Frascati: The White Wine of Lazio

Whether you may have heard the name Lazio or not, if you’ve been to Italy most likely you visited Rome, which is actually in the central region of Italy called Lazio.  Not a region I’ve written about too much on here and mostly because I don’t see wines from Lazio all too often.  Katarina, our host from Grapevine Adventures chose to feature the region of Lazio for Italian Food, Wine and Travel (#ItalianFWT) this month.  With such limited time lately I actually stopped at a couple stores and couldn’t find a bottle.  Regardless, when learning about Italian wine it’s best to learn about all the wine regions, especially some of the best known from those regions and those that are the least discovered gems.  I decided to share with you today one of Lazio’s featured wines known as Frascati.  This will probably be one of the wines you’d most likely come across if you were to seek out wines in the market from this region. 

Lazio is a region dominated by white wines by about 70% over reds that are primarily based on the Malvasia and Trebbiano white grapes.  In Lazio you’ll find a couple different types of Malvasia including Malvasia Bianca di Candia and Malvasia del Lazio.  In the Lazio wine region they have the most planted Malvasia Bianca di Candia in all of Italy.  The same goes for Trebbiano where you will discover Trebbiano Giallo and Trebbiano Toscano. 

Malvasia di Lazio - Copyright of Consorzio Vini Frascati

You’ll find the appellation of Frascati up in the southeastern hills outside of Rome in an area known as Castelli Romani.  The Frascati appellations take their name from the actual town of Frascati located there.  When we’ve spoken about volcanic wines in the past throughout Italy Lazio may not come first to mind, but the soils located in and around Frascati consist of volcanic matter. 

Lazio hosts a very large number of DOCs with limited DOCGs and Frascati occupies 2 of the 3 DOCGs of Lazio: Frascati Superiore DOCG and Cannellino di Frascati DOCG.  What makes up the difference between the Frascati DOC, Frascati Superior DOCG and Cannnellino di Frascati DOCG?  Since the wines are all produced within this area there are some differences in what classifies the wines produced in this area into each appellation. 

Both the Frascati DOC and Frascati Superiore DOCG are made from the same requirements of grape composition at 70%+ Malvasia Bianca di Candia and/or Malvasia del Lazio and up to 30% blending grapes.  The Superiore though has lower yields, higher alcohol levels and can produce a Riserva style with a year plus of aging.  Typically, Frascati is a light-bodied, dry wine showing apple, florals and citrus.  As with many Italian wines the Superiore will tend to produce wines with more complexity and depth over the regular Frascati DOC. 

Cannellino di Frascati DOCG on the other hand is more of dessert style wine produced from the same variety and percentages of grapes, but the grapes are produced in a sweeter style opposed to the dry versions we previously discussed.  It’s mandatory that the grapes be harvested late, but it’s optional whether the grapes reach the favorable disease known as botrytis, also known as noble rot, or whether or not they go through an appassimento process where the grapes are partially dried.

Cannellino di Frascati DOCG - Copyright of Consorzio Vini Frascati

What’s your experience with wines from this region?

Join my fellow Italian wine and food lovers as they share some other great selections of Lazio’s wine region.  Catch us live on Twitter this Saturday at 11am @ #ItalianFWT.  Ci vediamo!

• Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla: Lazio in California: The Quintessential Roman Pasta + 2017 Big Sur Vineyards Pinot Noir Reserve
• Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm: Alberico Appia Antica 400 Rosso 2016 paired with Stracci di antrodoco
• Terri at Our Good Life: Pietro Est! Est!! Est!!! with Crab Dip Crostinis Our Good Life
• Susannah at Avvinare: Cesanese del Piglio, Classic Wines From Lazio
• Gwendolyn at Wine Predator: "If You See Kay" -- Lazio in Paso Robles? #ItalianFWT
• Marcia at Joy of Wine: Bellone - one of Lazio's Great White Grapes
• Robin at Crushed Grape Chronicles: Lazio – Exploring low intervention wines inspired by tradition and nature #Italian FWT
• Katarina at Grapevine Adventures: How Wine in Lazio is Reimagining its Past Greatness

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Top 6 Italian wines at Cru Artisan of Banfi

Lately I've been finding myself immersed in lots of wonderful wines. Such wine problems in the life of a wine blogger. The more the merrier and the more great wines to share with you. I was invited to an all Italian wine tasting hosted by Cru Artisan wines in downtown Boston and I was there with bells on. A tasting of over 25 Italian wines with many that were enjoyable, but I tried to pick some of the highlights for myself to share with you. Here were my favorites for all different reasons that I'll explain:

• 2012 Maschio dei Cavalieri Rive di Colbertaldo Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG
• 2011 Fontana Candida Luna Mater Frascati Superiore DOCG
• 2011 Banfi Cuvee Aurora Rose Alta Langhe DOC
• 2008 Sartori Corte Bra Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOCG
• 2009 Palari Faro DOC
• 2009 Cantine Florio Malvasia delle Lipari DOC

Cru Artisan wines are the luxury selections of the Banfi portfolio of wines. The wines I selected to share with you today I chose because they were some firsts for me and I appreciated their quality and characteristics from the areas of Italy that they represent. I think it's always important to share different wines throughout Italy and to get folks to think outside the box and realize the variety and potential of different Italian wine offerings throughout Italy.

2012 Cantine Maschio: Maschio dei Cavalieri “Rive de

Colbertaldo” Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG

Yes that's a mouthful for one wine. I've never been a big fan of sparkling, but I have found certain ones that have pleasing to drink and this one in particular was very satisfying. This wine originates from the DOCG of the Veneto in the areas of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene. Known for producing some of the top quality prosecco of Italy. It's made of 100% of the glera grape, aka prosecco. This is considered the “Grand Cru” of Cantina Maschio. My favorite aspect of this wine was the elegance and creaminess of the bubbles. Very soft with nice citrus fruit.

2011 Fontana Candida Luna Mater Frascati Superiore DOCG

I've discussed frascati in the past when discussing the wines of the Lazio wine region. It's typically known as a more simple, white wine, but this particular Frascati, Luna Mater, is not your average frascati. Meaning “mother moon”, this wine was very aromatic with lush fruit and a smooth, balanced medium bodied wine. It's a blend of 50% malvasia di candia, 30% malvadia del lazio, 10 %greco and 10% bombino. The vineyards where these grapes grow are 50 yaers old and it's within the Frascati Superiore DOCG designation in the areaa of Frascati and Monteporzio Catone.

2011 Banfi “Vigne Regali” Cuvee Aurora Rose Alta Langa DOC

Alright not a fan of sparkling, but 2 favorite sparklings at the same tasting? This is why you never judge wines until you've had a variety as quality can change so much from producer to producer. The Alta Langa is located in southern Piedmont and known as the sparkling wine area of Piedmont. This wine is made of 100% pinot noir grapes that are produced using the classic method. This wine is 90% from the current vintage and 10% of the previous vintage that is also aged in French oak and is in contact with the yeast for 2 years. Pale pink in color it had a silkiness with notes of apple and vanilla. A fun and different sparkling rose to try.

2008 Sartori Corte Bra Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOCG

Reminiscing back to my trip over to Italy earlier this year to visit the Valpolicella region of the Veneto it was nice to revisit an Amarone and this single vineyard was definitely pleasing to my palate. This wine is produced with 50% corvina veronese, 30% corvinone, 15% rondinella and 5% oseleta. These grapes were dried for about 3-4 months, further fermented in stainless for 30 days and finished in Slavonian and French tonneaux for 4 years and 6 months in the bottle. As you can imagine with the appasimento, drying of the grapes, it produces concentrated fruit and this was a full bodied, powerful wine that is well structured, velvety with loads of ripe red fruit. This is Sartori's crown jewel of their wines and it's no wonder why after having tasting it.

2009 Palari Faro DOC 

I just shared this wine in a recent article hosted by Snooth sharing summer fall transitional wines under $20. I was more excited to talk about the wines I was excited to switch over to from summer to fall that I forgot it must be under $20. None-the-less you can read about wine that is grown at Mt. Etna in Sicily with the nerello mascalese and nerello cappuccio grapes combined with nocera.

2009 Florio Malvasia delle Lipari DOC 

This was my first time having a Malvasia delle Lipari and it was a unique experience. This wine is part of the Aeolian Islands just off the coast of Sicily. Lipari is largest of the Aeolian Islands and the terrain here made of volcanic soil and sand. The grapes that make up this wine are Malvasia delle Lipari and Corinto Nero are dried on mats after being harvested for about 15-20 days. Golden in color with notes of honey and dried apricots, this is a full bodied, high alcohol but smooth, sweet way to end your meal. A unique dessert wine indeed.

I hope you enjoyed my unique selections of wines. There were others that were notable and I'm happy to share those with you also if you're interested. Drop a comment and I'll provide the others. If you've had any of these I'd love to hear your thoughts or if you've tried others of the same variety that you prefer more. I'm always open to hearing about other producers that I maybe haven't had exposure to yet.

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Best day trip outside of Rome visiting the wineries of Lazio

Andiamo a Roma!  Yesterday you may have caught my podcast with Rick Zullo discussing an introduction to Italian wines including the Lazio wine region.   If you have been to Italy, most likely you have visited Rome, the capital of Italy in the central region of Lazio along the Tyrrhenian Sea. As we all know, Rome is rich in history, art, architecture, and much more, but let's escape today from the city and chaos and journey to wine country outside of Rome. Here are some of the best areas to visit outside of Rome for a day trip to experience the wines of Lazio. You may not immediately gravitate to the Lazio region when it comes to wine. Lazio is known for producing easy drinking, simple table wines, without drawing much excitement, but there are some top whites and reds that you can find that are worth experiencing. Plus, any time you visit a wine region you learn so much about the cultural history of an area, plus the climate, terrain, and much more. If you are a lover of whites you will be able to appreciate this region. My first suggestion, that is near to Rome, is to venture out to the Castelli Romani area to see the production of frascati, the primary white wine. There are a number of towns in this area in the Alban hills, Colli Albani, which is about 12 miles south of Rome. Wine lovers have enjoyed Frascati for over 3,000 years in this region. What makes the winemaking of this region unique is the volcanic soil. Volcanic soil imparts lots of character to wine that is grown on it, especially minerality and complexity. Frascati wine is a blend of the malvasia bianca, trebbiano and bombino bianco grapes. Check out the Frascati Superiore DOCG wines as well as the Cannellino di Frascati DOCG, which is a dessert wine. The Alban Hills of Frascati by CucombreLibre If you're a red wine lover, the best wine area outside of Rome to visit would be the town of Piglio, about 30 miles southeast of Rome in the Frosinone province. The primary red grape of Lazio is the unique cesanese del Piglio made with 90% of the cesanese grape. Cesanese is an aromatic red grape producing wines with spice, ina concentration that shows the ability to age. Outside of the cesanese grape, most of what you'll find in this region for red wines are your typical international varieties like cabernet sauvignon and merlot. Don't get me wrong, no one should miss visiting Rome for its history alone, but take a day off and enrich your experience with a visit to the wine region. It might be overwhelming with the number of choices available to stay in Rome, but if you are looking to base yourself out of Rome for your vacation and excursions, consider Worldhotel Ripa Roma in the Trastevere district of Rome. For a gastronomic Lazio experience, check out my blog with a food and wine pairing of Lazio featuring saltimbocca alla romana with Casale del Giglio petit verdot, and get a sample of what this region has to offer from a culinary perspective. This article is associated with #Hipmunkcitylove.

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Wines of the Lazio wine region

Since I have covered many Italian wine regions throughout my Italian wine blog journey I don't want to forget about some of the others we haven't discussed yet, even though some of them aren't that well known for producing high quality wines. Just like the United States has every state producing wine, so does Italy with wine regions. Today we're going to cover the Lazio wine region, also known as Latium. Without knowing it most of you will be familiar with it or have even been to it as it houses the capital of Italy, Rome.

The white wines of Lazio
A lot of the wine in the Lazio region is white and is made mostly from the trebbiano or malvasia grapes. There are 25 DOC wine regions within Lazio. One of the DOC regions you may have heard of or have tried yourself is Frascati, but not many of the wines from this region will pop into your mind firsthand when you think of Italian wines. Most of the wines in this region can be found around the Alban Hills, which are located south of Rome. According to Vino Italiano, 80% of all the wine in the DOC wine regions of Lazio are produced here. The elevations are higher and the volcanic soil is well drained.

One of the most interesting names for a DOC wine region resides in Lazio named Est! Est! Est! Di Montefiascone, or also just known as Est! Est! Est! It translates in latin to “it is”. The story is that a German bishop was en route to watch the coronation of Henry V and sent his scout ahead of him to mark the places that had the best wine with est!. Upon his arrival in Montefiascone he was overly impressed so he marked the door with Est! Est! Est! The story may be more entertaining than the wine is known for though.

The red wines of Lazio
Although this area produces mostly whites it does have an indigenous red to the area known as cesanese, but outside of that you will find your international varieties like merlot and cabernet sauvignon and some of the other red grapes produced within Italy. There originally was 1 region that was granted the DOCG designation, Cesanese di Piglio, from the Piglio region.  In 2011 two more regions joined in, Frascati Superiore and Cannellino di Frascati.

Montefiascone by Superdealer100

Foods of Lazio
Traditional foods of the Lazio region that you will want to sample when tasting wines from this region include spaghetti alla carbonara, cacio e pepe “cheese and pepper” and bucatini all' amatriciana. If you want something on the lighter side there is fresh pecorino romano or fried artichokes.

Bucatini all' amatriciana by Stu_spivack

What have folks found for wines from this region in your country? Has anyone visited the wineries of this region? Share your stories with me!

When you head to Rome and Lazio don't forget this useful detailed map.
 

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