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8 things that you need to learn about Italian wines

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Barolo is the most famous of the Piedmontese Italian wines, but to truly enjoy it at its best, just popping a bottle open won’t quite hit the spot.

This article will present some facts and views about Italian wines, culture, history and some lessons about the famous drink.

Let’s dive right in.

Here’s what you need to learn about Italian wines

  1. Italian wines
    Liked by many, unlike any other Barolo is based on Nebbiolo, a favorite vine type used for other top regional Italian wines such as Barbaresco, Gattinara, Carema, and Spanna.
  2. The Italian Cavour region
    It was the home to Nebbiolo vines for millennia. It was not until the early 1800’s that Barolo became what we know it to be today, much because of the discussion of Cavour — the mastermind behind the Italian Unification, who hired famous French oenologist Luis Oudart and had him coming to such fertile hills just south of Turin to welcome him to the Marchioness of Barolo. The noble person allegedly gave credit to the French expert, and it was from her cellars that the first proper Barolo was bottled.
  3. Aging
    Italian Barolo requires a minimum of three years of aging, and it best performs not sooner than ten decades. Like any celebrity, Barolo does know how to tease a bunch.
  4. Dinner plans
    Barolo possesses a rich texture and will find its perfect match in red meat — roasted, braised- and most importantly, game. A rather easy, if the lengthy, recipe and an absolute classic of Piedmontese cuisine is the Barolo braised stew, prepared by marinating Piedmontese beef in Barolo wine for half a day at room-temperature to then slowly stew it over a few hours.
  5. Meat
    The meat turns adorably soft and absorbs the odor and colors of the wine — Not something you are going to overlook, definitely something you will try and do back home. If you don’t have the whole day to spend boiling meat, you will find out Barolo to get together with strong cheese, like Castelmagno and hard Bra.
  6. The wine for status
    Barolo is a statement besides being an Italian wine: its history is the one of its area, the Langhe, and it is bound to the choices made by guys like Bartolo Mascarelli, Renato Ratti, Luciano Sandrone, and Elio Altare to estimate a few — names that won’t sound familiar but are the reason the Barolo became and leading global manufacturer without sacrificing its identity, as quality has always been at the center of heated disputes among conventional and innovative regional producers. Barolo can by no means indicate a specific definition: the Barolo region includes over 181 distinct geographic producers, which means you have the chance to try and discover tastes and colors derived from a varied micro-climate and heterogenic soil composition.
  7. King of Wines, Italian wines
    Dumb-struck by Barolo, King Albert of Savoy chose to purchase the Verduno castle, where General Staglieno, an expert wine-maker, managed to produce first-class Barolo vintages. After his father’s footsteps, Vittorio Emanuele II, next in the line of 1800’s Italian championships, took an interest in Barolo from the Fontanafredda estate, where his most well-known lover, Rosa Vercellana, could also be conveniently hosted, to later be appointed Countess of Mirafiori and Fontanafredda.
  8. Italian Wine Therapy
    From the late 1800s, chemist Giuseppe Cappellano started the production of Barolo china, a traditional remedy for colds and bad digestion. Apart from its more or less confirmed healing features, the Barolo Chinato nevertheless is an elegant bitter-sweet dessert wine.

Summary
Barolo is a famous Italian wine from the North of Italy. It fits well with dinner plans, especially meat. Drinking Barolo is a status symbol. It’s an old and traditional drink. Some people are using it as therapy.