Vinitaly and Brunello's presence there

For forty years Vinitaly in Verona has been one of the largest and most significant wine fairs worldwide, and was held this year from March 29th to April 2nd. Over 4,000 producers from 32 countries set up booths in 861,000 sq. feet of space spread out over 18 exhibition halls to participate in what many consider to be the launch of the wine buying year.

With all the numbers just mentioned wouldn't you love to know how many bottles of wine were poured? Crunching some basic figures, I've calculated somewhere between a quarter and a half million bottles of wine (apart from the thousands of liters of beer the bars where selling when folks needed to give their palates a break). For those of you who consider yourselves to be "wine geeks" it's an experience that I highly recommend. The price of admission of € 35 (€ 80 for all 5 days) will allow you to wander and taste from 9 am to 6:30 pm and it just doesn't get much better than this in terms of the wealth of possibilities to choose from.

As the host country, Italy, and her wines, certainly commands center stage. However with a little effort sorting through the mega catalogue of participants, one can search out a nice French Champagne, a spicy Spanish Rioja, a jammy Australian Shiraz ... e così via (and on and on). In order not to overwhelm your brain, or your palate, I suggest that you go in with a game plan. Decide in advance what would be important or interesting to taste. Have you ever wanted to order a certain type of wine or a certain producer from the wine list at your favorite Italian restaurant but didn't have knowledge to take the risk? Ever wondered what Barbaresco tasted like? Perhaps you've dreamed of tasting as many Brunellos as possible. Do a little research ahead of time and decide on whom you'd like to visit while at the fair. Next, go to the Vinitaly website (www.vinitaly.com) and assign the corresponding pavilion (padiglione, in Italian) and stand number for each producer which you will find by clicking on the exhibitor's catalogue section; it'll save you from schlepping the massive printed catalogue with you. Prepare yourself for the experience of lifetime.

My major challenge in two days at the fair (my 8th consecutive outing at Vinitaly) was to identify and search out the producers we carry here at the Enoteca la Fortezza, and sample their 2002s. Though the Consorzio of Brunello producers does not have the specific data to fully support the situation, by my estimation roughly a third of the 208 producers released a Brunello from this vintage, and those who did bottled between one third and one half of their average total production.

The 2002 harvest was a challenge due to fruit variance in the southern part of the appellation and rain in September which particularly affected the northern zone where the grapes ripen later than their southern counterparts. However, hard work in picking only the best fruit and diligence in the wine making assured that the majority of the wines which I tasted (36 in all) were the perfect expression of Brunello from this kind of vintage: simple and fresh in the fruit and easy in structure. These are wines to be enjoyed young (to be drunk within 2009 or so) but that can deliver a lot of pleasure. Some that I found to be surprisingly delicious are the Brunello 2002 from Sestadisopra, La Pieve, Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona, and Castiglion del Bosco.

As my time was indeed limited I did not venture to taste the massive, powerhouse 2001 Riservas that are also in release this year, however to know the 2001 regular releases is to love the vintage in general. I'll certainly look forward to all that the Riservas have to offer. For now, this is Jena Patterson reporting for Enoteca la Fortezza.