Aug-Sep 2017

The wine guide
Eugenio Ciccarelli
explains a current
buzzword in the
wine-drinking
world
Advertorial
“Authentic ” is a buzzword that
has been circulating in the wine
business for a certain amount
of time, even before 2011 when
the book Authentic Wine was
published. But what is in reality
an “authentic wine”?
First of all, the wine has to
be made from excellent and
genuine grapes and it also
needs to satisfy the concerns
and requests from an increasing
number of consumers for
a more eco-friendly and
sustainable viticulture. This is
often, but not always, achieved
by the producers using the
organic and biodynamic
guidelines which do not
allow, for example, synthetic
chemicals in the vineyard.
Once in the cellar and
during the whole process of
vinification, the wine needs
to be produced in the most
natural way, adding as little
as possible and with the least
manipulation possible. Most
importantly, an authentic wine
must be a high-quality product
that represents the place and
the traditions of where it comes
from, using, for example, local
grape varieties and methods of
production.
That’s why Vinarius only
imports and sell wines from
small producers who cultivate
Authentic wines
manifesto
their vineyards and only vinify
their grapes. Most of the wines
currently sold on the UK
market are manufactured on an
industrial scale by big bottlers,
who normally buy and blend
together grapes and wines
from different sources
and different places,
sometimes hundreds of
miles apart. For us, an
authentic quality wine can
only be made by a small
winery, which has the
complete control of the
whole process.
The Rivetti family in
Piedmont, Italy, ticks
all the boxes: a small
eco-friendly and organic
farm with 25 hectares of
their own vineyards using
local grape varieties, only
natural fermentation (no
added yeasts), minimum
use of sulphates and no
filtration.
Their signature wine is arguably
the Barbaresco which follows
the Piedmontese philosophy of
ageing the wine in big Slavonian
oak barrels for over 18 months.
The result is an
outstanding full-bodied
red with a complex,
clean bouquet (violet
and morello cherry), a
soft but firm tannin and
an elegant finish.
Vinarius imports
Massimo Rivetti's wines
and regularly hosts wine
tastings.
Vinarius is a wine
merchant and enoteca
located at 536 Roman
Road, E3. It regulary
organises tasting events,
check vinarius.london for
details.
44 LOVEEAST