On the right road for the perfect red

How do our favourite hotels and restaurants source their wines? Martin Hesp takes a trip to Italy to find out how one hotel group has hired an expert to find just the right reds

The items on the average Westcountry dinner table will have changed enormously over the past 20 to 30 years. Many things we take for granted today would not have even been heard of back in the days when a plate of meat and two veg ruled the culinary roost. Then there are consumables that may always have been around, but which – not so long ago – would have been regarded as treats for special occasions.

No consumer item fits the latter description better than wine. It has been around for centuries and a few people would have enjoyed wine with every meal. But those of us who knew the 1960s, 70s or even 80s will recall a time when it was regarded as an exclusive drink enjoyed by the likes of aristocrats and ambassadors.

Then along came mass produced Blue Nun and Mateus Rose – and we were away…

Today wine is everywhere. And it is from everywhere. Go to any supermarket and the longest aisles you’ll see devoted to a single item will be those selling fermented grape juice from places as diverse as Romania or Chile.

Globalisation has brought with it a revolution – a tsunami, even – of affordable and drinkable wine.

But it could be argued that there is another, quieter, wine revolution taking place. The tidal wave of quantity is turning into a tide of discernment. Perhaps that’s being helped by the discount supermarkets which are selling surprisingly good wines as lost-leaders so they can attract more wealthy consumers. It’s also linked to foreign travel.

If you doubt the second vino revolution is taking place, witness the fact that we have just seen the launch of a new wine school in the region. The South West Wine School, founded by Jonathan and Hayley Reynolds and supported by some big wine names, offers a range of events and courses from one-to-one sessions to group classes. An interesting option for anyone who fancies upping their wine game at home…

But what about the wines we drink on those special occasions when we go out to eat or stay at a good hotel? Then we’ll be shown a dedicated wine list or maybe even have a sommelier to advise us.

Have you ever wondered where those wine lists come from or why that sommelier has certain bottles in the cellar? They didn’t end up on sale by accident. Someone chose them – and presumably chose them for a reason…

Which brings me to why I spent last weekend in Northern Italy.

The massive Wyndham hotel group owns a well-known brand called Ramada which has nearly 850 hotels in more than 60 countries. It is just about to launch its “Say Hello to Red” initiative after teaming up with wine expert – author and blogger, Dr Jamie Goode – who has crafted a special red wine list for some of Ramada’s many destinations.

“From lighter flavours, to full-bodied warm reds and spicy

wines with more complexity – Ramada hotel has stocked a bespoke selection of red wines, featuring different styles aligned to Jamie’s recommendations,” says the blurb. “Each wine has been selected to appeal to a wide range of taste buds, whether you are a wine aficionado, or just want to try something new…”

A PR from the company contacted me and said: “Come to the Ramada Plazo Milano, meet Jamie, taste some of the red wines he’s chosen and join him on a field trip to the famous Bardolino wine area where one of his wines (the Guerrieri Rizzardi Bardolino Classico) was sourced – and meet the region’s famous winemakers.”

So it was that I got to learn first-hand how a wine-expert goes about choosing the bottles we see in our restaurants and hotels.

As we stood in the new Rizzardi building just outside Bardolino on the shores of Lake Garda, Jamie told me about his work…

“Ramada’s a large chain – they’ve got hotels all over the place and they wanted me to put a red wine list together they could roll out across some of those hotels that would reflect the diversity of the locations they’re based in. I wanted to pull in some wines with some real diversity.

“As part of that we thought it would be fun to invite you to come to one of the wineries on the list. I think visiting a vineyard is a really nice way of bringing to life a wine,” said Jamie. “Wine has a flavour that is local. A flavour contributed to by environment and place and culture. That is the fascinating thing about wine. You can’t just make wine anywhere. It has to be a wine of place.”

Jamie looked at the vineyards draped in shrouds of mist and rain and continued: “This area produces a range of wines – white and red – but I think the red wines are particularly interesting because they are made from grape varieties like corvina, rondinella, molinara that produce lighter, floral, elegant, fresh red wines with real prettiness to them.

“In some ways there is a mysterious connection between the place and the wine. The French talk about terroir, but it applies too wines all over. There is something rich and cultural about a place where the people work together to create certain styles of wine that become very much entwined with that place. When you taste the wines it’s almost like you are transported to that place.”

Certainly that is true of some of the highly characteristic wines of Italy. To find out more I talked to Olimpia Rizzardi, who is part of the family which owns many of the vineyards on Lake Garda and in Valpolicella.

“We started our business in Valpolicella in 1649 – and here in Bardolino our ancestor brought the property in 1430,” she said as we walked through the vines under an umbrella. “So it’s a long time ago that we started to be winemakers. But the wine now is very different.

“The world has changed and our taste has change. The hygienic way of thinking has changed. Also the climate has changed. So it’s a combination of elements that are different,” said Olimpia, whose family business now produces more than 750,000 bottles of different wine a year.

“If you want to guarantee quality you have to be very attentive, and technology helps. If you want to produce thousands and thousands of bottles you obviously need a very organised system. Today we have an organisation that needs to cover all the details perfectly. And for that we need a modern wine cellar and a modern way with agriculture,” she said as we took shelter in the new high-tech winery a mile outside historic Bardolino.

“We built the new winery in

2011 but, as I said, the history of the family is really old. Before that we bottled our wines in the centre of Bardolino. We still own the old walls of the village – we bought them in 1434 an we kept the wine-making there until 10 years ago. Then it became impossible. Bardolino is a touristy place – there are many people.

The streets are too narrow. For the amount of wine we produce it would have been impossible.”

The family has converted some if its ancient lake-side wine-making buildings to shops and restaurants, but Olimpia insisted the new winery has not forgotten its traditions…

“The wines need to maintain their character otherwise it means you can buy the same wine type all over the world,” she said. “People identify with Valpolicella or Bardolino because it comes from here – and not because it can be from anywhere in the world.”

That, in a nutshell, is what we consumers need to be thinking next time we’re walking down one of those supermarket aisles looking at the countless wines. If we are happy to even seek out certain types of potato for different dishes we’re planning to make – it’s time more of us consumers thought way beyond the simple question, red or white?

You can’t just make the wine anywhere. It has to be a wine of place