Lazio, a region in the center of Italy whose capital city is Rome, is one Italian wine region that hasn’t yet had its day in the sun in the United States but that will surely change thanks to improvements in winemaking, clone selection and the marketing efforts of many of the region’s wine producers. Lazio, which is surrounded by the more famous wine regions of Tuscany and Umbria to the North, Abruzzo and Molise to the East and Campania to the South, has been slow to make quality wine. The tide seems to have changed and recognition has finally come to the area which in May of this year received its first DOCG rating. DOCG stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita and is given to wines made with certain restrictions including lower allowable yields. The wines usually have to pass a tasting panel as well. The DOCG rating was given to Cesanese del Piglio. This long awaited honor will likely smooth the process of bringing recognition to wines from Lazio as will the pronounced efforts by a number of wine producers from the region.
Two wines were awarded the coveted DOCG status - Cesanese del Piglio and Cesanese del Piglio Superiore. Wines that are aged for more than 18 months can use the additional term “Riserva.” Cesanese del Piglio must be made from 90% of the Cesanese d’Affile and/or Cesanese Comune grapes. The remaining 10% can be made from any of the other red grape varieties authorized in the Lazio region.
Prior to its first DOCG, the region had already accumulated 27 DOC or slightly less stringent Denominazione di Origine Controllata appellation. The DOCG designation brings a certain cache’ that had been missing from the Lazio wine panorama.
In terms of production, Lazio produced two million hectoliters of wine in 2007 from its 38 thousand hectares under vine. About 30% of the production is exported. In June, the regional agricultural office or the Assessorato dell’Agricoltura Regione Lazio launched a project to promote its wines.
There are five provinces in Lazio, each of which has a long and varied wine tradition. Wine production has taken place in Lazio since ancient times. While the wines the Romans were drinking 2000 years ago were quite different from those we drink today, by the middle ages, the hills around Rome or the Castelli Romani, were already famous for their white wines made on the rich volcanic soils of the region.
Some 80% of the wine made in Lazio is made in the areas around the capital. The tradition of going to taverns in the town of Frascati dates back to the 14th century. Already in 1450, there were some 1,022 establishments serving this golden wine. Frascati’s taverns called Fraschette are places that serve the light wines of Frascati with traditional cheeses and porchetta, pastas and other fare. These unassuming trattorias have long communal tables where you can sit and have a glass of chilled Frascati. Popes and Princes were also drinking the wine of the Castelli Romani at that time and even today the area is synonymous with well to do Romans taking their ease.
The food is usually homemade and one of my favorite dishes at the Fraschette is the variety of Lasagna that is offered.
Frascati DOC is a dry white wine, slightly pale in color. It is fruity and floral on the nose and palate and can be produced in Frascati, Grottaferrata and Monte Porzio Catone, as well as some areas in Roma and Montecompatri. The area is known as the "agro tuscolano" or countryside of Tusculum.
The premier grapes used in Frascati are Malvasia di Candia, Trebbiano, Greco, Malvasia del Lazio also known as puntinata or pinprick, Bellone and white Bonvino.
There are numerous wineries within the Frascati area that are making impressive wines. I recently tried a couple of wines from the Castel De Paolis winery. I confess, I was in Rome for a wedding of a friend with the same last name so I thought it was appropriate. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that the wines were well integrated, velvety expressions of a blend of indigenous and international grape varieties. I tried the Campovecchio Rosso, a blend of Syrah and Cesanese d’Affile, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo and Sangiovese. I also tried the Campovecchio Bianco, a blend similar to Frascati with indigenous white varietals. Castel de Paolis also makes a wine called I Quattro Mori from a blend of international varieties including Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Merlot. These varieties were not newly planted to latch on to the international wine variety craze but instead have been growing for centuries in this area following a bout with phylloxera in the 1700s.
Fontana Candida in Monteporzio is perhaps the winery that has put modern Frascati on the map. Their wines are available all over the United States and for many are the defining image of Frascati. Fontana Candida produces more than 6 million bottles a year.
Gotto d’Oro was established in 1945 and is said to be the first winery in the Castelli Romani. They are also very larger producers, with sales of over 10 million bottles of Frascati, Castelli Romani, Marino DOC a year.
Another winery of note is that of the Di Mauro Family. Paola Di Mauro (Colle Picchioni) bought land outside of Rome in 1968. The family found old French vines on the property that they had bought to use as a summer home and in 1976, Di Mauro jumped head first into wine production using those vines. Indigenous varieties such as Malvasia del Lazio and Trebbiano were also planted. Paola Di Mauro also availed herself early on of the talents of a young winemaker/enologist, the now world famous Riccardo Cotarella. Her Lazio IGT Colle Picchioni Vigna del Vassallo 2005, a Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc is subtle with notes of raspberry, violets and nuts. It is exquisite on the nose and the palate. This wine won the prestigious “Tre Bicchieri” award from Gambero Rosso, an Italian wine guide which is considered by many to be the bible of Italian wines. Gambero Rosso gives its Tre Bicchieri award to very few of the more than 14,000 Italian wines on a yearly basis. In 2008, 305 were given out. Lazio received only two.
No trip to Frascati would be complete however, without a sip of their famous dessert wine called Cannellino. This wine is made from late harvest grapes and has a relatively high alcoholic content. Cannellino is often drunk with Ciambelle al vino or the Roman version of donuts made with wine.
By Susannah L. Gold
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