Les italiennes montent à Paris - The Italian ladies come to Paris!

« The Italian women arrive in Paris »… that’s what they did a few days ago. 12 female winemakers from all over Italy came to Paris t present their wines. They come from all over Italy and the common denominator is that they’re all organic. They call it “natural wines”. Here was Helena Dante from the biodynamic Azienda la Colombaia (se more under this month’s producer picks) and Isabella Pelizzati-Perego from Azienda AR.PE.PE in Valtellina in northern Italy. She grows 10 ha of nebbiolo. ”I like to follow the old traditions”, she says, ”with long skin maceration (30-40 days) and long barrel aging”. The wines are light in colour but very complex and with depths of flavour.

Daniela de Gruttola at Azienda Cantina Giardino in Campania in the south also makes very interesting wines from the white greco variety. The wines get long skin maceration, 7 days, which is unusual for whites. The result is a deep golden colour with lots of body (“gras”/fat they would say in France) and a touch of caramel (albeit dry). From Sicily we have Arianna Occhipinto from the winery carrying her own name. Her reds are full of character, made from nero d’avola and frappato. We particularly liked her Siccagno, a pure nero d’avola cuvée, with good fruit and excellent balance. Her’s the list of all 12, worth looking out for:

• Piemonte: Alessandra Bera, Azienda Bera (tasty Barbera d’Asti)
  
• Emilia-Romagna: Elena Panteleoni, Azienda La Stoppa (The white Ageno 2005 is made from a very aromatic variation of the muscat blended with some trebbiano – a very aromatic wine, but entirely dry. Also has plenty of aromas of apricot and peaches. Very interesting.)
  
• Toscana: Margherita and Francesca Padovani, Azienda Fonterenza (nice Brunello, quite powerful, with 40 days maceration on the skins). Helena Dante, Azienda la Colombaia. Rossella Bencini Tesi, Fattoria di Bachereto
  
• Veneto: Cecilia Trucchi, Azienda Villa Bellini (good Valpolicella with funny labels and incredible black currant flavours and spices)
  
• Trentino: Elisabetta Foradori, Azienda Foradori (our favourite is the Foradori Teroldego Rotaliano DOC, made from the teroldego grape)
  
• Friuli-Venezia-Giulia: Franca Princic, Azienda Dario Princic (interesting pinot grigio with long skin maceration. Dark colour, citrus aromas.)
  
• Valtellina: Isabella Pelizzati-Perego, Azienda AR.PE.PE
  
• Abruzzo: Sofia Pepe, Azienda Pepe (she has a wide range of vintages of a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo) Siciliy: Arianna Occhipinti, Azienda Occhipinti
  
• Campania: Daniela de Gruttola, Azienda Cantina Giardino