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At the end of last year, the first edition of Slow Food Italy's slow wine guide was published in Italian. After the end of the cooperation with Gambero Rosso, people were curious to see how the Slow Foodies' independent wine guide project would present itself. The preliminary announcements spoke of a wine guide of a completely new kind, whose special feature was to lie above all in the fact that it does without ratings. No points, no stars, no glasses. Classifications were not completely dispensed with. But they are less judgmental and are based on criteria that go beyond purely taste qualities.

New quality criteria: Origin and sustainability

An important Slow Wine criterion: the work in the vineyard (source: Cascina degli Ulivi)

To enjoy without thinking about the environment and social issues is narrow-minded and stupid; to think about the environment and social issues and forget about enjoyment is sad and insipid. This is how Slow Food founder Carlo Petrini puts it when asked about his attitude to life. This attitude is reflected in the slow wine guide. There are four classifications for the classification of producers and wines, the most valuable of which is this confluence of taste quality, ecology and origin character.

The classifications: Snail, bottle and the price

The slow wine squadra is made up of 200 people who are present on the spot in the wine-growing areas. They have taken a lot of time to visit 2,100 wineries, taste 21,000 wines and get detailed information on all aspects. 1,850 wineries with 8,400 wines were included in slow wine 2011. The wineries are not only listed, but described in detail. There are brief but informative descriptions of the history and philosophy of the wineries, as well as the vineyard sites and a listing of the wines that the slow wine tasters particularly liked. In addition, the book contains information about the work in the vineyard and cellar. How to fertilise (organically or chemically); about plant protection; about the way to deal with weeds; which yeasts are used and whether the grapes come from own production. Those producers who "distinguish themselves by the high average quality of their assortment" are highlighted. They receive "la bottiglia" (the bottle) as a symbol. There are the usual well-known names such as Angelo Gaja and Bruno Giacosa from Piedmont, Biondi-Santi from Montalcino, etc. The focus is on pure taste. Here it's all about pure taste quality. Wineries whose offer is characterised by an above-average price-quality ratio are marked by "la moneta", the Euro symbol. The most valuable award a winery can receive in the slow wine guideis "la chiocciola" (the snail). With this award, the slow wine makers want to highlight wineries "that live the Slow Food philosophy", i.e. produce wines of above-average quality with a character of origin in the most sustainable way possible.

The classification of the individual wines is based on analogous criteria. There is the "Grande Vino", which is characterised by exceptional taste; the "Vino Quotidiano" (wine for every day), a very good wine under 10 euros; and as the crowning glory, the "slow wine", a wine that "succeeds in bringing origin character, history and sustainability into the glass in addition to its excellent organoleptic properties."

There are no gradations within the individual criteria. This leads to some surprising, but also decidedly likeable results. In the category of Grande Vino, for example, one finds, alongside well-known expensive growths such as Barolo, Brunello, Sassicaia & Co, a wine such as the Cirò Classico Rosso from Librandi, which is offered in Germany for less than six euros.

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The slow wines are to this guide what the three glasses are to the Gambero Rosso, namely the wines that certainly receive the most attention. Here, too, the criteria that go beyond taste quality mean that wines are found that have little chance of reaching the top places in most other guides. The same is true for the establishments that have been awarded the Schnecke. Whereby the personal preferences of the slow wine makers certainly played a big role here. When I look at my speciality, South Tyrol, I miss some names that, in my opinion, should not be missing from the "Schnecken" wineries, such as Franz Gojer, the St. Magdalena native, without whom the wine world of the Magdalena hill would not be what it is today; or Peter Dipoli, the refreshingly undiplomatic wine fanatic who, with his intransigence and passion, has done invaluable things for the quality of not only South Tyrolean wine. But the fact that one would have missed something or weighted things differently due to one's own preferences and experiences is the case with every wine guide and does not diminish the value of slow wine for me.

In the information about the type of organic production, I would have liked to see clarification about whether a winery is certified or not. After all, it makes a difference whether someone claims that everything is "in the green" or whether this is controlled by an independent body. And this is also necessary out of respect for the companies that have themselves certified. After all, the whole thing involves a lot of bureaucratic and financial effort.

The complete Slow Wine team (Source: Slow Food Italia)

Conclusion:

Overall, this guide is a real asset, as it offers a lot of valuable information about the individual growing regions in addition to the wine and farm descriptions. Each chapter begins with a detailed description of the region and its most important sub-zones, as well as the quality of the vintages of the wines presented. In addition, there is information about special features, unknown grape varieties and wine specialities such as the Barolo Chinato, the Tocai Rosso from the Colli Berici, the Tintanella from the Molise region; cultural and historical aspects from the regions are mentioned; qualified authors give thought to sustainability in viticulture and what is connected with it; about the work in the cellar, about economic questions and, and, and. The book is almost a Lexicon. It also has a corresponding size - over 1,200 pages! At the same time, it is very clearly laid out and user-friendly. Suitable for insiders as well as beginners. Because everyone can pick out what interests them at the moment. In any case, it makes you want to embark on a journey through the wine country of Italy and discover producers and wines you have never heard of before. And by dispensing with points, stars, glasses, etc., it encourages you to form your own opinion and to look at wine not only from the point of view of taste. If one does not fall into the trap of chasing only the slow wines and the snail wineries, the guide is extremely valuable - in a completely new way. It is to be hoped that a German edition will be available in the near future.

Slow wine - Storie di vita, vigne, vini in Italia - Guida 2011
Slow Food Editore, Bra (CN) - Italy
24 euros

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