Organic wines: good taste first

Defects are not accepted, the same goes with wines which don’t have a good quality. Even if they’re organic. This is the philosophy behind the producers who participate in the “Vi Vi T” section (Vineyards, Vine-dressers, Terroir) of Vinitaly, the international wine and spirits fair which is taking place in Verona until tomorrow. This is the evolution of organic wine: it shouldn’t be just “clean”, leaving chemicals out of the vineyard and the cellar - it should also, and especially, be good.

And it must be treated like any other wine in the market, without turning a blind eye (or a closed nose) to bad smells or defects of production. “There’s no justification – Alessandro Barosi at Cascina Corte explains. - If a wine has a bad smell, it’s not because it’s organic, it’s because someone has made a mistake. And as producers we cannot hide behind similar excuses. Defects are not accepted, in “traditional” wines as well as in organic ones”. The winery from Dogliani produces really excellent Dogliani (Dolcetto). “Our secret? Our soil, our vineyard. There’s nothing more we need to do. If you have good raw materials, then you need to obtain a grape juice without later adding rubbish to it. This is the way to avoid mistakes”. Barosi produces wines so they aren’t harmful for the health, especially his: “In 2005 I bought this winery. I then discovered that I was feeling sick because of the products I used in the vineyard. Then my doctor told me that I could use other products, natural products, and so I did”.

Bio Vio in Bastia d’Albenga, is a winery that has believed in organic production since 1989. It’s a family run business created for the farming of aromatic herbs. “Then we switched to wine – Caterina Vio explains – The winery was born out of passion”. A passion which has led them to produce very fresh and elegant wines, such as – just to name one – the Pigato Marenè 2012, which only needs a few more weeks of rest in bottle. “We usually have people taste our wine, and only after that we tell them it’s organic. The quality of the product comes first”.

As Alessio Miliotti from Tenuta di Sticciano explains “after choosing organic production there’s no turning back. In the beginning we had a traditional viticulture, but I wanted to make some tests. How? You need to go beyond the classic school training, you need to go beyond notions. The difference is only one: it’s necessary to pay more attention to what you do. Now I cannot conceive the old way of farming”. And in his Chianti 2011 you can find excellent notes of freshness and fruit, with a good possibility of refinement in bottle in a few years.

It’s not only about passion: you also need study and research. This is how Villabellini was born. In the end, they focused on only one wine, namely the Valpolicella Superiore. No Amarone and not even Recioto. “At the beginning - Cecilia Trucchi explains – I tried to produce all the types of wine. Later I dedicated myself to only one wine, which, in my opinion, is emblematic. And I don’t produce Valpolicella with Amarone’s left-overs”. The wine is called Taso, and the 2009 vintage is worth trying. Finally, a simple postcard explains Alessandra and Carlo Venturini’s philosophy (from Monte Dall’Ora, in San Pietro in Cariano - Valpolicella): “Besides the heart, there are only these” with the impression of the hands of the protagonists of this winery. This is already quite explanatory. If you also taste their Amaroni, it’s a done deal.