ur first encounter in our Italy vs France series, even though the Six Nations (Rugby tournament) is over these countries are constantly at war, mostly with their culture, history and produce locked in a vie to entice travellers from all over the world. We start with a look at their wines and the regions they have to offer.
French and Italian wines trade knockout blows year after year. Italy has the likes of of the Tenuta San Guido, who produce one of the most sought after Cabernet Sauvignons in the world, the Sassicaia. There are over 300 grape varieties in the country and the rich soils and warm climate makes growing grapes effortless. France has the likes of Châteauneuf-du-Pape a small wine region that produces some very rustic wines of intense character, using a selection of 13 grapes grown within stones throw of the village.
In recent years there has been some crushing evidence suggesting that Italy was the first country to produce wine, a blow to France’s ego suggesting they mere copied and took wine to be their tainted crown. A study published in 2013 called the beginning of viniculture in France highlights how in 500BC the Etruscan people exported amphoras (essentially a wine drinking vessel) full of wine to the South of France. Archaeologists found traces of these vessels and biological evidence links them to wines from Italy and there is no known history of wines before this era recorded in France. Thus the presumption is made that it was Italian traders that first introduced the wine to southern France.
The first key difference is the class, and by this is mean the way in which the producer introduces the wine to palate. The French tend for a much more softer and eloquent wine which is smooth, aged in oak barrels and is quite likely to be from the grapes of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Grenache, Syrah and Pinot Noir. The Italians have much