From Barolo to Montepulciano, Italian wines are winning us over
Barolo and Montepulciano are among a number of Italian wines not so much creeping onto local wine lists, but storming them.
As you walk into Paski Vineria Popolare, an Italian wine bar and restaurant in Sydney’s inner-city Darlinghurst, a wall of wine looms on your left. Lit up like artworks, the bottles twinkle, their labels shining, the price per bottle written neatly on each in chalk. If you were a wine drinker, you could spend hours simply enjoying the labels. Not that they would be likely to mean terribly much unless you had an encyclopaedic knowledge of regional Italian wines, and an Italian-English dictionary handy. A look through Paski’s book-like wine list probably wouldn’t help much either, for the document is so gloriously laden with the obscure, the rare and the futuristic, you might need an interpreter to navigate it.
It may seem intimidating, but before you know it, something the scent and colour of the Italian earth in which it was grown is before you and the fun begins. The plump, juicy Sicilian olives that arrive at your table as you sip on, say, a 2020 Diecidecilitri Norello Mascalese, are the beginning of your journey. Close your eyes and for a moment you might think yourself back in some cool bolthole in Milan.
“The reason why the popularity of Italian wines has grown is because a lot of people are going to Italy more than ever before,” says Giorgio De Maria, the wine impresario behind Paski. “And over the years they have become more familiar with the wines. Like with Barolo [a red wine not unlike pinot noir]. A lot of people were starting to go to Piedmont and when they come back they want to drink Barolo.”
HALLIDAY'S TOP 100
Drink like James Halliday with this offer
The Australian Wine Club is offering a mixed dozen from James Halliday’s Top 100 - including a 99-point sensation - for $27.99 a bottle. Find out more.
Australia’s top 20 champagnes and sparkling wines
Pop the cork! We’ve launched Part One of James Halliday’s Top 100 wines. Celebrate with a glass of affordable Tasmanian bubbles or a sparkling 2013 vintage Dom Perignon.
The best 20 premium red wines
Which wine has James Halliday called ‘the greatest Australian pinot noir I’ve ever tasted’? Discover this all-time great among his pick of Australia’s best reds of the year.
Cheers! These are the Top 20 beers of 2023
Whether you want a pale ale, a dark ale, a strong ale, a lager, a Pilsner, a sour, a stout or a non-alcoholic drink, then Peter Lalor has you covered. It is, as a beer drinker, the best time to be alive.
Top 20 white wines over $30
Discover a 99-point Margaret River blend with perfect balance, two delicious Hunter Valley 2017 semillons and an irresistible Clare Valley riesling. These are Halliday’s top picks of 2023.
Best Australian spirits of 2023
Absinthe from McLaren Vale? Hot Chip Potato Vodka? Nick Ryan’s list of craft spirits will knock your socks off.
The best alcohol-free cocktails and spirits
I used to write New York’s hottest column about bars - now I’m off alcohol altogether. Here’s what I drink instead.
Australia’s best white wines … and they’re all under $30
One varietal above all others is offering the best value wine in today’s market. Find out which, and discover 20 of the tastiest budget drops James Halliday has judged in 2023.
Best Australian red wines under $40
Australia’s premier wine critic James Halliday has selected the very best value Australian red wines on the market – and it includes a ‘beautifully-balanced bargain’.
Barolo is one of a number of Italian wines not so much creeping onto local wine lists but storming them. “Nebbiolo is another,” says De Maria. “And Barberra, and Fiano and Zibibbo.”
“I think Australia has such strong ties with Italy with so many Italians immigrating to Australia in the last century – that has also made Italian wines so popular here,” says Rani Parish, group sommelier at Brisbane’s Anyday Group, whose restaurants include Agnes and the Italian-themed Bianca. “There are many parallels with our climate, which leads to a love of being outdoors and socialising. It is a convivial style of dining. And with so many Australians travelling to Italy lately this has really doubled down on our love affair. It seems half the population has been to Italy since Covid. Even the popularisation of the Aperol spritz has helped to bring prosecco to the mainstream.”
Parish says the rise of Italian wines began with a few key varieties that have become staples. “Pinot grigio and sangiovese are definitely the most well-known varieties, but soave, nebbiolo and montepulciano are gaining in notoriety. We are also seeing lots of guests willing to try new varieties they have never heard of. But they may need to be swayed by a direct comparison to a wine they know. For example, timorasso, a white varietal from Piedmont, that has been brought back from near extinction in the 1980s, I compare roughly to a chablis. It’s fresh, citrusy and textural.”
At Sydney’s a’Mare, where chef Alessandro Pavoni offers grand traditional Italian dining, sommelier Fabio Danzi has also noticed a new daring among Australian drinkers. “Australia’s love affair with Italian food and wine is not a new affair, but I think it’s certainly a more educated one now,” Danzi says. “Australians love to travel, and Italy is a favourite destination for its climate and culture. People are choosing to go out of the traditional tourist areas of Italy and really get to know smaller and less known regions, and that is reflected in their memories of lesser known dishes and varietals.
“This brings plenty of curiosity, and nowadays there is an increasing interest from the crowd to be guided by a sommelier through an Italian wine list and discover new wines, new tastes and new flavours. People are asking for prosecco, arneis, garganega, vermentino, ribolla for the whites and for the reds nebbiolo, sangiovese, nerello and aglianico. It’s exciting for us to be able to link clearly regional dishes with their regional wine counterparts.”
De Maria – who is also one of Australia’s leading Italian wine importers, particularly in natural and organic wines – says part of the appeal of Italian wines is exactly this multitudinous regional variation. “In Italy we have hundreds of regional variations that are still in use, whereas in some areas of France they opted for just a few,” he says. “This is a lot to do with the fact that Italy has for a long time been a little less industrialised in wine than France.” De Maria reckons the scale of French winemaking casused regional variations to wither under the pressure to produce popular drops like burgundy or sauvignon blanc. “But in Italy there’s a reactivation of different varieties,” he says. “They can be more difficult to grow, but they are still worth it.”
Danzi says in Australia, not only are Italian wines an engrossing curio, but often offer value in comparison to similar French wines. He says their uptake has been noticeable not only in Italian bars and restaurants, but in other restaurants too, even French ones.
“Think of pinot grigio, fiano, galanghina and with reds, chianti and montepulciano,” he says. “Italian wines are unique – a fact recognised by wine connoisseurs looking for something special.”
Parish says that the popularity of Italian wines will only continue in Australia, if for no other reason than there is so much still to explore. “There’s a new generation of Italian winemakers taking over the reigns in Italy too, making a new wave of contemporary wine. I really can’t see this slowing down.”
Where else to try Italian wines in Australia
Giorgio de Maria recommends:
IN Melbourne:
Tipo 00 – a pasta bar with a focus on natural Italian wines
Ombra– a salumi bar using traditional Italian techniques
Perth:
La Madonna Nera – a wine bar pouring traditional native Italian wines
Canberra:
Italian & Sons – a modern Italian restaurant specialising in reinterpreting Italian classics
Byron Bay:
The Hut – an out of the way restaurant and bar celebrating all things Italian
BRISBANE:
Bianca – a bustling contemporary Italian restaurant celebrating simple Italian dishes and regional wines