A $1,000 Wine Cellar for the Italian Wine Enthusiast
This may be thought of as a “starter” wine cellar for people that are relatively new to the world of Italian wines and have some, but not a lot of discretionary income. The difficult part is knowing what wines to choose for the wine cellar so as to maximize the returns on the wine investment.
Italy is a diverse wine country that produces many different varieties of red, white and sparkling wines, some made from varieties found primarily or exclusively in Italy and others from international varieties grown in many countries around the world. More importantly, there is an impressive number of high-quality Italian wines available at all price points. Consumers don’t need to dig into their kids’ college funds in order to stock an Italian wine cellar of some depth and breadth.
What I have done is formulate a proposed wine cellar that costs approximately $1,000 at current retail prices and consists entirely of Italian wines that the owner can enjoy every day with dinner as well as some special wines that will garner nods of approval when served to guests. All of the selected wines are available at various wine shops in the metropolitan D.C. area.
The wines selected range in price from $12 to $60. While slightly more than half of the individual wines in the proposed wine cellar are less than $25, the over-$25 wines account for over two-thirds of the total wine budget. All the wines selected have high quality-to-price ratios so that, in my opinion, you are getting quality wines of some character and distinction at all price points.
A personal wine cellar should enable an individual to expand their wine horizon beyond the safe and predictable stand-bys such as Chiantis and Pinot Grigios. Accordingly, the wine list includes some well-made but not especially well-known wines such as a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, a Carmignano from Tuscany, two Ripassa wines from the Veneto made from partly dried grapes and a Franciacorta, a highly-regarded sparkling wine from the Lombardy region.
Some of the most exciting developments in the Italian wine world are occurring in southern Italy where dedicated wine-makers are turning out world-class wines from native grape varietals. Thus, the proposed wine cellar list includes some extraordinary reds from southern Italy including Primitivos from Puglia, an Aglianico del Vulture from Basilicata, a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, a celebrated red from Sicily and two hearty reds from Sardinia made from native Cannonau and Carignano grapes.
Lest we forget, southern Italy also produces some very good and relatively inexpensive white wines and no wine cellar would be complete without at least some southern Italian whites. Consequently, the wine list includes both a Falanghina and Greco di Tufo from Campania as well as a Vermentino from Sardinia.
Overall, approximately two-thirds of the wines in the proposed wine list come from three regions – the Piedmont, Tuscany and the Veneto. The remaining wines are widely scattered throughout Italy’s diverse wine culture, from the alpine Alto Adige region in the northeastern corner of Italy to Sardinia and Sicily in the Mediterranean south.
While this may be considered insensitive in this period of high unemployment and diminished expectations, we should recognize that $1,000 is a relatively modest outlay and even with some great deals to be had doesn’t buy a lot of wine at today’s prices. In this case, $1,000 will buy about 35 bottles of Italian wine, which makes it a wine “cellar” that could be tucked neatly into the kitchens of some homes today.
While small in number, this unassuming wine cellar can yield a cache of highly prized wines. For example, the proposed cellar includes several Barolos and Barbarescos, two of Italy’s greatest red wines, as well as an Amarone from the Veneto. From Tuscany there are several Chianti Classico Riservas and super-Tuscans as well as one of the premier Vino Nobile di Montepulciano wines. These are wines of great complexity and character and if you can resist the temptation to drink them immediately, will only improve with age.
The proposed wine cellar will provide pleasurable drinking for its owners and their guests in a variety of dining and other social occasions. However, the 35 bottles in this wine cellar won’t last long and a wine enthusiast may want to over time consider increasing their purchase outlay so as to expand their Italian wine cellar .
Consequently, a future posting will up the ante and formulate and discuss a $5,000 Italian wine cellar for the wine enthusiast.
Salute!
The $1,000 Italian Wine Cellar
Producer |
Wine |
Year |
Price |
Region |
Type |
Allegrini |
Palazzo della Torre IGT Veronese |
2004 |
$20 |
Veneto |
Red |
Bisceglia |
Aglianico del Vulture |
2003 |
16 |
Basilicata |
Red |
Capezzana |
Barco Reale di Carmignano |
2004 |
18 |
Tuscany |
Red |
Castello Monaci |
Primitivo "Piluna" |
2007 |
14 |
Puglia |
Red |
Cavallotto |
Barolo "Bricco Boschis" |
2004 |
60 |
Piedmont |
Red |
Clerico |
Langhe Rosso "Arte" |
2005 |
50 |
Piedmont |
Red |
Coppo |
Barbera d'Asti "L'Avvocata" |
2004 |
20 |
Piedmont |
Red |
Duca Carlo Guarini |
Primitivo Salento "Vigne Vecchie" |
2004 |
19 |
Puglia |
Red |
Fattoria di Felsina |
Chianti Classico Riserva "Rancia" |
2004 |
44 |
Tuscany |
Red |
Marcarini |
Barolo Brunate |
2001 |
54 |
Piedmont |
Red |
Masi |
Campofiorin Rosso del Veronese |
2004 |
18 |
Veneto |
Red |
Moccagatta |
Barbaresco "Bric Balin" |
1998 |
45 |
Piedmont |
Red |
Nicolis |
Amarone della Valpolicella Classico |
2001 |
54 |
Veneto |
Red |
Paitin |
Barbaresco "Sori Paitin" |
1998 |
44 |
Piedmont |
Red |
Pecchenino |
Dolcetto di Dogliani "Siri d'Jermu" |
2005 |
26 |
Piedmont |
Red |
Policiano |
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano "Asinone" |
2004 |
55 |
Tuscany |
Red |
Querciabella |
Chianti Classico |
2005 |
28 |
Tuscany |
Red |
Ruffino |
Chianti Classico Riserva Ducale Oro (Gold Label) |
2004 |
54 |
Tuscany |
Red |
Santadi |
Carignano del Sulcis Riserva "Rocca Rubia" |
2005 |
27 |
Sardinia |
Red |
Seghesio |
Dolcetto d'Alba "Pajana" |
2007 |
20 |
Piedmont |
Red |
Sella and Mosca |
Cannonau di Sardegna Riserva |
2005 |
14 |
Sardinia |
Red |
Tasca d'Almerita (Regaleali) |
Conte di Sciafani "Rosso del Conte" |
2004 |
40 |
Sicily |
Red |
Terrabianca |
Campaccio |
2005 |
28 |
Tuscany |
Red |
Valle Reale |
Montepulciano d'Abruzzo "Vigne Nuove" |
2007 |
12 |
Abruzzo |
Red |
Zenato |
Valpolicella Superiore Ripassa |
2005 |
28 |
Veneto |
Red |
Bellavista |
Franciacorta Cuvee Brut |
NV |
40 |
Lombardy |
Sparkling |
Marcarini |
Moscato d'Asti |
2007 |
19 |
Piedmont |
Sparkling |
Nino Franco |
Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Brut |
NV |
14 |
Veneto |
Sparkling |
Alois Lageder |
Pinot Bianco |
2007 |
15 |
Alto Adige |
White |
Argiolas |
Costamolino Vermentino di Sardegna |
2006 |
14 |
Sardinia |
White |
Cristina Ascheri |
Langhe Arneis |
2006 |
18 |
Piedmont |
White |
Inama |
Soave Classico |
2006 |
18 |
Veneto |
White |
Mastroberardino |
Greco di Tufo "Nova Serra" |
2007 |
22 |
Campania |
White |
Terredora Dipaolo |
Falanghina Irpinia |
2006 |
15 |
Campania |
White |
Zenato |
Lugana Trebbiano di Lugana |
2007 |
16 |
Veneto |
White |
Total: |
|
|
$999 |
|
|
Richard Marcis
September 12, 2009
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