Today's entry marks the first in a series of three dedicated to the gastronomy and enology of Tuscany. Having just returned from a trip to my old stomping grounds, I wanted to take the opportunity to share some of my experiences.

Like the crowds that gather each year to witness the return of the swallows to San Juan Capistrano, millions of Italians await the stroke of midnight on November 6th for the annual rite that is the release of Vino Novello, literally, “New Wine.”
Often referred to as an Italian version of Beaujolais Nouveau, Vino Novello actually has older and more diverse roots than those of its more famous cousin, although it is relatively unknown here in the US. Another significant difference is that all Beaujolais Nouveau comes from a single region within the Burgundy province, while Novello is made from the heel of the boot all the way to the Austrian border.

Every year on the 14th of September, the harvest season in Italy begins for grapes which are destined to be processed into wine. A portion of these grapes are set aside to be made into Vino Novello. Naturally, the Italians, enamored as they are of ceremonies, traditions, and bureaucracy, have enacted laws to govern the manufacture and sale of Vino Novello. Since no self-respecting bureaucratic product can exist without a corresponding institution to be associated with, they have also created an Institute to promote this product, which has been made in varying forms for over 2000 years, but has never before enjoyed the popularity that it does today. Vino Novello heralds the start of the holiday season, captures the flavors of early autumn, providing a first, fleeting glimpse into the character, quality, and future of the annata, or vintage (not to be confused with Anatta, the Bhuddist word for soul-lessness; these wines are nothing if not soulful).

In ancient Rome, the physicians of Tiberius and Caligula prescribed Guaranum, the Vino Novello of its day for their illustrious patients. Ancient Romans had a preference for older wines, finding the robust flavors more to their liking than the rough simplicity of Guaranum, the ancient Roman version of Novello. It is important to note that today’s Vino Novello is not your dead emperor’s Guaranum. The modern Novello is softer, rounder, and fruitier than the new wine of even just a few decades ago. These wines have less to do with geography, varietal, or terroir, and everything to do with the essence of the vintage, the unadorned soul of the harvest; if the Novello is great, so the reasoning goes, then the wines of that vintage should hold great promise.

Novello is usually made using carbonic maceration, a process which involves putting whole grappoli (bunches of grapes) directly into hermetically sealed vats, bypassing the stemming and crushing that normally takes place. Inside the vats, the grapes are saturated with carbon dioxide and left for 5-10 days at temperatures ranging from 77-86 degrees Fahrenheit. This enzymatic process has several purposes: it causes the skins to lose their substance, the color then moves from the skins to the flesh of the fruit, and a slight degradation of malic acid occurs. This process favors the development of certain flavors, particularly red berries and caramel. Only when this process is complete are the grapes pressed, resulting in a colored must which is fermented without the skins. The wine obtained through this process has highly individual flavors and aromas, and is lower in acidity and less sour at the conclusion of the fermentation process than wines that are made to be aged. The resulting wine should be enjoyed while it is young, because it does not age prettily; L’Istituto Vino Novello Italiano recommends consumption within 6 months of production.

This year, Italy produced almost 20 million bottles of various types of Vino Novello, up from about 5 million that were made in 1987, the first year that the wine was officially recognized. The vast majority is consumed domestically., although smaller quantities are exported. With the US importing only 5.5% of the total production, these wines remain difficult to find, while Beaujolais Nouveau remains ubiquitous.

On my trip I was able to taste a wide range of Novello at under €5.50 per bottle, about $6.75 at the current rate of exchange. I encourage you to try some if you should chance to run across it. I hope that any of our local distributors and purveyors that are planning to stock Novello will write in to tell us where we can find it locally. I’m trying to arrange a tasting of Novello later this month, and will publish the information here once the details are firmed up.

"Ho tre vizi, la seconda 'e il vino!"~ "I have three vices, the second one is wine!