Wines from grapes grown in higher altitude areas with cooler climate has become quite the trend recently. This specific growing environment gives intense flavor but elegance and freshness to the final wines. To highlight and champion these conditions more and more winemakers are starting to use alto as a marketing and labelling term to show their grapes were grown in high altitude vineyards.

Alto means high, referring to altitude when talking about wine, in both Spanish and Italian. Recently higher altitude locations have been planted more and more. A few decades ago, these areas were not seen as suitable for growing quality grapes as the climate back then was too cool. Today, with many producers witnessing a rising temperature, and a lot of new techniques in the vineyard, these areas are finally becoming viable. The higher you plant the cooler the temperature will be, but you will also receive more sun which in turn helps ripen the grapes. The temperature will be quite warm during the day, but very cool at night. This leads to ripe fruit aromas developing during the day, followed by a cool nighttime keeping the fresh acidity in the grapes, the best of both worlds for the grapes.

In Italy this development has been very prominent in northern Piemonte in the last decade. There is now talk about an area called Alto Piemonte, comprised of a few different wine regions. They are all located higher up in the mountains, and like the most famous wines from Piemonte many are based on the Nebbiolo grape. The most well-known wine regions would be Ghemme, Gattinara, and Boca.

But Alto Piemonte is not the only area where the term is used. In quite a few cases, in both Italy, Spain, Argentina and Chile the term can be seen used as part of a producer name or even as the name of a specific wine, sometimes to convey the wine is from a high planted vineyard. It is not uncommon however for winemakers to use the term to show it&rsquo;s their highest quality wine, not a wine from high altitude.

More wine growers have shown interest in high altitude vineyards lately, and the record of the highest planted one is something a few are trying to beat. It&rsquo;s safe to say the positive effects the altitude has on the growing grapes mean these vineyards are here to stay, and terms as alto may be used in more languages soon.

Wines from grapes grown in higher altitude areas with cooler climate has become quite the trend recently. This specific growing environment gives intense flavor but elegance and freshness to the final wines. To highlight and champion these conditions more and more winemakers are starting to use alto as a marketing and labelling term to show their grapes were grown in high altitude vineyards.

Decoding the wine label: Alto

Brut is a word often seen on labels for different kinds of sparkling wine. As you may have discovered when drinking these wines, it indicates that the wine is dry, meaning there is no perceived sweetness in the wine. But how about Extra Brut or Dry, what do they mean and are they the same as Brut?

Decoding the wine label: Brut

Semi-sweet Riesling, a type of wine falling out of style. It’s a shame, since these wines are perfect to pair with flavorful cuisines like Asian or Mexican, or simply drink as they come under the summer sun. The higher level of sugar left in the wine also means that the alcoholic fermentation was stopped before finishing, providing a wine with lower alcohol level and therefor easier grabbing a second glass of.

Decoding the wine label: Spätlese

Have you ever heard the word Xinomavro? Most have not. It is however a word on many sommeliers’ lips today, as it happens to be considered the grape variety with the highest quality in Greece, and one that is trending at the moment. The fact that Greece have been making wine for a long time comes as no surprise, but they have never exported an amount to make sure wine lovers around the globe tried it. With the growing wine tourism many have discovered these wines and are serving them in wine bars and restaurants in many countries today.

Decoding the wine label: Xinomavro

Chianti Classico, Valpolicella Classico, Soave Classico… Why do all these Italian wine regions have the Classico addendum and what does it mean? What is the difference for wines labeled as Classico?

Classico is a wine term in Italy seen on a few wine labels and it indicates that the wine’s from the historic center of the region, the heart. Using Chianti and Chianti Classico and their Sangiovese-based red wines as an example, Chianti is a rather large wine district within the Tuscany region. Chianti Classico is located withing Chianti as the central part and the one that originally existed. Back then this smaller region was actually called Chianti, but as the region grew the quality of the wine plummeted and the well-known characteristics of these red wines were watered down. The reputation took a hit and sales diminished. Eventually this led to the creation of Chianti Classico, which would be drawn from the original Chianti borders to recover the typicity of these wines. Today the quality of both Chianti and Chianti Classico have risen a lot due to modern techniques and knowledge about pruning, planting and temperature control in the winery.

Decoding the wine label: Classico

In the rarefied world of fine wine, where bottles can command prices equivalent to luxury cars, authenticity is everything. Laurent Ponsot's gripping memoir "FBI: Fake Bottle Investigation" reads more like a high-stakes thriller than a traditional wine book, chronicling his relentless pursuit of one of the wine world's most infamous counterfeiters, Rudy Kurniawan.

From Burgundy's Vineyards to the FBI's Most Wanted: A Winemaker's Quest for Justice

Chablis – one of the more popular styles of wine today and a region known by many. Most are familiar with the word Chablis and the light, fresh white wine with a touch of minerality it brings. Even though it’s a renowned wine, few knows what it really is.

Decoding the wine label: Chablis

Many grape varieties around the world of wine have names local to the region or country they’re grown in, even though they’re exactly the same. The most famous example would be Syrah in France where the same grape is named Shiraz in Australia. Another variety with two names is Pinot Grigio, or Pinot Gris.

Decoding the wine label: Pinot Grigio

Have you ever seen the term sur lie on a wine label? It’s not a grape and not a wine region, but a winemaking method used to give certain styles of white wine a rounder texture and a more complex flavor profile.

Decoding the wine label: Sur lie

Becco

Alexis Rogers

Becco&nbsp;

RT: Hello and Welcome to Corkrules!

&nbsp;I&rsquo;m your host Robert Tas along with Alexis Rogers, Wine Educator and&nbsp; Restaurant Sommelier

Hi Alexis, welcome back to another episode of CorkRules, - a podcast where we help simplify and demystify the wine lists at some of your favorite restaurants. We talk with certified sommeliers and wine professionals who point out interesting bottles, classic food and wine pairings, hidden gems,&nbsp; value wines, or splurge wines that will take your dining experience over the top.

AR: Hi Robert! Thanks for having me back to talk some more Italian wine!

RT:&nbsp; Today we are taking a look at the wine list @ Becco. Located on the famous Restaurant Row in Manhattan, Becco is an Italian restaurant opened in 1993 by Lidia Bastianich and her son Joe. Beyond their prestigious location, Becco is known for 2 things - unlimited pasta service and a $35 a bottle wine list. That&rsquo;s right, every bottle of wine on their list is $35. So let&rsquo;s dive in.

AR: First of all, I can&#39;t get over the unlimited pasta! There are 3 daily pasta preparations served tableside. The variety can make pairing a bit tricky so we look to our wine pairing all-stars - sparkling and rose - so why not both here? Flor is a project of chef Mario Batali and Lidia and Joe themselves. The Flor Sparkling Rose is 90% Glera (the grape used to make Prosecco) and 10% Pinot Nero ( the Italian name for Pinot Noir. Would I classify this as a &ldquo;serious wine&rdquo;? No. But wine doesn&#39;t have to be serious all the time. Sometimes you just want a fun sparkly wine that&rsquo;s going to taste great with your meal. The versatility of this wine is going to make it a great choice for whatever pastas chef William Gallagher throws out at you that day - be it a tomato sauce, a lemon white wine sauce, or a marjoram butter sauce.

RT : Versatility in a wine is definitely useful and who doesn&#39;t love some pink sparkles? This wine list definitely seems to be carefully selected to match the menu here.

AR: It sure does! Let&rsquo;s take a look at the antipasti menu at Becco. It&rsquo;s brimming with salty, savory cheeses and meat, fresh seafood and even homemade meatballs. 3 or 4 of these alone could be a meal! Especially with a bottle of the 2016 Tenuta Ponte Greco di Tufo. Grecco is the grape here and Tufo is one of the villages where it&rsquo;s grown so we get the Greco di Tudo DOCG. Located in S. Italy near the town of Avellino in the Campania region, bottles that carry this label must be from here and have a minimum of 85% Greco. The solid here is call &ldquo;tuff&rdquo; and is composed of compacted ash ejected from volcanic explosions. Tuff gives the wines intense perfume and mineral complexity. Look for varietally common notes of dried apricots, white blossom, green apple, lemon peel and then some honey and toasted nuts developed from 6 years of bottle age. It&rsquo;s a great wine to pair with any of those savory antipasto dishes as the saltiness only increase the perception of fruit in this wine.

RT: There seems to be an endless list of underappreciated Italian white wines. It&rsquo;s not just Pinot Grigio there!

AR: For sure. When most people think of Italian wine, they think of those big bold rustic reds. What they DON&rsquo;T usually think of is slightly sweet, sparkling reds. That&rsquo;s Lambrusco - not rose, but red wine. Lambrusco gets a bad rap here in the States as most people think of the sticky, syrupy bottlings you find on the bottom shelves of grocery stores. But good Lambrusco is not that, trust me. Well-made Lambrusco is characteristically a dry to slightly sweet demi sparkling wine made from about 8 closely related grapes native to Italy. This particular bottle is from producer La Battagliolo and uses the Lambrusco Grasporossa grape. These grapes make the boldest style of Lambrusco and have notes of blackcurrants and blueberries as well as violets, rhubarb and cream. It&rsquo;s not specified on the list, but this producer makes a 15 dosage and a 30 dosage version with the 30 being the sweeter of the 2 so be sure to ask your server which is on offer. Definitely pair this with the Peperoni Ripieni which are beef, pork and veal stuffed peppers in tomato sauce.

RT: You&rsquo;re definitely right about what comes to mind when you hear Lambrusco! I guess I haven&#39;t had a well-made one yet. I have to get on that! Making my way through this $35 bottle list is probably a great place to start! Alexis, thank you for being our guide through yet another all-Italian wine list. To our audience, Thank you all for joining us here on Corkrules.

If you would like us to review one of your favorite restaurants, please send us email to:

Info@corkrules.com or visit our web website where we have a request form available and we will do our best to get it in the queue as quickly as possible.

We are looking forward to being with you on another CorkRules episode soon. In the meantime,

please check out our website for other episodes of your favorite restaurant wine lists or wherever you get your podcasts.

And finally, drink what you love and please make sure you drink responsibly.

END

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Alba

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Matteos Ristorante Italiano

Matteo's

Catena is a renowned family-owned winery in Mendoza, Argentina that has been producing exceptional wines for over a century. Their expertise in high altitude winemaking has allowed them to craft some of the most sought-after wines in Argentina.

Casual locale offering beefy mains, seafood specialties & drinks in a cool setting with a patio.

Meson

Brasserie Mon Chou Chou

BondST

Buenos Aires Restaurant

Buenos Aires

Meadowsweet

Casa Mono

Atera

La Cava

LAVO Italian Restaurant

Lavo

Quality Italian

homepage

CorkRules application allows you to discover wines at your favorite restaurants, learn with friends and be confident with price transparency. Order wine with confidence at restaurants and retailers. Get personalized recommendations. #DrinkWhatYouLove

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