VINIDA - Battle of great Italian wines: Toscana versus Piemonte

When Harry Waugh, a titan of the wine trade, was asked if he'd ever mistaken a Bordeaux for a Burgundy, he reportedly replied “No. Not since lunch.”. It’s an instructive quote for anyone engaging in blind tasting as you will get things wrong; it also highlights that there is in fact an overlap in the expressions of wines from nominally very different places. And in the mid-20th century when Bordeaux vintages were often very light, it’s indeed very understandable.

The modern-day equivalent, the bane of competitive blind tasters and those sitting wine exams is another pair of reds: Barolo and Brunello. High in alcohol with intense tannins and fragrant cherry fruit they are much more often hard to tell apart than many would think. Interestingly enough Italy is also the most popular wine-producing country on the Danish market with Tuscan and Piedmontese wines front and centre. So let’s put them head to head!

In this tasting, we will explore Toscana and Piemonte through a series of blind comparisons. Wines will be served in carefully selected pairs, with each pair showcasing comparable styles from the two regions. By tasting them side by side without knowing their identity, you will have the opportunity to focus entirely on what is in the glass, discovering the similarities and differences for yourself before we reveal the wines and discuss what makes each region unique.

Along the way, we will examine how geography, grape varieties and centuries of tradition have shaped the distinctive identities of Italy's two most celebrated wine regions. From elegant whites to structured reds, we will also examine the two regions theoretically, decoding the patchwork of DOC(G)s and IGTs and help you learn how to choose best in the future.

Whether you are already a devoted drinker of Italian wine or simply curious to discover why Toscana and Piemonte occupy such a special place in the wine world, this promises to be an engaging evening of blind tasting, lively discussion and perhaps a few surprises. You may even discover that your favourite Italian region is not the one you expected.

This tasting will be presented in English by Denmark’s two-time blind tasting champion Domen Prešern DipWSET (domen@talkingwine.dk).

This tasting is open for everyone, but as we sometimes will be very detailed, it does offer a better experience if you have some basic knowledge of wines. A good help is to study this “cheat-sheet” kortlink.dk/2pdep and kortlink.dk/2pdfs, to get a basic understanding of wines, their appearance, aromas, flavors and structure.

It is possible to order a quick snack meal to be served at 18:10.

The presentation will be in English

Find your way to IDA Aarhus

This event is organized by Poul Tang poul.tang@m.ida.dk – 51 71 52 40.