France vs Italy, comparison between wine powers

Whenever we talk about wine at its highest levels, the reference to France and its legendary labels, but more generally to those territories (Champagne, Bordeaux and Burgundy) that represent the Holy Grail of every winelover, is obvious as well as sacrosanct.

With all due respect to those who - probably fasting French wines - contest this vision, hiding behind phrases such as: “I don't like Champagne. And then, do you want to compare with our Franciacorta, which cost half and are twice as good? " or “Burgundy wines? Overrated and excessively expensive. Often thin and structureless. "

As usual, reality is much more complex than clichés, regardless of where the truth lies, if it existed and were unique and unequivocal.

But in any case, is the superiority of French wine really real and well-founded, or is it more of a myth consolidated by the time but which today would be worth debunking?

In the rest of the article I dealt with some of the issues that most differentiate the two most important wine producing countries globally, marking a border still far from being crossed.

Are you curious to know more? Read on ...

 

AMPELOGRAPHIC WEALTH

Let's start with an aspect in which we Italians are (almost) unbeatable, that of richness and ampelographic variety.

In Italy, vines are grown practically everywhere, from the alpine foothills of Valle d'Aosta and Valtellina to Pantelleria, in environmental and climatic conditions that are very far one from each other.

So it is not surprising that ours is the European country that offers the widest wine biodiversity, and the impressive number of vines grown within our territory (over three hundred), sometimes present only within certain micro-areas, are the testimony of a uniqueness that we could - indeed we should - value more.

On the contrary, in France the vine has a more limited geographical spread (also due to objective climatic limits to its cultivation), and also the "microclimates" in which it is planted are numerically lower, with a consequent reduction in the cultivated varieties.

But even in some areas where historically a significant number of cultivars coexisted, the French skill to always look towards the optimization of the final product has determined - over the centuries - the abandonment of some vines for the benefit of others that was more profitable.

I Think about Malbec or Carmenere practically disappeared in Bordeaux blends (which had to emigrate to South America to regain their "lost dignity", becoming wine symbols of Argentina and Chile respectively) or Gamay, which is less and less widespread in the native land of Burgundy, and now confined to Beaujolais only.

 

PRODUCTION AND TURNOVER

In terms of overall production, in recent years Italy has reached (and in some cases surpassed) the French giant, but the two countries tend to be the same, around a value that is – in last years – around 45 million. of hectoliters.

However, this has not yet translated into a breakeven even in terms of overall turnover, given that French wines - on average – have a value practically double compared to ours (about 6€/liter, while we hardly approach 3/liter ), generating induced activities close to 30 billion euros.

The reasons for this gap? Multiple and of different nature, although they probably reside in some of the factors analyzed in the rest of the article.

 

KNOWLEDGE AND TECHNICAL SKILL

 It is useless to make fun of ourselves or go around it: here the French are superior.

In fact, even if the cultivation of the vine in our country is very ancient, as well as being certainly prior to the moment in which it began on French soil, it is undeniable that if we talk about modern oenology, our cousins ​​have - over the last two centuries - laid the technical & scientific foundations to which the rest of the world has then joined.

In fact, the studies carried out in the Bordeaux area (both by the most important and wealthy chateaus and through the work carried out by the University of Bordeaux), but also various innovations attributable to other French oenological realities - Champagne and Burgundy above all - have represented, and still represent absolute and indisputable references both as regards the activities in the vineyard and in the cellar.

This "cultural and technological advance" is also reflected in the wines, which in France - beyond their absolute value - almost always show an admirable technical precision and balance.

An aspect that not always - and especially not everywhere - are typical of our wines, which often show limits attributable to a lack of knowledge of the principles of viticulture and enology, even where they would have the possibility to express fantastic results.

Renè Engel, a great Burgundian producer, observing the amazement of Luigi Veronelli in front of a glass of his wonderful Vosne-Romanèe, said: "You (Italians) have golden grapes and make silver wines. We (French) silver grapes and gold wines ".

A few words, which perfectly enclose and summarize the concepts expressed above, and with which I can only agree.

 

PRODUCT HIERARCHIZATION

The culture of the cru and of the terroir is typical of French viticulture and its great producers, who over the years have sublimated this aspect (especially in Burgundy), even managing to go beyond varietal recognition.

But even where this “territorial specificity” is less marked, the French have been able to create consolidated hierarchies that are easily understood by the consumer.

We can think – for example – about the classification of Medoc wines, dated 1855 (this is not a mistake, you read that right ...).

In Italy, even though it has been discussed for some time, we are still very far from forms of classification that immediately and undisputable highlight the pyramid of our quality (unless we want to affirm that this is achieved through the IGT, DOC and DOCG brands)  nor by subdivisions based on the concept of terroir, not even in those denominations – first of all Barolo and Barbaresco, but also Brunello di Montalcino, Etna or Taurasi - in which this is in fact evident.

 

PRODUCT IDENTITY

French wines, especially those coming from the most prestigious appellation, have tended to keep their identifying characteristics recognizable, sometimes perceived - and perceptible - even as immutable or monolithic. And even when it happened that they "adapted" to consumer trends (as in the case of Bordeaux in the 80s or 90s, under the pressure of Robert Parker’s judgments) they did it differently from the others, almost as if they were it was they who imposed a trend rather than following it, remaining in any case a point of reference for all those who, in every part of the wine world, inevitably ended up following them.

On the contrary, Italian wine has often had "identity problems", to the point that even within the most important appellations there have been - and still continue to exist - ideological discussions between factions with opposing visions, which give the idea of ​​the fact that, rather than expressing in the wine the characters of the terroir from which it comes, one tries to "build" a wine on the basis of personal taste, or of the current trend.

Not that this is necessarily bad in terms of the absolute quality of  wine, but in this case it will hardly  identifiable and therefore recognizable, both in terms of quality and price that the consumer will be willing to spend on it.

 

ABSOLUTE VALUE OF WINES

A very broad topic, and of non-immediate generalization, also because providing scales of absolute value always and in any case falls within a subjective and personal field.

Certainly - beyond personal opinions – there’s no comparison in at least two of the four categories into which the world of wine is usually divided, namely sparkling wines and white wines. In the first case, the depth and complexity of the best Champagnes do not find real challengers in our sparkling, except in rare and sporadic cases (both Franciacorta and Trentino).

On the other hand, the comparison about whites is even merciless, in which the best French expressions (coming from Loire Valley, from Chablis area and above all from Cote de Beaune) are able to reach peaks of incomparable depth and charm, peaks that our whites – even at the highest levels - do not even approach.

In the field of sweet wines, something could be said. In fact, it’s true that France is the home of the most famous sweet wine in the world - the mythological Sauternes Chateau d'Yquem - capable of rivaling the wonderful Hungarian Tokaji or the eternal Port Vintage, but we too are not at all put badly, both with the best expressions of Passito di Pantelleria and small great gems like Picolit (undoubtedly the best Italian musty wine) or the Malvasia di Bosa, capable of giving tastes of unusual complexity, harmony and pleasure.

Finally, the topic of red wines, the only one in which we can really play it on par (or almost), both in terms of absolute peaks and the density of great performers.

Of course, the myths of French enology (especially the greatest Grand Crus of the Cote de Nuits) reach prices that our wines can only dream of, but even in Italy there are labels of unspeakable value, authentic giants capable of battling - for strength, depth, elegance and longevity - with the best reds of Burgundy, Bordeaux and Rhône.

 

VALUE FOR MONEY

Basically it could be said that in the latter field Italian wines are superior, but in reality this is not the case, or rather this statement is not absolutely true.

Of course, it is indisputable that in some areas of Italy - those “kissed by the sun and the light” – it’s possible to produce excellent labels even in a range close to 10-15€, as well as in some French areas - usually those close to the most important denominations – to drink well it is necessary to spend quite large amounts.

But, excluding these extreme situations, two realities are essentially the same, an aspect testified by the fact that not only in Italy but also in France – outside the areas with greater tradition – it’s not impossible to find excellent wines at affordable prices, as well as looking for well, even in very noble areas (such as Champagne) there were small realities of absolute value without shelling out exorbitant amounts.

To summarize, the France of wine still retains a position of advantage and superiority, due to a contributing factor such as technical knowledge, ability to team up, commercial skills but also the presence of some unique and unrepeatable terroirs.

Will we be able to erase this gap over the decades?

We'll see. In the mean time, however, let's enjoy the great wines that both countries are able to offer to us.