One of the delights of Italian wines is the variety of tastes that can be created through the judicious use of grapes. Many winemakers delight in blending different fruits to obtain a particular flavour or appearance. It is art in a bottle.
Take the 1996 Valpolicella Classico Solane Santi. This type of wine from the Veneto area of northeastern Italy is traditionally made from three grapes. Winemakers vary the percentage of different grapes in their barrels until they get the precise feeling in their wine that best typifies the regional character.
In this wine, there is only five per cent of the molinara grape, which is used to produce acidity. One-third is made from rondinella, whose mild fruitiness adds to the softness of the wine, and the remaining 65 per cent is corvina, the most widely produced grape in the region. This provides strength and, sometimes, a nutty flavour.
This trio is used in many blends which have Valpolicella and Bardolina on the label. They are the wine workhorses of the Veneto region.
This is an unusual technique in that the basic juice of the three grapes is mixed with the dried grape skins that are used to make sweet wines. This gives an added boost to the alcoholic content, making the wine 'fatter' and more juicy.
To ensure sufficient colouring, the juice, along with the skins from the crushed grapes and the added dried skins, are held for about 10 days in stainless-steel vats. This is where the intense ruby hues are picked up. The maturing wine remains in this stainless steel for four months before going into oak.
