Chianti Classico, Valpolicella Classico, Soave Classico&hellip; 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&rsquo;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.

This development has not been historically exclusive to Chianti, leading to the creation of more than one Classico district. In general, the Classico wines tend to be slightly better as these regions are smaller and have stricter rules regarding plantings and winemaking. If not better, at least more traditional and typical of the region.

The most well-known Classico regions, apart from Chianti, would be Valpolicella Classico making red wine from Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara, also known as the grapes for Amarone. Valpolicella Classico is located within Valpolicella in the region Veneto, also home to two lesser known Classico regions: Bardolino Classico and Soave Classico. Bardolino Classico is located to the west of Valpolicella and produced from the same grapes, while Soave Classico, in contrast to the rest, makes white wine from the local Garganega. All great wines and certainly part of the Italian wine history.

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

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

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

LAVO Italian Restaurant

Maria Valetta

Lavo

LAVO NYC

RT: Hello and welcome back to CorkRules! The wine podcast that&rsquo;s here to help YOU navigate all your FAVORITE restaurant wine lists!

I&rsquo;m, Robert Tas along with Maria Valetta wine educator&nbsp; &amp; certified sommelier also known as MARIA the Wine Blonde

Hello Maria, It&rsquo;s really great to have you back

MV: Hi Robert, I&rsquo;ve been doing a lot of travelling so It&rsquo;s great to back at it&hellip;

RT: Today we are talking about Lavo Italian restaurant and Nightclub in NYC in Midtown Manhattan.

Sophisticated, Energetic and SEXY are the perfect words to describe this vibrant industrial-chic restaurant. Lavo is famous for its Champagne brunch and subterranean nightclub below featuring top DJs spinning sounds for all the pretty people. The ultra-exclusive vibe and over-the-top family-style homemade Italian favorites make it the PERFECT place to pop some bottles of bubbly with your beautiful besties. Maria I can&rsquo;t wait to hear what you think of this wine list:

MV: Lots of fantastic choices here&hellip; this restaurant has an excellently curated list, with a ton of large format bottles which is definitely the way to go because this is group dining at its best! Nothing wrong with Bringing a party to the party!!

RT: So, a bottle of bubbly to start?

MV: You KNOW IT! You can pass over the by-the-glass here and go straight for the BIG bottle of bubbly b/c everyone loves to start off with a champagne-style toast!

They have a great price on a magnum of Franciacorta &hellip; the Ca&rsquo; del Bosco from Lombardia, Italy. &nbsp;If you aren&rsquo;t familiar with Franciacorta, you should be.&nbsp; These lesser-known northern Italian sparklers are produced in the champagne method, meaning that the second fermentation happens IN the bottle, and the wines see a significant amount of ageing, so they have that toasted buttery brioche flavor that we all love, but with more fruit character since the wines are less acidic than champagne.

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Now If you would rather go for that bottle of French bubbly, I&rsquo;d recommend the Lavo Edition&rsquo; the restaurants signature champagne that&rsquo;s more intense than the Ca Del Bosco, &hellip; roasted almonds and ginger on the nose., Henri Giraud is the oldest Champagne house still owned by its founding family (1652) and produces some of the most sought after and well-regarded wines of any house in Champagne. F&ucirc;t de Ch&ecirc;ne is their flagship cuv&eacute;e, and is made from about 70% &nbsp;pinot noir and 30% &nbsp;chardonnay. This wine could easily carry you through to the main course.

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RT: These are a great way to start off the evening Maria. So, anything that our listeners must try on this list?

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MV: SO- Lavo is famous for their Giant Meatball appetizer The Meatball is a hefty full 6 Ounces of Ground Wagyu, Italian Sausage and Veal Mixture, served with Fresh Whipped Ricotta. It&rsquo;s one of those &ldquo;must-order&rdquo; menu items to share- and I would pair it with the Barbera d&rsquo;Alba, Prunotto &lsquo;Pian Romualdo&rsquo;, 2016. Barbera is the grape and &ldquo;de Alba&rdquo; means it&rsquo;s FROM the region of Alba, which is located in NW Italy in Piedmont. I&rsquo;ve been opening some 2016 Barberas lately and they have been outstanding! All this dense fruit with some violet layers plus a touch of vanilla oak spice. Super food friendly.

RT: I feel like Barbera is overlooked sometimes but I 100 percent agree it is a great food wine.. Anything else you love about this list Maria:

MV: I would also like to mention they have some lovely offerings of New world Chardonnay for all my buttery chardonnay lovers out there&hellip; : I am particularly drawn to the Lewis Cellars 2017 RRV Sonoma Coast, Lusciously rich with a subtle toasted oak notes, &nbsp;and the Kistler &lsquo;Les Noisetiers&rsquo;, another Sonoma Coast Chard from &lsquo;17 buttery and complex I know these two will not disappoint.

RT: And where are our value wines on this list Maria, anything fun we should try

MV: Lots of fun wines under $100 to explore here if you are up for getting out of your comfort zone: 

For Brunch I&rsquo;d recommend a Rose- It&rsquo;s the perfect day drinking wine in warm weather. I love the Ch&acirc;teau Minuty, &lsquo;M&rsquo;, from the C&ocirc;tes de Provence 2020, Grenache Cinsault and Syrah are the grapes used in this wine.. it&rsquo;s fresh and light and the bottle shape is ultra-feminine and elegant looking for the table

Another great wine for those who tend to gravitate towards Sancerre or Sauvignon Blanc... is the Nikolaihof, &lsquo;Hefeabzug&rsquo;(heefa UB Zoog), Gr&uuml;ner Veltliner, 2015 from the Wachau, in Austria. It has the bright citrus crispness that SB has but with a pinch of ground white pepper versus fresh green pepper, loads of minerality. I love this wine with salads, Vegetarian dishes, and shellfish. 

RT: What about a splurge-worthy red for those of us having the meatball to ourselves for an entree&hellip;

MV: ha&hellip; okay so a big wine for the big meatball.. or even the bone-in-ribeye, I would order the La Sirena CabSauv 2009. This wine is ready to open now&hellip; it has had the perfect amount of cellar time, lots of graphite and mixed berried fruits, plus this wine is made by one of the most well-regarded winemakers in all of Napa Valley, Heidi Barret. that&rsquo;s right a famous female winemaker in the house! And she rocks! Wines such as Screaming Eagle, Fantesca, Dalle Valle, this her &ndash; very - own -label. La Sirena means the mermaid in Spanish. if that helps you remember it&hellip; and hey if you want to really go for it&hellip; they do have Screaming Eagle. the 2014 vintage&hellip; but it will cost you a mortgage payment&hellip; lol! 

RT: (laugh), I&rsquo;m ordering that only if someone else is buying.

MV: Right! haha!ME TOO

RT: Well, that&rsquo;s a wrap on today&rsquo;s episode. thank you Maria for all of your helpful wine suggestions for Lavo&rsquo;s NY wine list. You can find Maria on Instagram @Mariathewineblonde.

Thank you EVERYONE for joining us on CorkRules, Remember the only rule in wine is &ldquo;drink what you LOVE&rdquo;.

MV: Have a favorite wine list? Let us review it here, send us your requests at <a href="mailto:info@corkrules.com">info@CorkRules.com</a> and remember to check out all of our episodes on CorkRules.com. Please drink responsibly.

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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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