I have enjoyed exploring wine for around nine years now and found that what started as a simple desire to understand the difference between, for example, Bordeaux and Burgundy or Chianti and Valpolicella, has developed into a seemingly endless voyage of discovery of all manner of unexpected delights.
I have found myself reading not just about grapes and fermentation, but geography, meteorology, history, biology, chemistry, economics, marketing, counterfeiting, fraud, philosophy and politics, amongst other things that I can't recall quickly enough and which in any case would only make an already unnecessarily long list longer.
I have made friends, and lost others, through the sharing of opinions and the debating of the merits or otherwise of particular styles and bottles. I have learned from many, disagreed with some, but always enjoyed the interests and experiences of others who have an appreciation of the juice and where it can lead.
The romance attached to some wines or their producers can be beguiling, as long as it is not transparently invented solely for promotional purposes. There was an element of romanticised history involved in this week's selection bought from Umberto's in Thame.
Week U (2019) Da Vinci Vermentino IGT 2016. Umberto's £12.50
As I noted last week, this wine was bought alongside its Tuscan cousin as part of a 'bin-end' pair, marked down from significantly higher original retail prices.
The romantic history attached to this Vermentino was that it came from vineyards originally owned by Leonardo Da Vinci and now in the hands of his great, great, great, etc until there are enough greats, grand-daughter. I may have misheard the precise details, but the strong family association was certainly part of the sales pitch, even if that was nothing to do with the decision I made to buy the bottle. That was much more to do with the fact that I like Vermentino and I like the salesman.
The wine is good. Bright and lively with citrus and floral aromas leading to some stone fruit flavours and a pleasing, tropical finish. For the apparently discounted price it is very good value and is the kind of wine that I would be happy to have on hand for any occasion where a white might be enjoyed.
Now, back to the provenance. Armed with Google (other search engines are available) it would not take even the least experienced of investigators to challenge the notion that the owner of the vineyard or winery responsible for the wine is a part of Leonardo's legacy. Yes, it comes from Vinci, the town from which Leo was Da, but it seems the winery itself, Cantine Leonardo Da Vinci, was established in 1961 by a group of 30 farmers who saw the benefits of forming a co-operative. In 1965 they first made wine in barrels and were putting it in bottles from 1971. The number of growers has increased since then to around 200 who together account for the production of over 4 million bottles of Da Vinci wines every year.
So, perhaps not a long-established family firm although it is of course possible that the great, great, etc, grand-family member was one of the original 30 farmers, or even a later entrant. But g-g-g-grand-daughter seems unlikely as LDV had no documented offspring, but does have documented records of behaviour (and later speculation) that any offspring at all would have been unlikely.
Does any of this matter? No, not a jot. In fact it is quite a good example of how the simple act of purchasing a single bottle of wine can lead to unexpected places, as long as you let it.
I have found myself reading not just about grapes and fermentation, but geography, meteorology, history, biology, chemistry, economics, marketing, counterfeiting, fraud, philosophy and politics, amongst other things that I can't recall quickly enough and which in any case would only make an already unnecessarily long list longer.
I have made friends, and lost others, through the sharing of opinions and the debating of the merits or otherwise of particular styles and bottles. I have learned from many, disagreed with some, but always enjoyed the interests and experiences of others who have an appreciation of the juice and where it can lead.
The romance attached to some wines or their producers can be beguiling, as long as it is not transparently invented solely for promotional purposes. There was an element of romanticised history involved in this week's selection bought from Umberto's in Thame.
Week U (2019) Da Vinci Vermentino IGT 2016. Umberto's £12.50As I noted last week, this wine was bought alongside its Tuscan cousin as part of a 'bin-end' pair, marked down from significantly higher original retail prices.
The romantic history attached to this Vermentino was that it came from vineyards originally owned by Leonardo Da Vinci and now in the hands of his great, great, great, etc until there are enough greats, grand-daughter. I may have misheard the precise details, but the strong family association was certainly part of the sales pitch, even if that was nothing to do with the decision I made to buy the bottle. That was much more to do with the fact that I like Vermentino and I like the salesman.
The wine is good. Bright and lively with citrus and floral aromas leading to some stone fruit flavours and a pleasing, tropical finish. For the apparently discounted price it is very good value and is the kind of wine that I would be happy to have on hand for any occasion where a white might be enjoyed.
Now, back to the provenance. Armed with Google (other search engines are available) it would not take even the least experienced of investigators to challenge the notion that the owner of the vineyard or winery responsible for the wine is a part of Leonardo's legacy. Yes, it comes from Vinci, the town from which Leo was Da, but it seems the winery itself, Cantine Leonardo Da Vinci, was established in 1961 by a group of 30 farmers who saw the benefits of forming a co-operative. In 1965 they first made wine in barrels and were putting it in bottles from 1971. The number of growers has increased since then to around 200 who together account for the production of over 4 million bottles of Da Vinci wines every year.
So, perhaps not a long-established family firm although it is of course possible that the great, great, etc, grand-family member was one of the original 30 farmers, or even a later entrant. But g-g-g-grand-daughter seems unlikely as LDV had no documented offspring, but does have documented records of behaviour (and later speculation) that any offspring at all would have been unlikely.
Does any of this matter? No, not a jot. In fact it is quite a good example of how the simple act of purchasing a single bottle of wine can lead to unexpected places, as long as you let it.
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