Living Venice

Nov 17, 2008 beyond venice, wine for all & all for wine

OK. Who hasn’t received the advice from guidebooks, and friends who are just returning from their first trip from Italy: “Drink the house wine! It’s great, and cheap!” So of course, you take this sage advice to heart and enjoy the house wine with every meal. Anything wrong with that? No, but…

That was then, this is now. House wine no longer has a mandate. So what’s changed?

Wines. Wines have changed. There is a bigger variety of better wines that cost less, especially when you can drink them in the country where they are produced, especially when they’re by a non-exporting producer. It’s a big a mistake to travel thousands of miles and not explore the non-house options, at least on occasion.

What is the difference between house and bottled wine, anyway? House wines are young, fresh, usually fruity (not sweet) and low in alcohol. They are the ideal accompaniment to panini, a quick primo between sightseeing, or anytime you are deciding between wine or an iced tea (the tea will cost more).

Sitting down to enjoy a four-course meal, though, merits drinking a wine chosen specifically to accompany it. These wines may will not be big, aged, or necessarily even famous (which too often depends more on the marketing budget than the quality of the wine). Indulging in a classic Italian meal that celebrates local cuisine is the ideal time to venture a better wine.

But how to choose? Most of us are intimidated by our lack of knowledge of wine, for a number of reasons. First, it’s not an original part of our culture. Although the U.S. (for example) produces some wonderful wines, unless you produce them yourself or are within a stone’s throw of Napa or Sonoma valleys, you probably don’t identify much with wine or winemaking. Then, there are more wines being produced all the time, all over the world, and unless it’s your business, the sheer number makes them that much more difficult to keep up with, let alone differentiate among. And, almost everything about the wine culture is confusing: the jargon, the labels, to the yet-to-be-completely-dismantled opinion that you have to have some special gift to “really” understand wine. The result? We depend on number rating to choose a wine. What does a number tell you about a wine? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. (I mean, if a wine isn’t good, why is the store where you’re shopping carrying it anyway?)

It’s only attention and experience that brings a greater wine understanding. Experience is a lot easier to come by (and costs less) when you live in a country whose wine sales not only comprise a significant percentage of the GDP, but that has been producing wine for hundreds of years.

The good news is, you don’t have to know very much to order an excellent, reasonably-priced bottiglia (or two, if you’re in a group) with your meal. Ask your server (or proprietor, or sommelier) for their recommendation…especially if it’s a place known for their wine list. Let them know what you want to spend, whether you have any preference you have as to white, red, fruity or dry, aged, or younger, higher or lower alcohol content, spumante or still (fermo), local, regional, or from anywhere. If this is a locale known for their wine list, just give them a price range and let them choose.

So is choosing the house wine a bad idea? Not necessarily…dipende. Try an appealing alternative ogni tanto…you won’t regret it.

Tcin Tcin!

Tags: wine