Italian wines: Poetic respect for nature’s simplicity

Italians call their wines “poems of the earth” as wines are considered the best thing that agriculture can give them. This explains how the taste of simplicity and naturality are the very traits in every drop of Italian wine.

“Italian wine means simplicity, respect for nature and for the raw materials. They smell just like their vineyards and the flowers of their grapes,” the owner of Distilleria Bottega, Sandro Bottega, passionately explained during a recent Italian wine tasting and seminar.   

Bottega is the third generation of the Italian wine distillery in Bibano, 45 kilometers north of Venice, in the heart of the Veneto region, which has a strong tradition in Italian wines and grappa production. Sandro inherited his love for wines from his grandfather, Domenico Bottega, a passionate enologist and wine trader in the 1920s.

Bottega cited the similarities between Italian wines and cuisine: “Our cuisine really appreciates raw materials. We want pasta to taste like pasta, tomato as tomato, meat as meat, cheese as cheese, fish taste [like it’s] from the sea. Not much cooking. It’s the same with Italian wines.”

Italian wines are characteristically fresh, fruity, simple, natural, light and therefore versatile. “Thus, you can drink Italian red wine with fish, while the white wine with barbecued meat and vice versa,” he said.

Seventy-five percent of Bottega’s wines are exported to more than 100 countries and have now reached Indonesia, mainly Bali and Jakarta, answering to the flourishing wine-drinking culture among Indonesians.

For Bottega’s initial market penetration into the archipelago, six wine producers have been introduced, including Italy’s most popular sparkling wine Prosecco Doc Brut, the fruity Chardonnay; the sweet flowery aromatic Moscato; the light Fragolino Rosso and the elegant Brunello di Montalcino. 

Bottega pointed out that the spicy yet fresh Indonesian cuisine was a perfect match for Italian wines. “I understand that Indonesians might prefer the sweet taste of Fragolino and Moscato, however, I personally recommended the Prosecco and Chardonnay because they are fresh and fruity,” said Bottega.

Italy produces about 300 different types of grapes, more than the grape varieties in France. Both Italy and France are the biggest producers of wines in the world, each comprising 25 to 30 percent of the worldwide wine market. Italy impressively produces about 7 billion liters of wines per annum. 

By Agnes Winarti 
Photo by Anggara Mahendra
Published in Bali Daily/The Jakarta Post Thursday, May 24 2012

Lavish liquid: A bottle of very fine Bottega wine. BD/Anggara Mahendra