Part Two in a Series
THE CALIFORNIA STYLEFor many decades the California Style came to be associated with deep flavors, forward fruit, high alcohol, and more than a hint of oak. Both red and white wines tended to display a slight sweetness on the palate, compared to their European counterparts. Californians didn't seem to mind much at all. They were evolving from a beverage history dominated by coffee (often sweetened), wine coolers and soda pop. Many of our population had never tasted European wine, and were happy with off-dry, simple wines, such as were offered to us by wine conglomerates such as Italian Swiss Colony, Gallo, Cribari, United Vintners, and other huge wineries which owed their inception to Italian immigrants.
The California Style seemed to be a natural consequence of our geography. The Italian Style, on the other hand, was one that needed to be cultivated, both on the part of the winemakers and the drinking public.
THE ITALIAN STYLE
The Italian Style is so different from what Californians have come to expect from a bottle of wine that its reputation got off to a rocky start, exacerbated by inexpensive imports which were thin, acidic, simple, and not very pleasant. These wines represented the Italian Style to many California wine consumers, and they tended to avoid them.
Italian wine has often been called the world's most food-friendly. Traditionally, Italian wines were made as food complements, not works of art. Since most foods, especially savory Italian foods, are best served by dry wines, we don't often find the sweet edge that pervades California wine and makes it such a pleasure to drink by itself, but difficult to match with many foods. The inexpensive red wines of Puglia, such as Rosso di Salento and Salice Salentino, must be classified as among the world's best inexpensive food wines. You can have them for as little as $7-8 a bottle. Nothing in California comes close ...so far. Chianti, along with Spanish Rioja (which it resembles), can be a truly great food wine; medium in body, yet richly complex. Chiantis never overpower the foods normally paired with them, as do many of our California Cabernets and Merlots. The great northern reds of the Piedmont and Trentino, as well as the deeply flavored Amarones of the Veneto, are truly in a class apart, requiring richly flavored meats to stand up to their sheer power. But they do not have the sweet edge associated with California Cabernet. Instead, they provide a dry richness which easily marries with savory food flavors. Wild boar comes to mind.
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