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 Italian bottles on wine racksthe 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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