September can still be a beautiful month, but let's face it: days are getting shorter. Although the temperature is still warm, we are aware that summer is behind us now. Some of us can even experience a sort of autumn anxiety, as researchers call it: a mix of nostalgia for summer and anticipation of winter's challenges. To ease the transition from one season to another, experts suggest accepting the positives of this new period of the year, when you can still organize outdoor social occasions with friends. In this case, it may be a good idea to choose something that evokes the carefree atmosphere of summer dinners in the open air. Like a bottle of fresh and fruity red wine, with low alcohol and a bright ruby red color: a Tai Rosso.
The Veneto region is commonly associated with a few wines: Amarone della Valpolicella, Ripasso, Prosecco, but there's more to it than that. The hills of this part of Northeast Italy are the heartland of many other types of wines. The Colli Berici, located in the southern part of Vicenza province, are a hilly formation reaching a maximum of 400 meters above sea level, where, among other things, a grape with many names is grown. In Sardinia, they call it Cannonau; in Umbria Gamay del Trasimeno; in Spain Garnacha; and in France Grenache. And the list of names could go on: Alicante; Roussillon; Tinto Aragonés; Guarnaccia... or, as people here call it, Tai Rosso.
Actually, it is always the same red grape, which develops different characteristics in different environments. Both Italy and Spain claim to be the birthplace of this variety, but according to the grape geneticists, Spain appears to be the most likely place of origin. How it arrived in Colli Berici is still a mystery. Some scholars argue that it was brought here by a cardinal from Vicenza who visited the Avignon Popes during the Papal Schism. In the past, people were used to taking cuttings of grapes that they had appreciated and bringing them home to try to cultivate them. Anyway, it seems that Tai Rosso has been growing on the old calcareous soils of Colli Berici for centuries, a time that gave it specific characteristics, like a paler color and bigger berries than Grenache or Garnacha. In fact, the wine tends to have a higher acidity and less color. This means that, despite sharing the same DNA as its foreign brothers, Tai Rosso has a distinct look and taste.
Being cultivated in a particular territory has given this grape and its wine a specific identity, as the general manager of Consorzio Vini Colli Berici Giovanni Ponchia says: "If I had to explain to someone unfamiliar with Tai Rosso wine what it tastes like, I would say that it is a red wine with distinct floral notes and tannins so silky that in most cases they seem almost absent. This fact considerably broadens the possibilities for pairing."
It's easy to imagine that Tai Rosso, given its characteristics, attempted to follow the trend of full-bodied, high-alcohol wines that were popular in markets all over the world in the past. Producers macerated the skins for longer periods of time to get more colorful wines and sought greater concentration. Today, the balance has shifted to the opposite extreme, and wines such as Tai Rosso are definitely more appealing and contemporary: "Compared to a few years ago, there has been an increase in the production of fresher and lighter red wines in terms of alcohol content - Ponchia confirms - Even the color is less intense than it was used to be ten to fifteen years ago, due to shorter maceration times on the skins."
If there were such a thing as a category of "friendly wines", i.e., light, fruity, enjoyable, and even far too easy to drink, Tai Rosso would be one of them. Despite its limited production ( Colli Berici DOC counts for less than 2 million bottles a year, and Tai Rosso for 11%) this is the wine you need on any melancholic day, those of early autumn included. And to not regret the fading summer and welcome the new season, you might celebrate on the 19th of this month the International Grenache Day, uncorking one or more of the following bottles.
- 2024 Piovene Porto Godi "Vigneto Riveselle Tai Rosso" Colli Berici DOC. This wine boasts a great balance between sweet spices (cinnamon, cloves) and tart notes of berries such as raspberries and red blackberries. Nicely drinkable, with its bright ruby color and a feeling of silkiness, it's a wine that everybody easily loves.
- 2023 Mancassola "Leopoldo Tai Rosso" Colli Berici DOC. Take a bunch of wild strawberries, red raspberries, and strawberries; crush them with mint leaves; et voilà: you get the flavor of this amazing wine. Bright red color in the glass; silky on your tongue; at nose and palate; it is an explosion of savory small ripe fruits. It’s so drinkable that it can be paired with any food you’re used to; or a risotto with peas; like Italians do.
- 2023 Pegoraro "Tai Rosso" Colli Berici DOC. This wine’s color indicates that it was grown in the most historic zone of the Tai Rosso denomination: Barbarano. This wine is “darker” than the previous ones even in nose and mouth: it is more spicy (black pepper; cloves) and balsamic; with hints of pomegranate; cherry; blackberry. The taste is fresh and smooth; the final clean. A wine like this can complement successfully a pasta with sardines.
- 2021 Cavazza "Corallo Tai Rosso" Colli Berici DOC. The name of this wine, "Coral", refers to the prehistoric origin of the Colli Berici, when a vast tropical sea covered the hills. Even today, the soil of Colli Berici contains coral fossils. Ruby red in the glass, this wine has flavors reminiscent of blackberries and raspberries. On the palate, it is fruity (California plums, forest berries) with a mineral finish.
- 2020 Dal Maso "Col Pizzarda Tai Rosso" Colli Berici DOC. This Tai Rosso is elegant and intense right down to the color: a compact ruby red. The nose is filled with floral hints of rose petals and violet; fruity notes of forest berries; some spices. The taste is rich and consistent: small red and black fruits; a hint of mineral; great freshness. Aged in oak barrels for 14 months; it’s great now; but it’s likely to be even better in the next few years. An unusual - and slightly snobbish - pairing? This wine goes well with a cheeseburger. A small luxury within everyone’s reach.