When Ian D’Agata opens his mouth and starts talking about wine one can expect a break from everything one knew before. D’Agata’s “medical” brain makes itself known — he’s known to be able to dissect any Italian variety in any context — terroir, history, appellation and life in general. Italy’s Native Wine Grape Terroirs is a mandatory book for any winelover no matter what wine canons and trends they adhere to.
The first and most pressing question is how this book differs from the previous one, published in 2014, the Native Grapes of Italy. The keyword “Terroir” in the title will immediately tell you what the difference is. D’Agata decided that since the varietal card had already been played in the previous edition, it would be time to put the terroir card on the table. Yet, d’Agata continues to attach paramount importance to the grape variety: “Remember that no terroirs will convert 100% Sangiovese into Merlot or Montepulciano…”. And further: “In other words, if the variety is the car, then the terroir is the driver.”
I’m not going to expose the whole book. I will only hint that in the first part the cultural and social aspects of the terroir come out as no less significant than its physical parameters. What is “terroir” in Italy, as opposed to, say, “terroir” in France? This is the subject of the chapter Understanding Terror and Its Context in Italy. D’Agata reflects on the Burgundian monks, the Bordeaux Grand Cru Classe and the fate of Alsace, to then, in contrast, show the key differences in the history of the terroirs of Italy — from the ancient Romans to modern researchers of Italian terroirs. Another 15 detailed pages are devoted to the ratio between varieties, DNA and terroirs.
Naturally, dAgata could not ignore the formation of the system of Italian appellations considering their influence both from a negative (mostly) and from a positive side. There is a place here where you can feel the urge to argue with d’Agata, but the fact that the book provokes thought is invaluable.
The key departure from the 2014 book is the focus on only a few major Italian varieties, as opposed to the variety encyclopaedia of the previous book. Makes sense — most likely you will look for detailed information about Nebbiolo, and not about Susumanelo, you will poke around on the Internet in search of information about Sangiovese, and not about Timorasso or Schiava. There was a very significant cut in varieties — literally 45 of them are left in the new book.
For rare varieties you turn to the first book, while in the new one you go for a detailed analysis of the “classics of the genre” – all kinds of terroirs and microclimates, and, no less interesting, the most notable wineries. This is a kind of in-depth alphabet of the most important Italian varieties, which, probably, provide you with most of the topics for long wine conversations.
Unlike the vast majority of books “about wine”, d’Agata constantly reinforces his words with references to studies and works that normally remain behind the scenes. There is little room for fantasies and conjectures, although I am sure that everyone will feel d’Agata’s personal perception.
And why not? In the end, it’s not me and you who are the contributors of countless magazines like Decanter and Vinous, it’s not me and you possessing phenomenal memory, it’s not me and you who can humiliate a grape variety just as good as praise it, leaving us scratching our heads.