Elegant dining outside in a town square in Tuscany, Italy, copyright BKWine Photography
BKWine Photography
Why do we travel to wine regions, go on wine tours? To tick famous names off the dreaded bucket list and drink more of what we have at home? Or to go beyond what we are already familiar with and hope for pleasurable surprises. If you are more like the latter, like I am, Elisabetta Tosi’s new book is for you.
Elisabetta Tosi is a long-established and respected Italian wine journalist. Her new book “Sip Easy” is presented as a guide for those who plan to go to Italy and who want to make the most of their time to enjoy wine and learn about it on-site. You might expect it to be full of information about Italian wine regions, grape varieties, appellations, etc. It is not. It is totally different.
Instead, Sip Easy is a practical handbook on what to say, what to do, and how to behave to get as much out of your vinous time in Italy. In fact, it says next to nothing about wine regions, grapes and the rest.
And yet, it is brilliant. It is probably the best handbook you can find to really enjoy and discover Italian wine. As a bonus, the same method will serve you exactly as well in any other country you will visit on your wine travels.
Restaurants in a street in the village of Montalcino, Tuscany, copyright BKWine Photography
BKWine PhotographyHow to just simply enjoy wine without wine courses
It tells you how to explore the wine country you’re travelling in from a practical perspective, what to do and say in restaurants, how to find the most exciting wines, how to avoid the tourist traps, and how to make sure you get as memorable experiences as possible.
It is idiosyncratic and a bit quirky. And it is almost always spot on in its advice.
It is a practical book that has the ambition to remove the anxiety you might feel when diving into the sometimes unbearably complex Italian wine world.
“In Italy, wine is not simply a beverage. It is culture, history, storytelling, family memories, landscapes, art, and much more. Wine is one of the most authentic connections to your heritage and land.” In Italy (or in France, or in Spain…) you just drink a glass of wine. You drink culture and history too. “It’s likely you feel overwhelmed by the Italian wine world when you are in Italy. Sometimes, even the passion of Italians when they speak about wine can feel a bit much,” says Elisabetta Tosi.
Diners enjoying a meal at a trattoria pizzeria in Italy, copyright BKWine Photography
BKWine PhotographyWine is different in Italy
Her book is a guide to get around all that and make you comfortable navigating wine in Italy. It also explains some of the sometimes curious (curious for foreigners) habits and traditions around wine in Italy.
Here are some examples:
Often in Italy, the bill has a small charge for “coperto”, often explained as the charge for the bread, and it is there even if you did not ask for bread. “I had to pay for coperto at the restaurant, but I did not order the bread!” This is a very old tradition going back to the Middle Ages (that also exists in some other European countries) for giving you space at the restaurant and a roof over your head. She points out that this is insignificant compared to the almost compulsory and today next to exorbitant tip practiced in the US.
Tosi also has some more concrete information on how to understand the Italian wine classification system. For example, DOC (denomianzionen di origine controllata) and DOCG (denomianzionen di origine controllata e garantita), reserve, classico, superiore and some other things you can find on a label do not necessarily indicate quality; instead they are signs that the wines adhere to certain rules and regulations and come from a specific place.
A sign for a restaurant in Tuscany, copyright BKWine Photography
BKWine PhotographySelecting and ordering wine in restaurants and wine shops
She has a number of excellent pieces of advice on how to order and drink wine in a restaurant.
Do’s: Do ask for advice. Do trust local wines. Do let the waiter pour first. Do hold the glass by the stem.
Don’ts: Don’t ask for ice in your wine (this, however, can, in my opinion, be quite okay in some instances, a hot summer day when the wine is served too warm, and it is of very modest quality). Don’t smell the cork (you won’t notice anything anyway). Don’t fill the glass too much… Don’t order sweet soft drinks with the food – Italians believe sugary drinks ruin the taste of good food (and right they are!).
But most importantly: “Relax. Italians care about wine, but they care even more about enjoying the moment. A smile and a bit of curiosity will always be appreciated, even if you break a rule or two…”
After lunch with many wines in Tuscany, copyright BKWine Photography
BKWine PhotographyDive into the unknown
When ordering wine in a restaurant, or buying wine in a shop, she has another excellent suggestion. Many people would start looking for something they recognise, “Ah, finally a wine I recognise; I’ll take that”.
That is exactly the wrong way to go if you want to discover the exciting Italian wine landscape. And I absolutely agree with her on this. “When examining a wine list or shop shelf, mentally sort options into ‘grapes I’ve heard of’ and ‘grapes I haven’t heard of.’ And then, start with the second category.”
That is the perfect advice to make you come home from Italy with more knowledge and more enjoyable wine experiences. When you have the opportunity, choose a grape you don’t recognise, a wine region you have never heard of, a producer that you are not at all familiar with. Try something new and something different.
A wine list at a restaurant in Italy, copyright BKWine Photography
BKWine PhotographyPairing food and wine
Another thorny subject that Tosi broaches in the book is pairing food and wine. Her advice is simple: pairing wine and food is not complex; it is simple, not thorny at all. The simplest rule is “combine local with local”. Conventional rules are at best just that, conventional; at worst, bad advice. Be daring, be curious. Don’t over-think it.
Or to use Tosi’s final words on it: “The Italian approach to wine pairing isn’t really about wine at all. It’s about the place. At some point during your trip, you will sit at a table that’s slightly wobbly, on a terrace overlooking something beautiful, and someone will put a plate of food in front of you that you didn’t entirely understand when you ordered it, alongside a glass of a wine you likely have never heard of, made from a grape you can’t pronounce. And everything will be perfect. Not because you followed a rule, but because you trusted the place. That’s the Italian way.”
A book for the curious wine lover
“Sip Easy, The Relaxed Traveler’s Guide To Navigate Italian Wine With Confidence,” is a self-published book available on Amazon. As such, it is not the most elegant book with a definite home-made look, but in a way, that is a reflection of the message it has. Don’t over-complicate things and don’t judge a wine by a fancy label (or a book by a fancy design). Sip Easy is available on Amazon here (and also on other national Amazon sites). It’s a small investment for a much greater enjoyment.
It may look a bit overwhelming with a book with so many pages that doesn’t teach you the facts about Italian wines, but just how to “behave”. But it is a perfect travel companion, short enough to read on the plane to Italy, and full of tips that will make you enjoy your wine exploration more. A book for the curious wine enthusiast.
A wine shop with a wide selection of wines, copyright BKWine Photography
BKWine PhotographyNot only for Italy, also for any wine region
But the advice is not only valid for Italy, the same advice also works just as well in France or Spain and in almost any other wine region. Be curious. Ask questions. Don’t go looking for what you can find at home, but try what you cannot find at home. Explore!
I travel in wine country more than a third of the year, due to the work in wine as a wine writer and wine tour organiser, in different wine regions around the world, often in Italy, and one of the best parts of that is to discover new things, things that I didn’t know before. What’s the point of travelling if it is just to drink what I can get at home?
In fact, when reading the book I sometimes chuckled quietly to myself, thinking “that’s exactly the kind of advice I would give.”
—Per Karlsson
Dining and Cooking