No longer the realm of wine buffs and vinophiles, the wine laws of many countries are becoming more relevant to a general public yearning for knowledge, but do any offer ease of understanding, or require anything other than serious and devoted study? The Italian wine laws are complicated, but they are not ineffective, and they only become confusing when we ask the million dollar question, "which is the highest quality level? The wine world is full of contradictions and the most common word at the end of many seemingly definitive sentences about wine is "except" or "but", and I wouldn't have it any other way. Wine is not an engine or a riddle, wine is fluid and evolving each day and its path and end point cannot easily be studied or predicted. What plagues the Italian wine laws, is the weight placed on the Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC), Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) and Indicazione Geografica Tipica's (IGT) being representative of quality as opposed to defining a region that is controlled, for which they work very well indeed, as often the name of the wine refers directly to a place or region, Moscato d'Asti, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, Dolcetto d'Alba to name few. The word 'Qualita' or 'Quality' is noticeably absent.
In the 1960's the Italian government implemented a set of criteria designed to regulate wine production and guarantee regional authenticity and quality, but not quality enough to win trophies or gold medals, quality as in a product representative of the region, using methods that have been in use for many years. Such a law (DOC, DOCG or IGT) was understandably perceived as essential to compete in a growing export wine market, with the added benefit of revenue gained by having internationally recognised wine regions and wines. The laws were also essential in uniting smalls groups of winemakers and classifying and organising the sites and growers. An impossible task I hear you say? They seemingly had no idea what a storm they were to create.
What is widely criticised about the DOC/G laws is that they are not strict enough, allowing winemakers to continue making lifeless wine. The real issue however has never been that Cousin Giacomo 'down on the old block' made limp wine, but more that Cousin Giacomo's wine may be perceived as "better" following the application of a government seal on his bottles. Of course such an argument relies on a theory which only holds true if we believe wine drinkers new to Italian wines, or not, are buying them based on the government seal anyway. Recognising that it is winemakers, not lawmakers, that are responsible for the reputation and the fiscal viability of their wineries, the best way to guarantee quality wine is to let the market decide what they want to buy and let the wine media talk about the quality versus the chaff. I have seen many comments about other countries' top wines which offer me little enticement to drink them, indeed recently I read about a Burgundian wine with the comment "Don't put in mouth" alongside it. No one claims France is any danger of collapsing under antiquated wine laws, nor do I hear much consternation at the idea that if I were drinking Gamay made in the region near Lyon, it could be from one of four different Appellation d'Origine Controlee and that is without even getting into this "Nouveau" gear I hear so much about!
A country's wine laws are uniquely set in place to protect regionality and our corresponding pride in it. Wine is not simply a subject for classification, it is, at its most simplest, a lovely drink, but when regionality or place of origin is mentioned humans can become quite parochial. And we have every right to as well...it's personal.
To take pride in ones heritage is nothing new and for Italian winemakers to follow the "less strict" rules is their own choice, but the way of the wine world, the way of the artisan wine world at least, is to strive for the best, most authentic, expression of sites and grapes as possible, and examples of fantastic, concentrated Italian wines, made by serious and devoted winemakers are easily found across the entire country. Such a belief in ones ability to make great wine is surely enough to stop most people following only the rules stipulated and strive for better results. Just because I can crop at a maximum three tonnes to the acre does not mean I cannot crop at one and a half, and if I feel strongly enough about another choice of grape to use, I can call my wine an IGT, which thereoretically hints at a downgrading of quality, but "we" all know this is not the case and hasn't been since the first Super Tuscans appeared in the '70s. The Super Tuscans were as much a rebellion as they were a shining light on what people really wanted from Italy. The winemakers wanted to champion quality regardless of DOC law and show that Italy could compete on the world stage, and if that meant using the grapes of France, then they would use them.
While the Italian quality pyramid of DOC, DOCG and IGT might be a little wonky and have limitations within themselves, they are no more and no less confusing than another country's wine laws, we just find it harder to put them into a neat little box. It should be noted that there is more than a sneaking suspicion that the Italian Government often plays a greater role in the conferring of DOCG status than is thought fair, which again throws the level of quality into question while explaining the wine heirachy of Italy, "DOCG; wines recognised as either Italy's best or supported by the most skilful politicians." I believe we are on the way out of a messy process that has dogged the Italian wine scene, especially at a discussion level. The quality has been there and soon we may have a simplified labelling system and a happier designation for all wine, or at least one that is not continually fighting with itself as to who is the grander, as IGT and DOCG tend to do.
"Serious" winemakers understandably wanted to break slack laws regarding the quality of the wine to make stong point. Such a move shone a very bright light on the issues with laws still in their infancy, and also paved the way for "international" grape varieties to be used in a much more wholesale way throughout the country. The Italians are not soley to blame for such a shift in thinking, it is the public's need to compare and judge wines based on an even playing field that validated the decision. To be the best Italian wine, can it not be from native grapes? Does the best Italian wine have to be made from Cabernet or Shiraz? I happily concede that to argue "my Cabernet is better than your Cabernet" is far easier than arguing "my Garganega is better than your Chardonnay". But quality wine should "be" not "mean". The plan to offer wine from regions that are controlled is a perfectly sound idea, and the system's downfall regarding hierachy is our need to judge 'like with like'. Italy is an Old World country with a New World growth attached at its hip, and the rest of us don't like the the sight of it because it ruins the line of the jeans. We prefer things to be neater and more uniform. Well...some of us do anyway.
It is human nature to pigeonhole and rank products, people and places, and Italian wine is no exception. There are books which rank all of them with biccheri, some rate them out of 100, and each person that tried them has their favourites which remind them of happy holidays or quintessential sensory experiences they will never forget. In the lawmakers defence, the DOC, DOCG and IGT designation were not designed to make it easier for everyone. They were designed to create structure and foundations and force people to continue traditions, a difficult task in the most open and communication savvy societies, an impossible task in Italy. Perhaps the hardest thing to do would be to allow the IGT to be the highest mark of quality in Italy at the expense of holding onto regional and historical guidelines, or would it? (Is the phrase "That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet" ringing in anyone else ears other then mine?).
Furrowed brows and beads of sweat often rapidly appear on the faces of people about to explain the viticultural landscape of Italy, but we needn't be afraid. Italy has character, and an extraordinary wealth of history, grape vines, soils and sites that all combine to offer us rich enjoyment and pleasure. The wine laws that are now in place have begun to simplify and allow more flexibility for all winemakers and grapegrowers, and the most important factor in the continued success of the Italian wine map is not the rules behind the wines but the wines themselves, which continue on apace to delight and allure.
1 H Johnson J Robinson p.155 The World Atlas of Wine, Octopus Publishing 2001
2 S. Wells p.345 William Shakespeare The Complete Works, Oxford University Press 1988
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