of you had to grow a Particular vine which would produce A large amount of grapes because every Single bottle you made You could sell it now this is something That has changed Dramatically i cannot express enough how Much this has changed
And i’ll explain it to you more on the Next page but there’s the change of Quality In tuscany with chianti and chianti Classical is just Outstanding it’s actually really hard Now To pick up a bottle of chianti even a Bottle you pay you’ve walked into a cafe In in florence or anywhere and sat down And you’ve got a carafe of chianti And it’s absolutely there’s nothing Wrong with it You can’t say oh my god this is rough And it’s rough as old boots It’s just not they’re just genuinely Well made The fruit is different the way the Producers are making them is different The quality of the grape is different The whole Just everything is different so by when You finish this webinar Your next bit of homework and i promise I won’t give you any more than this Is to just go out and try lots of Different counties because you will be Genuinely surprised how well made they Are even at the lower price points Compared to perhaps especially if you’re Older like me that What you remember because those days i Trust me they are well and truly gone It’s really quite hard
To get those kind of wines anymore now One of the things That happens to change that is um Is what is the chianti classic of 2000 Projects now i’m going to go into that A bit more on the next slide but it has Changed the quality of the fruit that’s Going into these grapes Has sort of like trickled down through The whole system It used to be that you want you needed To make as much fruit as you could Possibly could to make a chianti Now they the consortium of chianti has Made has Got much stricter regulations the yield Has been reduced The um amount of grapes that can go into It it’s now 70 percent sandra basic Up to 100 it used to be you couldn’t Have more than 70 percent Sanjavosa in the blend and you had to Uh back in in the beginning when canty Classically became a doc Had to have some white grape in there There was all sorts of things Like the um um the method of producing It Has changed everything about it has Changed these days you can stick pretty Much anything in it Up to sort of um twenty twenty percent Cabernet sauvignon cabernet franc Melo tempranillo anything you want there
Are 40 recognized varieties that you’re Allowed to put in there A couple of them which are quite Important well i think they’re important Er er one of them is kanaya lonero so This is a grape which was Again used for it’s a local grape it’s a Tuscan grape And it was always seen as just as a bit Of a workhorse But in fact if sanjavasa is grown well And it’s grown with quality in mind you End up with a grape which has good Structure Good tannin and good fruit now the only Problem with a Grape which has really good structure And good tannin is sometimes they can be A bit hard and firm Now kaneola is the opposite if you could Almost say it’s like The blend that you would have cabernet Sauvignon and mellow in Bordeaux the the mellow takes the edges Off the cabernet sauvignon rounds the Wine out Kamayana does exactly that so We’ve seen an increase in the last Couple of decades in Tuscany with planting of canaiolonero And being blended more and more with san Giovese so And we’ve actually seen although you’re Allowed to use all these international
Varieties We’ve started to see a lot of producers Growing more of the local varieties And stopping growing cabernet sauvignon And mellow and cabernet franc and Cinnamon et cetera And actually putting going back to Canaiolo and another one called colorina Which gives A little bit of color and a little bit Of finesse to the wine so it’s just It’s just really interesting to see how Things have changed And just that little bit of canaiolo it Just softens off the The um the chianti uh just a note there That the chianti has several subzones And they’re all good genuinely they are All good Uh some of them are better than others Because of where they sit within within The region And the one which for me stands out is Cantirofina so that If you can see on that map on there Roofing is that Dark purple little dot in the top right Hand Corner area of chianti so you’ve got the Frog like shaped Area that’s the one thank you julia so And what’s special about roofina is you Can see how far Inland it is so we’re right up into the
Apennine mountains here right up into The foothills So relatively high altitude far away as Far as you can get From the influence of the warm air Coming from the sea Also this these slopes here are really Quite steep So during the day the vineyards take Some really a beating from the sun but At night time The temperatures drop like a stone so That big journal temperature variation Slows the ripening down of the of the Grape and you end up with Quite a different impression of Um expression of sangiovesa than you do From other parts of chianti The wine has an elegance to it it has Quite Firm tannins so in fact these wines Often lend themselves to a little bit of Aging But they also have this most Extraordinary aromas that you get in Canteen it has this beautiful Violet roses kind of nose something An elegant that’s how i would describe Them for me Uh people who know know that i like Tuscan wines I i’m a real chianti roofing a fan i Just find The elegant side of them is just exactly
Where i like to have my wine sit They always but they always have this Fabulous tuscan bite to them as well It’s just that Yeah i like it it’s really good and The other one to note here and um this Is not a chianti It’s carmignano now has anybody had Coming in it’s one of those Used to be quite popular several years Ago and i think it’s a shame that it’s Fallen out of favor a little bit i don’t Know why Maybe because the quantity the Production is really really tiny But this is another one that you should Hunt out because these wines can be Absolutely stunning from the top Producers and there aren’t many Producers because it’s such a tiny area But the wines can be genuinely stunning They have to have some cabernet Sauvignon or frank in them that’s kind Of the law And you think well why is that it’s Because Cabernet sauvignon in carmignana is not A new grape It’s actually been growing there for About five centuries So it’s it’s a it sits there very very Comfortably Probably a slightly different clone to The that you would find up in bordeaux
But it is an old great tuscany cabernet So they’ve been for you know for Centuries they have been practicing how To blend San jose with cabernet sauvignon and They do it extremely well And if you’ve got a special dinner Coming up and you want to Put something a little bit special on The table but don’t want to pay super Tuscan prices Or or sort of like a gran seleccione Chianti classico then i would say this Is very definitely The one that you should try because they Can be absolutely stunning Um julia could you move on please thank You So county glass you got okay for me Uh tuscany county classical i just love It Um people often say to me Uh they often ask me if you were you Know what’s your use of Your um treasure island wine you know if You had to If you had something what would you have And i say you know i’d probably have a Chianti classico i just Um i love the grip That you get from a good quality Sandwiche and the bite That you get from it and the fruit And the tannin and the length and its
Ability to match with food i just think It is I just think it’s really good and the Fabulous thing about it also is the Improvement the difference between Chianti classic and now to how it was 15 20 years ago certainly there have Always been some Extremely fine producers of chianti Classico but they were A minority whereas things have Changed enormously just like yanti used To have A maximum amount of sun your asset and That has changed You can now up to have a hundred percent Sundress in the blend A lot of producers do that now because They consider it to be a high quality Grape whereas perhaps before it was Always seen as being A little bit of touch and go you’re Never quite sure why And the reason for this is because Sandra as a great variety Mutates enormously constantly So a little bit like for those of you Who your burgundy lovers amongst you In the same way that pinot noir mutates Constantly Sanjivasa mutates so throughout the Whole of tuscany There are hundreds and hundreds of Different clones of sanjovese
And if you consider that over centuries Throughout the Chianti classic of vineyards there are Hundreds of different clones of san Diego Now throughout the whole of tuscany so For example we’re Talking about somebody drinking brunello Brunello is a clone of sanjay Somebody who’s drinking the moraline of This ganzano morelino is a clone of san Jose Uh if you are having a vino nobele from Montebolciona it is a different clone of Sangiovese called Gentile so wherever you are there are Different clones which have developed Over centuries Now what happened in chianti classico is That it there came a point And this is perhaps down to the advent Of the super tuscan which had this Effect on the chianti classical region There came a point when they appreciated That some producers Were making superb chianti classico and Yet down the road The wine was shocking so it was a case Of we need to do something so With government funding they had Uh decided to start a project to find Out which were the finest of those Chianti classical clones So they it started in 1988
And it took hundreds and hundreds of Clones of Of san gibease from the whole of the Region planted on Several different sites with different Aspects on different soils Over several years 16 years of trial and Error Using them in wineries to see how they Would react what would happen during Fermentation etc How they developed after the first two Three years of life and so you started To see which Clones worked best so each Winery could actually say by 2000 I have this southeast facing vineyard On albarezza soil it’s at this altitude Which is going to be the best clone for Me and they could choose So there are about 10 top clones which Came out which were considered to be The highest highest quality and since 2000 Almost 80 percent of chianti classical Vineyards have been replanted So with the the difference in quality From when we were looking 20 30 years ago to now because of course Those vineyards which were being planted Between 2000 And say 2010 those vines are now Maturing The fruit is now at a much higher
Quality So within the last five years we’ve Really started to see You know vines with deeper roots and We’ve started to see this extraordinary Quality coming out of piano classical It’s been quite stunning The difference in quality throughout the Whole region So this and this of course has had an Effect On not just on chianti classical but Also in chianti because of course the Chianti producers outside of the Classical region have said Well we’ll have some of that and uh so It’s it’s spread and it has been truly Truly stunning So yeah okay i’m not trying not to make Give you too much homework But uh what rather than homework i would Say those Amongst you who are genuinely the kind Of people who like to lay wine down if You’re a bordeaux lover or a burgundy Lover and you like to buy The special the really top end rioja I would say start buying chianti Classico and Buy them from good producers and lay Them down for a little while the reason I say that is because Already we’ve started to see a height in Price as people have started to
Appreciate Avis has cost people a lot of money to Replant their vineyards so they’re Having got to get that money back But also the quality difference you can Genuinely Sell these wines for a lot more than we Used to sell them so I would say buy them now because they’re Only going to go up In price from these top producers these Superb Top-end candy classicals are going to be Really worth it when you open them 10 00 5 10 years time so trust me Go out and buy some and on that note Just having a look at Uh the levels of chianti plastic that You have there Just as a note the reserva wines have Have a little bit more time in wood And gran selezione you may not have Heard of gran seleccione this is a Relatively new Um level of chianti classico and it was It’s it was when the chianti classical Producers said look we have a particular Vineyard Which is better than somebody else’s Particular vineyard even after the The 2000 project it’s special so it’s Almost like Moving towards a crew system and maybe That will come in time that they will
Be they’ll become a crew level but gran Selezione is very definitely Um it’s it’s a It’s been brought in to say these these Grapes come from a single vineyard From a single winery they’ve been made Purely and sold In that winery from the top level grapes In that winery so you can be guaranteed And And they are genuinely i haven’t had one That hasn’t been superb yet Genuinely superb quality wines and these Are wines that you could definitely Invest in And put them away for six 10 15 years And you will get so much back from them They are genuinely the quality is Superb and just a little note on that um Today’s candy classico classicos are Very Different to how they used to be and so You will You will be genuinely surprised if you Haven’t been drinking them for the last Few years Uh julia thank you uh nina just a few People wanted Some recommendations for producers yeah I suppose yeah i mean oh frankie i mean There are a lot of them now I suppose one that always springs to Mind for me is fontadi The vineyard you see in front of you i
Think is actually panzano which is an Area within gravey Uh which is considered like the golden Michelle and it sits in this little Amphitheater of vineyards and fontory’s Classical Is certainly one i would i would go for Um Uh oh crikey well and um antinori makes Beautiful chianti club and All of them i i can’t i can’t stress it Enough It really is really difficult to buy Chianti classic and not be Thoroughly happy with what you have um Yeah yeah it would just take me too long To Name them all honestly just have a look Uh Be guided a little bit like buy prices Suppose because there are some cups but Even the co-ops The quality is really good it’s it’s the Bad stuff is well and truly It’s gone okay trust me and if it hasn’t You can Shout at me later Right so uh just a a a few words on vino Navila Uh vino nobody multiple channel Not to be confused with multiple Channels Because a lot of people do confuse these Two
Multiple channels here is the town Montable channel it sits on a hill you Can see that photograph in the Bottom right hand corner it’s quite Beautiful so it’s definitely one worth Visiting multiple channel the great Is multiple channels so they have no Connection Whatsoever okay so monte balcheon is a Great variety Grown in abruzzo which is on the eastern Coast of italy And this is multiple channel being the Town okay Now again sanjavasa is the main great Here it’s known the clone is cruniola Gentile Having said that i have seen over the Last few years Um a little bit of movement here because Uh after what happened in chianti Classical a lot of the Uh vino naberle producers said well um You know those grapes Are such high quality we’re going to Have some of those so it’s a little bit Uh There has been a bit of movement here to The to the clone and Perhaps not all of them are pruniola Gentile anymore We’ll see what happens this is going to Be an interesting area to watch over the Next couple of decades and how they
React to what happened in chianti Classico That’s that lovely soft grape which sort Of softens off the edges And that mama is quite important here is A great you please don’t have feel you Need to remember these but it does Uh mamolo is a has a lovely violet uh Aroma to it and it’s something that you Often pick up when you Taste the vino noble it has this lovely Like um Floral but often quite herby as well the Wines here In vienna normally i i have to say that I love the university the multiple Channel but one thing that i’ve found Recently in the last few years as people Have started to move a little bit Towards Modern wine making and introducing French banite I prefer it without i just think the Grape Itself shows itself so much better and Actually this applies To chianti classico as well i personally And this is a personal opinion I prefer my saint gervais without new Oak Unless you’re planning to leave it for Several several years of aging when the Oak has time To integrate but i just think the
Aromatics that you get in san diego And the beautiful cherry aromas that you Get i just find that they can Be overpowered by by new oak and Unless you unless they have extremely Intense wines and they’ve got Years and years of aging on them i Personally prefer Those traditionalists that use nobody Could all and they use the big Big italian oak body which is this huge Great big barrels With usually old wood i just think and i Know this is a personal opinion and some People are modernists and some people Are Traditionalists but i’d be lying if i Said I like those as much because i don’t Really um But we’ll see we’ll see what changes i Suspect that over time that A lot of producers will actually sort of In fact i know this has already happened Where People started using barik and then have Actually started using less and less As they start to appreciate that as the Quality of fruit goes up you don’t need To have an oak barrel to lend something To it actually the fruit just speaks for Itself And interestingly in vienna nobody Relatively recently there has been a map
Of soils produced So there was a lot of research done here And there’s now a map i think you could Probably get it on the consortium on the Consortium’s website i think And they’re planning to use that map To actually not bringing a crew system Into vienna novella but to help Consumers understand the difference Between the The different areas of vino novella but This is very new So you won’t really you won’t see it Much at the moment but it’ll be Interesting to see how that develops Over the next couple of decades and how You’ll see different wines coming out of Different Areas and why that is because it wasn’t Really looked into before So i think that’s quite exciting uh Just a little note on ross at the bottom There uh vino nogale can be quite Expensive Um and rosso can be really good and Especially uh From slightly less vintages when perhaps Good producers have downgraded Their noble grapes they just think okay It’s not such a great vintage so i’ll Just i’ll put this in the rosso And it’s a great it’s a great restaurant Wine rusty multiple channel Thank you julian
Okay brunello i know that a few of you There Are drinking brunetti montalcino so well Done Very nice Actually that’s quite shocking that i Haven’t got one here actually I was just saying to julia before i Started that uh I popped down to my cellar and just to Pull out a few bottles interesting Bottles from um [Music] From the seller from tuscany and was Quite disappointed by how Few i actually had down there i didn’t Got no Uh down there which is so if anybody I’ll tell you my birthday’s in november Uh it is Stunning stunning wines and when we do These tastings In um at burmese street I always include a brunello in the Tasting and it they Never fail to impress completely Uh you wonder how they can be so Completely different even Even the top chianti classico gran Selezione and some of the super tuscans There’s something about brunello which Is just uh it just Always that everybody is always stunned By the flavors and
And the structure and the elegance of These wines And uh for those of you i’m not sure if Anybody amongst you has ever attended But one of the tastings that we do at Wsct at birmingham street is uh An italian icons tasting and in that Tasting we always include beyond Desantis uh brunei montalcino because Beyond asante was the starter he started The whole Brunello di montalcina story everything Came from him And this again comes down to the clone Of brunello Which is a sangiovese clone he noticed Um Clementine on his hand he noticed that In his vineyard he had particular A particular area of vines which had This very small Uh little grape with a thick skin and Quite and he When he actually made wine out of those Particularly and left out The other vines that they gave this Extraordinary flavor and intensity Of flavor that he didn’t have from his Other vines so he pulled up the rest of His vines and he He he spread those particular Vines throughout the rest of his Vineyard so he reproduced them He’d use them as a selection and
Reproduce them so he just Had this particular clone and that’s Where brunello comes from So he that was then from there on it Grew And hit from the very beginning he put a Lot of work into this And to this day they still the uh beyond Asante family still are doing Uh clonal selection and to the point Where they still are trying to keep That original brunello clone which i Think is now Okay there might be somebody there who Might um tell me are wrong here but i Think it’s called brunello 11 or Something It’s a particular clone which uh he they Have managed to Work out is the original one from when He started And uh the wonderful thing about Beyond sandy is is the elegance Of the brunello wines many other Brunella producers Over the years still using the brunella Clone obviously you have to Have modernized the wines there’s newer Being introduced Uh different parts of the whole region So if you’re in the southern area of Brunello it’s a little bit warmer And so those wines show slightly Differently to the northern part or
Where Often some of the producers will blend Granola from the eastern side from the With the northern side etc so there are Differences Um and people do have preferences some Love The modernist style some with the new Oak Some love the traditional style without Any oak at all A little bit more aging in some of them Are released many many years later So that there are huge differences here But i think um One of the wonderful things about it and I and i got that clip down in the bottom Left hand corner I just think it describes it i think if I could try to describe brunello i Wouldn’t do it so well and i just love This intense persistent ample and Ethereal I think that just describes it so so Well And that’s sort of the sense of Undergrowth aromatic wood Berries light blue it’s just elegant Harmonious Vigorous and racy it always has that Fantastic Tuscan bite to it i just it’s beautiful Unfortunately now they They are the money is going up and they
Are now really quite expensive Grenelli montalcino so it is a special Occasion wine They are extremely good they have over The years been several attempts To introduce other varieties so for Example in chianti classico now in vino Nabala you can use Up to twenty percent of an individual Thirty percent Other varieties and uh they’ve tried to Do this in brunello And several producers are still fighting We want to be able to use a bit of Cabernet sauvignon a little bit of melon Syrup whatever But every year they fail and they’re not Allowed now You’ll see that little note down there In the right hand corner of the screen But brunello gates there was a period Um in the 80s where very definitely In the 90s sorry where very definitely We saw lots of brunell of the montoccino Was Much much darker and much more intense And flavorsome in different ways than it Used to be And and initially i think it was put Down to you know modern wine making and Maybe the way you were treating the Vines in the vineyards but eventually It was just worked out actually they Were just adding other grapes in there
To the point where some producers Decided okay enough We need to do something about this and There was um what you call it a scandal And you know all the every single bottle Was actually tested in in that vintage And a lot of them got into a lot of Trouble And if you were very lucky and you Happened to buy the toscana igt Which resulted from that scandal you Will have bought it for a lot less than You Would have paid for your brunella and it Would have still been extremely good But to this day you’re not allowed to Include any other great variety it is 100 Sanjay say brunello in in the wine Although there are I do hear rumors occasionally that there Are still the odd producer that sneaks a Little bit There you go for those of you that are Drinking your brunello how is it Just a couple of notes would be quite Nice Uh julie if you want to move on thank You So this is um moving on to the tuscan Coast So for those you know i was describing Actually can you just go back Um a slide please julia i just forgot to
Mention something actually Um one of the reasons i just wanted to For the students amongst you one of the Reasons why brunella The grapes are riper and more intense Than Other parts of tuscany is to do with Where it sits it’s geographical Situation So um julie can you just move on and Slide again So you see the map there i mean i’ve got Everybody’s faces in front of it Actually but i’m just going to try and Remember what it’s behind your faces On that map there you can see that every Single part of tuscany the tuscan Vineyard Is protected from any influence from the Sea Apart from the tuscan coast and apart From brunello di montalcina So if you look at montalcino you can see That there is a gap That runs from the coast through a Valley Up to the town of montalcino can you see That And that is the warm air coming in from The sea is the only part Of tuscany where that warm air actually Gets through And that has a massive effect on the Ripening of the grapes
So they it is warmer and drier there Than it is in pretty much the whole Other part Of tuscany apart from on the actual Coast itself does that make sense Okay julia sorry move on thank you oh no Don’t move on because we’re on the right We’re on the right page So we’re in on the maremma and modeling So uh talking about marima this is a new Area Okay so you if you’ve never heard of Marimba and you’ve never heard of um Of moralini it’s because this is new and Marelino is not new it’s not a it’s not A new area But it’s relatively new to uh to the Wine trade in that It was these wines were grown locally They were drunk locally There has been recent interests by the Rest of the world And that’s mainly because of the tuscan Coast so the tuscany The phenomenon of the tuscan coast Started with the super tuscan Sasikaya for anybody who doesn’t know What sasuke it looks like that Yes i know you can’t have any it’s mine Give it a nice stroke so everything Started with sassy kaya in sanguida The estate at sangrida and it basically Alerted everybody to the fact you could Actually grow grapes and make good wine
On the tuscan coast And since then it has just spread like Wildfire so that whole area Running down from bulgaria down to Rosetta is now A lot of it there are vineyards whereas Before you would have seen Strawberry fields you would have seen um Peach trees and you would have seen Cowboys another i know that Sounds a bit daft but and that picture Of those cowboys is real And uh the um the the cowboys of the Tuscan coast are a very real thing They’re Still mostly cattle there’s a lot of Cattle on the tuscan coast and it is Still Mostly herded by cowboys so that’s not a Joke it is a real thing So a lot of that area is still there’s a Lot still a lot of cattle but there has Been A lot more movement to planting grapes Here now the difference is The climate here is very different To the climate that you find inland so Where You have that protection from the warmth Inland here it’s too warm Really for sanjavuzi at least it’s too Warm for san jose that is grown in Chianti Or in chianti classico it just the grape
Variety just Loses everything it becomes flabby it Loses its fruit Apart from morelino Again but it’s been there for centuries So over centuries it has Changed and it has mutated to the point Where it is very happy To grow in the warm climate of the Tuscan coast However in since since sasikaya A lot of producers tried growing san Diego on the tuscan coast and it just Doesn’t work So in fact most of the vineyards on the Tuscan coast on the marema Are international varieties so cabernet Sauvignon cabernet franc Mellow although in fact recently i think A lot of producers have decided that It’s a bit too warm For high quality mellow again the melo Loses its structure Loses its acidity it just isn’t as good As it perhaps it could be So it is cabernet sauvignon frog siddha Other international varieties and in Fact one of the things i was going to Ask you guys If anybody’s been there recently and Seen any really interesting grapes Are being planted there i’d love to know Because i haven’t been to the marimba For a few years so
It’s just one of those i just find that Very interesting so do put that down There i’d be interested But it’s it’s a very beautiful part of Tuscany and it’s Very interesting and very new so as yet We don’t really know what’s going to Work there Best apart from obviously cabernet Sauvignon and cabernet franc And melo works in certain places siddha Cabinet Um kevin frank obviously so these are What that’s what we’re looking at here And they Are very beautiful and often very Expensive so Good luck with trying those for homework Um Okay let’s um let’s move on please julia So this is the bit where we um again Like i mentioned that we do the Italian icons tasting in wct If you get a chance do come along i prom I choose some of the most beautiful Wines Made in italy and i have great fun in Choosing them And we will always have one or two super Tuscans in there This is the home of the super tuscan so That’s bulgari the town of bulgari Is where it originated with sasikaya so That’s where it all started
Since then of course there’s been a lot Of producers have started planting Grapes there so it now has its own doc Bulgari superior has a little bit more Time in wood And bulgaria is the only appalachian in Italy which just has one wine So bulgari sasika is just Sasikaya there’s nothing else comes Under the bulgaria Appellation just that one and uh i can Say that um There are a few producers here which Were already producing wine when sassy Kaya was growing was Was uh becoming famous who at the time Had very little um very little Nobody knew anything about them nobody Wrote anything about them and If you were very lucky back then you Bought some of those wines And uh and you put them in your cellar Because they’re now selling for Rather large amounts of money i remember Back in I can’t remember the year exactly but i Think it was probably 1991 so uh quite a long time ago We were living in pisa and my uh at the Time my boyfriend and i my My now husband went to sasikaya we Wanted to go to tenutosanguido which is The home of satsikaya and to try some Sausage so of course
Being completely having no idea what to Expect we just Turned up outside sassikai’s gates and Rang the bell And not surprisingly got absolutely no No answer at all Uh yeah they didn’t even answer and say Hello or anything so we just Felt we were slightly disappointed and Back then by the way you could buy Sasikaya for A lot less than it is now i think we did Buy some at that time and i think we Paid the equivalent of around about Um 15 pounds maybe 15 euros a bottle Something like that for it So yes things have changed slightly uh But on that particular day when Uh didn’t answer the uh answer the door Um we just walked around the corner Slightly disappointed and came across A little winery called gratamako which Was just around the corner from chinook Sanguida and there was a lady standing Outside the door Of this little of this little um winery And we just sort of said oh do you make Wine You know you connected and they said oh Yes we do we make a We make a a blend called gratamaco and We said oh so we tasted this and We bought some and we put it in our Cellar and several years later
I swear to god it was absolutely Stunning so um Yeah i think we probably paid about five Pounds for his bottle so in those days That was definitely The best thing to do is to buy wines From areas which are growing And getting better uh so you know a Lovely story i like that one Uh so just uh just like you said you can See there international varieties Sasikai is the big boy odnelaya of Course is another one that is huge here And i’ve got some other producers down There on the right There’s been interest from uh Producers in pumante from other parts of The world who bought Land here in bulgaria in bulgaria Superior To make wine because this is you know It’s huge now these wines are Almost as important as any other wines In in the rest of italy Um thank you julia And uh just to like clarify that That whole thing really the super tuscan And if you think back to the beginning Of this webinar when i was saying about How chianti has changed and And how chianti classico has changed you Could almost put it down to a lot of it Back back to what happened here with the Super tuscan
It changed the face of the italian wine Industry not just Italy but it also had an effect on the European wine industry Because rules are very strict everybody Did things in a certain way and had done Things in a certain way for You know generation after generation and The super tuscan changed that It changed the face of the italian wine Industry i mean We i go through this lit a little bit For you but Uh this it started off with um uh the uh Marquis and mario and cheese And it is still the inches of the rocket The family which owns tinnitusanguido Which makes sasikaya He actually had a friend who had some Cabernet sauvignon vines Not far from not far from there closer To pisa And they had noticed that of course Their soils In so in uh in bulgaria were very Different to those that you find in the Rest of tuscany That they were these clay gravelly soils And so sanjavasa just doesn’t work there So they decided for Fun apparently i don’t know how much of This is true but for fun to plant these Cabernet sauvignon vines And see what happens so they they
Planted these vines and they made their First wine in 44 and they were genuinely Quite disappointed by the results And as the story goes the wines were Left in In vats they were left in their barrels And a few years later In a family dinner they decided to have Another taste And their result of that tasting was oh My gosh That’s actually really quite good maybe We need to re-look at this And it was at that point that they Decided that they should take this Seriously that actually If this was done properly and not just For a bit of fun perhaps they could make Something really special And so they replanted their vineyards And they planted more cabernet sauvignon And some cabernet franc I think they changed the direction of Some of the vineyards and made the Vineyards larger And they also brought in giacomo takis Who at the time was perhaps the most Famous Enologist in italy and still to this day Is seen as one of the greatest Technologists Ever uh he was brought in to sort of Manage Making the wine and when that wine was
Released Everybody just went mad they they Couldn’t believe how amazing this wine Was But what was special about it perhaps More than anything was it went against Regulation So it was cabernet sauvignon in italy You know that’s And cabernet franc and that in in italy Going against This of tradition is it’s difficult for People to To accept at the same time or very very Close to that Piero antinori from the big antenari Winemaking family Released a hundred percent tinianello 100 San giovese now tinanello is a vineyard In chianti classico so You’re not allowed back then to make a Hundred percent sandra because it wasn’t It was outside the regulations so both This sassy gaia wine And the tinianello and several other Chianti classical producers at the time Did the same thing Saw what had happened and appreciated That they had High quality vineyards and actually Blending them with With colorino and white grape varieties Um um that horrible white grape variety
That uh trebiano toscano and things like That Just made the wines worth so removing Those and actually making hundred Percent San jose they produced these amazing Wines but of course because they were Outside of regulations They were table wines vinod avola so you Had Wines which were considered to be the Best wine in italy And then these table wines which were The best wines in italy So it was a it went against the grain Everybody jumped on the bandwagon The all the good producers started Making things Outside of regulation to a point Uh in 1978 uh sasikaya Was in a blind tasting in london which Had some of the At the time some of the finest wine Judges in the world and it was a Cabernet sauvignon Tasting of about 33 wines if i remember Rightly And um uh sasikaya won now nobody had Ever heard of it for a start And b that was the beginning of if you Like the super tuscan Phenomenon from that point people Started to pay big money and You ended up paying more for a vinod
Pavla From italy than what was considered to Be italy’s fame You know most finest famous wines so That’s where the super tuscan phenomenon Started Everybody started to go against the Grain new wood was being Brought in different grape varieties Basically it was almost like a I’m just going to i’m not going to Follow regulations because i’ll make More money if i don’t So it did kind of make sense and even to This day Most top anti-classical producers Produce a super tuscan Even though they don’t have to because Since then what happens Is chianti classico and and chianti and Several of the other regions Change their regulations to allow these Producers to use Those grapes that they wanted to use They allowed them to have a hundred Percent san diego So you’ll now have a chianti classical Producer who will make a chianti Classico He’ll make a gran seleccione with a Hundred percent sanjarese and he’ll make A super tuscan with eighty percent Sandra raising 20 Cabernet sauvignon and they’ll just go
Up in so still the super tuscan Will sell more than the chianti classico So they’re often there’s often a Stylistic difference the super tuscans Tend to be really quite Lush and plump and round and full and Quite international in style i say that Most of them apart from sassy kaya Sasikaya still to this day Is elegance personified it is the one of The most elegant wines you’ve ever drunk If you’ve never had any I’m sorry come to one of the tastings The icons tasting Or or i don’t know marry somebody rich Or something i don’t know make a lot of Money Because they are expensive but it’s There’s something about sasikaya Which is just it is one of the most Beautiful ones one of my favorite ones In the world absolutely okay julia sorry Thank you one more thank you but Moving on from um the super tuscans To vincent and uh without trying to make You too hungry If you were coming to this tasting in London If i was actually actually there with The wines i would have today i promise I’m not making this up I would have made some biscotti And brought them into london for you to Eat with the oven santa because it is
Just Perfection in santa and cancer It’s santa biscotti it’s just perfection Whenever you’re in Tuscany and you go for dinner so a Restaurant at the end of the meal Rather than having dessert you just have A glass of in santa with some biscotti It’s just i just think there’s nothing Better i just think it’s wonderful So the vinsanta that you find you it Grows all you It can make me santa everywhere or live Richly it’s the wine that was used um Originally in church but here in tuscany It has developed into something a little Bit more special You can get it everywhere initially Though it’s not just tuscan So here you will find that the grapes Are picked when they’re very ripe And they are either hung to dry like in That picture or some areas they will lay Them out on mats For drying and they will dry for a long Time three Three four five six months and they will Reduce In um in juice by probably about two Thirds so What you get out of your your grapes is Very very Small amount of juice compared to if They if you just made a white wine from
Them Then what they do is they put they will Cement them in uh it’s a little barrel Called They’re about this big so 50 liters Maybe 100 liters some producers but very Small And they will be made in these barrels And they’re usually just Left there so they won’t be racked they Would they won’t take them off their Leaves they’ll just leave them in the Little karate To age there sometimes for three years Four years five Ten fifteen depending on the producer And they can range in style from being Relatively dry depending on how sweet Those dry grapes were to begin with To extremely lusciously sweet and that Again Can differ depending on the vintage on The style the producer is making On the quality of the fruit they can Range From a style of being really quite fresh When i say fresh I mean without any oxidative character Right through to wines which are Completely oxidized And this again comes down to produce a Style because what’s in the Actual little barrel when they’re making The wine they’ll
Always leave a tiny bit of air at the Top a bit of olive so that the wine does Naturally oxidize some wines will have More olives than others So barrels will have more olives than Others so some of them will have a much More Oxidative character than others i Personally Like it when they’ve got a bit of Oxidative character if they’re a little Bit too fresh They taste too much like other sweet Wines and i just think when They with the cantachini with the Biscuits and you’ve got that slightly Existing Style and they just that honey and the Dried fruit and then oh Just divine so that’s another piece of Homework you can Take and um the only thing is i’ll say Here is that uh Um oh just he’s just gone out of my head Jamie oliver i’ve Um i love jamie oliver but in some ways I hate him because before he put Vincent and biscotti in his book and on His television program several years ago You could buy great bin santa at really Cheap prices but now it’s really gone up Because he’s made it really popular So thank you for that jamie i love you And hate me at the same time
Okay um i think that’s probably the only Other slide on there Is the um vintage guide which i think if You wanted to have a quick look at that You can obviously do it it’ll be on Youtube so you’ll be able to see it It is important these days the vintage Guide for Uh for the super tuscans and for um and For the top chianti classical for sure It does There are differences in vintages it Does it isn’t one of those regions where There’s no vintage difference so If you’re going to be spending if you’re Going to be investing in some of these Top wines it’s definitely worth just Checking On the vintage that you’ve got there Okay Um i think that i’ve probably talked Myself horse and bought everybody’s Senses now so i think uh julia are there Any Questions at all i’m sure there were Probably quite a few actually Um i’ll just have a little look through The first one i can see there Um was on um how the drinking time the Longevity for brunello if you have any Thoughts on that Absolutely um it depends a little bit On who the producer is because um there Are some very different differences in
Style You’ll find that uh if you if you’re Looking into it seriously if you go to Onto the consortium website there’s a Map of brunello And this southern region of brunello so The area which is a slightly warmer Those wines definitely don’t have the Same structure As some of those which are sitting on The east and the northern side of Brunello so that That’s just a note because if you’re Spending between 60 to 150 pounds It’s worth you know just noting that a Little bit if you’re planning on leaving Them The traditionalists they age absolutely Beautifully so Anything i wouldn’t open a good brunello Before it’s 10 years old To be honest i just think especially Um the traditionalists which tend to Have a little bit more structure than Perhaps the modernists do have gone for Slightly riper fruit And also the but but having said that The the modernists are often using barik So again if you go in there too early You end up with barrique Overpowering some of the fruit so it’s I’d say it’s definitely better To not go in there if you can leave it For a good ten years
And then the from the top top vintages 20 years is not a problem at all for top Brunello producers At all at all and more so just Have a bit of patience then yeah Absolutely i mean these days with modern Wine making And especially those vineyards at the Bottom the southern end which you have Ripened fruit You can drink them a bit earlier than That i think i saw somebody was drinking A 2014 brunello and I would i would expect that to be a Little bit on the young side So i would expand because at that stage The tanning will be Still really quite firm it would Definitely need That bistecca fiorentina with it which Actually would be rather lovely Yeah sorry guys just sticking with Brunello um someone’s asked whether It has to be the that particular clone Of san diego’s vanilla clone In yes it does so so The clone has it has been identified as Brunello There are several brunello clones now Because because it does Continue to mutate but they but If it’s if it loses its kind of range of Clone then it’s not Allowed so it has to be taken out so yes
It does have to be the clone brunello Yeah i think i saw a hand raised there Marianne did you have a question Um if you want to mute yourself um Please do Not sure if anyone else has a question And wants to um mute themselves Uh do go for it i’ll just um end the Recording here while we’re Finishing up