Tuscany’s great summer red
The terrace of casa Camuto in July: the buzzing of cicadas and the scents of thyme and rosemary, mingling with the smoke of citronella incense to amuse the mosquitoes. Come sunset and dinner time maybe some grilled veggies, a bit of fish, olive oil and tomatoes. Lots and lots and lots of tomatoes.
And to drink?
Most of the time, I reach for red wine — chilled. My personal favorite category is summer reds — lighter red wines that take easily to chilling in a bucket of ice or the fridge.
Edoardo Ventimiglia with wife, Carla, and daughter, Francesca, in their "San Lorenzo" vineyard of Cilegiolo
Over some years I’ve developed a long list from France and Italy — from Sancerre to Cerasuolo, and Chatus to Rossese to Bardolino to Grignolino to Dolcetto to…. The biggest problem I have is keeping the good ones around. Buy, drink, drink, drink, drink, repeat.
Leonardo Bussoletti, a leading Cilegiolo producer in Umbria shows off his varietal tattoo
This year, I’ve added a new category from Tuscany’s Maremma and other parts of central Italy like Umbria’s Narni: Cilegiolo. Traditionally a blending a grape for its cousin Sangiovese, Cilegiolo brings red fruit flavors, soft tannins, deep ruby color, bright acidity and spicy aromas.
The first quality of a summer red is the joy.
The wines should be lithe, light and easy. The second part is that ephemeral je-ne-sais-quoi quality that puts the “it” in complexITy. Great summer reds like all great wines should have enough of “it” to be what I’m calling today “transcendent”.
And in the right hands, Cilegiolo fills that bill. Read more about this great Tuscan summer red and its top producers in my latest Robert Camuto Meets… at winespectator.com.