Would you like to learn more about wine in Italy, but you don't know where to start? Degustibuss is your answer. Nowadays there are a lot of courses to help you understand wine (sometimes free courses). You should be careful though because when you chose a wine course, it is like laying the foundations of your house. Get it wrong, and over time cracks will appear. You don't learn about all the individual wines with a wine course, but a method of approach. The best way to learn about wine is to travel and taste, after learning the correct method from professionals. Cristina Mercuri is the co-founder of Degustibuss - the Italian Wine Academy. It was founded in 2018. Now, I want to give you more information about the academy and why it should be your starting point in Italy. In addition, I've put some questions to Cristina. Are you ready? Let's start!
Beginner
Diano d’Alba DOCG and its 76 Söri
Have you ever been to Diano d'Alba? It's a small village - around 3,500 residents - in the Langhe region, 15 minutes by car from Alba. Diano d'Alba is located 509 m above sea level and it has a panoramic viewpoint. You can admire the Alps, the amazing vineyards and the castles such as Grinzane Cavour, Serralunga d'Alba and Barolo. It's right here that there is an important production of Dolcetto wine. In fact, Diano d'Alba is one of the three DOCGs based on Dolcetto, the others are Dogliani and Ovada. The potential viticulture for Diano d'Alba DOCG is 242 ha (based on data relased in 2017). All local people have a particular attachment to this black grape variety.
Dolcetto – it’s not a sweet wine
What comes to mind when you hear Dolcetto? The Italian translation means "little sweet one". Trust me, it's anything except sweet! Dolcetto is a red grape variety from Piedmont. We've already seen Brachetto. Unfortunately it's very underrated. It has to compete with Nebbiolo (especially from Barolo and Barbaresco) and Barbera. It's not easy at all! Piedmont is a very complex region. It's composed of: 17 DOCG (Denominazione d'Origine Controllata e Garantita);42 DOC (Denominazione d'Origine Controllata). Microclimate, soil, and a lot of indigenous grape varieties are key factors of this complexity. But our focus is on Dolcetto and I want to give you more info. Are you ready? Let's start!
How to become an AIS sommelier: instructions for use
Do you know how to become a professional sommelier? What's the meaning of AIS? I'm continuously receiving emails about this matter "How to become a sommelier?”. So, I've decided to publish a few different articles about the main sommelier associations worldwide. It will a be a real journey: discovering the main characteristics of the associations, sharing a few anecdotes and also talking with some experts. We’ll start with AIS and we'll finish with the Master Sommelier and Master of Wine. In this article, I’ll go into more detail about the AIS.
Wine bottle shapes: why are they so different?
Have you ever noticed that wine bottles have different shapes? Why? Every type of wine has its own bottle. We have already looked at the different sizes of wine bottles. Now, our attention is on the shape! In this article, I want to analyze the different wine bottle shapes, starting with their origins and going up to the glass colors. Are you ready? Let's start!
Tannins: what they are and what their functions are
You can find different levels of tannins in wine, especially in red wines. But do you know what they are? It's time for some wine knowledge! We have already analyzed other wine characteristics such as color and sulfites. Now I want to tell you something more about what wine tannins are and how they affect the wine. They can completely change a wine and the right balance of tannins in it is fundamental to its taste and quality. Are you ready? Let's start!
Biodynamic Wine: how to realize it and a bit of history
Do you know what a biodynamic wine is? Have you ever tasted it? Nowadays there is a particular attention to organic, biodynamic and natural wines. In the last few years, some new fairs have been born for these particular type of wines in mind. For example, do you remember of Io Bevo Così Milano? I recently took part in the official event, Io Bevo Così. You can watch the video about my experience on my YouTube channel. Back to biodynamic wines, the relationship with the organic is very tight. They're similar but not identical. Before to understanding what a biodynamic wine is, it's important to understand how biodynamic agriculture operates. Are you ready? Let's start!
Wine Serving Temperature: why it is important
Do you know what's the right temperature to serve a wine? And why it is so important? I wrote this post to share with you one of the fundamental points about wine knowledge. Wine serving temperature is very important! Every wine is different. There are particular characteristics for every wine: aromas and tastes. If you serve a wine at the wrong temperature you cannot appreciate all these characteristics and the wine will not taste as good as it should. You can try to do a simple test: tasting the same wine at two different temperatures, for example 5°C (41°F) and 20°C (68°F). I guarantee that the same wine will taste very different in each case! But now I want to tell you what are the right temperatures to serve a wine depending on its variety. Are you ready? Let's start!
Natural Wine: what it is, who loves it and who doesn’t
Do you remember that I promised you a post about natural wine? Well, it's ready! There are many trends in the world of wine nowadays. Some people support natural wine, others are all for organic wine and some also love biodynamic wine. I've already showed you some natural wines from Io Bevo Così Milano, the preview of Io Bevo Così. Now I want to better explain to you what the natural wines are, when to drink them and when not to. Are you ready? Let's start!