Field of dreams

Can Valpolicella's reputation improve, asks Jeni Port.

WHAT'S the worst thing you can call a wine? Rot gut? You are left in no doubt as to whether you should drink it or drain it. Then there's the old wine judging acronym DNPIM ("do not put in mouth"), which is reserved for truly scary wines.

If you wanted a backhanded insult, you might call it "pasta" wine or (possibly worse) a "pizza" wine.

Personally, it sounds pretty inviting, but to Marilisa Allegrini, of the wine-producing Allegrini family based in the Veneto region of north-east Italy, the words are like daggers to her heart.

She has heard it and read it for years from wine writers, retailers - even drinkers - trying to get a handle on the wines of her region.

Take Valpolicella, a red that is generally a blend of three grapes: corvina, rondinella and molinara.

It is known as a wine of "extremely varied quality" (Oxford Companion to Wine) and a light and fruity number "without great body or pretension to longevity" (this from the urbane and insightful British scribe Nicolas Belfrage).

Wine writers taken pot shots at Valpolicella for years. When they are being really mean, they call it a "pizza" or "pasta" wine. It drives Marilisa Allegrini to distraction.

Then there's Amarone, the other great red of the Veneto. Some liken it to a sweet port. Wine writers can be so hurtful.

Veneto is home to some large wine companies, where price can dictate style, and to co-ops, places where the term "cooking" wine might feel at home.

Allegrini, the producer, on the other hand, had an excellent reputation preceding the scion's recent visit to Melbourne. It's regarded as a member of the modernist school, a Veneto wine producer in tune with the tastes of the consumer. For that, Marilisa should take some of the credit. For more than 20 years she has travelled the world as the brand's sales and PR face. What she has learnt she has taken back home to her brothers - Walter, who runs the vineyard, and Franco the winemaker.

She says the message from the 1980s onwards was for more accessible wines. With Valpolicella, the criticism had to do with the high level of acidity and lack of structure (hence, the pizza wine reference).

Amarone was different. "Amarone was a wine for (the) shelf. Everyone had Amarone on the shelves but no one was selling it," Allegrini says. "It was too heavy, too alcoholic, too much!" Which wasn't good news for Allegrini wines because it is one of the largest producers of Amarone with 10,000 cases made annually.

Her brothers not only listened to her concerns, they acted.

Amarone proved the most difficult nut to crack. The traditional style relied on picking super ripe grapes and letting them dry in winery lofts, a process that would see alcohol levels soar to 16% or more. Often the grape skins would break and botrytis mould would set in, a character that tended to insinuate itself on the finished wine, so the Allegrinis experimented from 1990 to 1998 to find a way to prevent botrytis occurring.

They noted that moisture in the grape stems was aiding the problem. The solution was to house the grapes on trays in a temperature and humidity controlled building for four months after harvest. The result was clean, healthy fruit.

With Valpolicella, nature aided the Allegrinis' search for better structure and less acidity.

Corvina, the premier grape of the blend, is a late ripener. This usually sees it building up ripeness levels just when the weather can turn chilly heading into late autumn. In Marilisa's childhood, harvest in the Veneto always started in early October. These days it's around 15 to 20 days earlier, bringing corvina, which can represent up to 75% of the final blend of Valpolicella, into ripeness under more predictable conditions.

"In the last decade we have had only one bad vintage," says Marilisa. "The vintage 2002 was bad. We couldn't make any wine other than Valpolicella. You won't see a single vineyard wine or Amarone."

Marilisa lists Allegrini's recent exceptional years as 2004, 2006, 2007. "The years 2004 and 2006 are at the same level of quality, followed by 2007," she notes.

Good growing conditions in 2005 produced strong wines and while much of Europe suffered one of its driest, hottest years in 2003, she says conditions in the Veneto weren't as severe.

So, having worked hard to try and reinflate the image of Valpolicella and Amarone as modern styles, there are still challenges ahead - and once again, they mostly involve Valpolicella.

It will be interesting to see how Marilisa Allegrini solves the next problem. She could always just yell: "What's wrong with pizza wine!"

The Allegrini wine files

Corte Giara 2006 Bardolino ($16)

A brother for the Corte Giara pinot grigio, sourced from non-Allegrini vineyards in Bardolino. Just fruit, no oak. Cherry, berry and chocolate-flavoured.

Allegrini 2007 Valpolicella ($29)

Just fruit, no oak (again), but the quality of the fruit and Valpolicella's mineral-rich terroir brings a generous added spiciness to the cherry-dominant flavours.

Palazzo Della Torre 2005 ($48)

Due for release in Australia next year. Uses the ripasso method to achieve rich fruitcake, dried fruit flavours with oak integration.

La Grola 2004 ($55)

Complex autumnal aroma and earthy flavours with wild berries, liquorice and prunes. Fills the mouth with a round, warm richness.

Allegrini Amarone Classico 2004 ($160)

In the modern style (but still 15% alcohol), it has deep black fruits, spicy florals and silky texture.