Neil Pendock

Zaccagnini Montepulciano D’Abruzzo 2005 R81.50 (including shipping)

Italian wine can be confusing and this bottle is an example. It’s made from the easy-drinking Montepulciano grape, which makes great food wines with abundant fruit and soft^? tannins — not to be confused with Vino^? Nobile di Montepulciano, which hails from Tuscany and is made from Sangiovese.

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Lorenzo Gabba imports classical European wines into SA with a virtual shop window on www.melgab.co.za. Neil Pendock chatted to him.
 
Q: Is wine a drink for middle-aged people?
 
A: No, it’s for everyone, young, old, the middle-aged and the middle-aged at heart.
 
Q: What are the main differences between the wines you import and those available from local producers?
 
A: Apart from the obvious aspect of different native varietals^? (Italy alone has about 3000 of them) I’d have to highlight how most of the wines we import carry with them characteristics that typify their region^? of origin. It’s not as easy to tell apart a Franschhoek Chardonnay from one made in Constantia for example, whereas wines from different regions of Italy made from the same cultivar^? can taste^? quite different.
 
Ironically, the source of most of the differences is actually a commonality between the two: how they reflect the average expectation of the home market.
 
Q: Is it best to drink Italian wines with Italian food and Spanish wines with Spanish food?
 
A: Provided they’re ours, most certainly! Seriously though, the two will naturally complement each other by virtue of the fact that they evolved together during times when climate and lack of preservation meant that one had to make the most of whatever was seasonal. So yes, I believe so — the more regional the pairing, the better!
 
Q: Are your wines available at a fair price in restaurants?
 
A: In general, I reckon so. From what I’ve seen, mark-ups are kept fairly standard across the board (give or take 20%). Obviously there are exceptions, but the culprits either don’t last or their client base is such that they can get away with it.
 
Q: On your travels around SA, introducing restaurateurs to the wines you import, have you turned up any interesting culinary gems?
 
A: Indeed. One that immediately springs to mind is Villa Francesco in Pretoria. I was there recently and was floored by the refinement of the offering — uncompromising without being showy — the sincerity really shone through. It speaks volumes about the talent behind it. They deserve to be full every night.

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Italian Lessons

Marco Savoia, sales manager for Cape Town-based wine importer Melgab International, sells 40 000 bottles of Italian wine a year. And he says there has never been a better time to buy Italian wine in SA ...

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