Navigating Italy II: The Regulations

Old-world producers France and Italy remain the two largest wine producing countries in the world. The practice of fermenting grapes into wine goes back to the days when the Romans and Greeks controlled much of Europe and likely fought over most everything, including wine! When a population has been working on a product for millennia they are rightly proud, and take the standards of production quite seriously. So it is in Italy, where the regulations over production and designations of wine are governed at many levels. The EU, country of Italy, and many local governing bodies within the appellations all hold some degree of sway over what wines and wineries receive the top designations.

While many of these rules are tough to follow, there are a few basics that are the key to understanding what you might be drinking when you pull the cork on your Italian selections. The first level of designation is IGP, or Protected Geographical Indication. This designates a wine as being from a specific growing region, or what we refer to in the States as an appellation. It is also the first step a winery must take to gain the harder to come by, more sought after, and more prestigious designations.

After a wine is designated IGP for five years, it can then apply to the appropriate governing body for the DOC, or Controlled Designation of Origin. At the DOC level, the wines are subjected to more strenuous testing and verification of composition as well as analysis to ensure that varietal composition, aging requirements, and myriad other regulations are being met.

Once a wine has held the DOC level for 10 years, it can then apply for the DOCG, or Controlled and Guaranteed Designation of Origin - the highest level of certification. In addition to the 10-year timeframe, wines receiving DOCG status are subjected to even stricter analysis to again guarantee varietal composition, aging standards, and the like. Additionally, the wines are subject to tasting by a panel which has the ability, albeit subjectively, to approve or disapprove the wine receiving this most sought-after designation.

While all of this might seem a bit much to us as wine consumers, and is tough to follow at times, these governing bodies do some good and vital work. A few years back, it was one of these panels that found producers of Brunello di Montalcino DOCG were fortifying their wine with Cabernet and other varietals to increase the heft and structure. While the Italians take all of their wine quite seriously, perhaps none is more highly regarded both in Italy and internationally than Brunello. The wines are required to be 95 percent Sangiovese and more specifically, must be from the Grosso clone. The discovery of higher than allowed "other" varietals in the designated wines temporarily stopped exports and was quite scandalous for producers in this tiny appellation.

What the regulatory bodies cannot master is whether or not wine consumers like what they are drinking. As we always say, liking or not liking is still the most important designation each of us can place on the wine we purchase and consume. The governing bodies of Italy at all levels, though, do help ensure that when we find a wine we like from a specific region, that other wines from the same area are meeting the same high standards.

With the introduction of tasting panels to the mix at the highest designated levels, subjectivity is clearly introduced to the process and opens up the chance for individual tastes to replace standards, but it also reinforces the importance for consumers to try before buying. It also makes the advice of a trusted wine professional vital. Once we - or your favorite wine person - know your likes, it is easier for us to direct you to the bottles that will likely meet your standards and point you, when shopping Italian selections, to the wines that meet your budgetary and regulatory requirements.

If there is a topic you would like to read about or if you have questions on wine, you can email George@thedinnerpartyshop.com, or make suggestions by contacting the Healthy Community section at the Coeur d'Alene Press.

George Balling is co-owner with his wife Mary Lancaster of the dinner party, a wine and table top decor shop in Coeur d'Alene by Costco. George is also the managing judge of The North Idaho Wine Rodeo and is the wine editor for Coeur d'Alene magazine, www.cdamagazine.com. You can learn more about the dinner party at www.thedinnerpartyshop.com.

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