Five Tasty Italian Alternative Wines To Cabernet Sauvignon
What wine lover on the face of the Earth doesn't love Cabernet Sauvignon wine? Pure or blended with Merlot and Cabernet Franc (or some other French grape) according to the Burgundy style, this wine has been around for centuries. In our hectic modern world, though, wine consumption trends can appear and disappear at the speed of light. Thus, one could expect that even an evergreen such as the Cabernet Sauvignon begins to show its age. No fear. If you don't want to appear a bit out of fashion bringing a traditional bottle of this wine to some party or as a gift, here there are a few Italian alternatives that won't make you and your friends disappointed.
A Gentle And Powerful Wine From Basilicata
The first wine you can uncork instead of a Cabernet is Aglianico. This is a dark-skinned, late-ripening grape variety known for producing full-bodied, tannic wines with remarkable aging potential. When it's cultivated on the volcanic slopes of Monte Vulture, in the southern region of Basilicata, it shows off a volcanic character with a wide range of red and violet fruits along with earthy, spicy and smoky notes. 2021 Cantine del Notaio 'Il Sigillo' Aglianico del Vulture DOC is a meaningful champion of this kind of wine. In the glass it appears with a dark, almost dense ruby red color, while at the nose they occur, almost in sequence, ripe cherry, blackberry, black pepper, chocolate, dried violet, carob, tobacco, cinnamon, leather, licorice, with a balsamic touch of menthol. The sip is sapid, fresh, round, and full, but with a great acidity that makes it the perfect companion of robust dishes of red meat or aged cheese.
Vineyard landscape near Montefalco, Umbria, Italy.
The King of Umbria Red Wines
Sagrantino di Montefalco DOCG is another wine for people who love elegant tannins and a richly fruity taste. The grape is the indigenous Sagrantino, the most tannic variety you can find in Italy, and owes its name to the small and beautiful village of Montefalco, in Umbria. The greenest region in central Italy. Like the Aglianico del Vulture, Sagrantino is also suitable for long aging. The 2016 Romanelli 'Terra Cupa Sagrantino di Montefalco DOCG' displays a dark ruby red in the glass, and a generous bunch of blackberry, cherry, plum flanked by balsamic notes and slightly spicy hints. In the mouth it is juicy and vibrant, with lively tannins and elegant but persistent finish.
The Wine Coming From The Past
The South of Italy is also the source of the third wine you could sip in place of a Cabernet Sauvignon. Susumaniello is a local grape of Apulia that people have always been cultivating, especially in the Brindisi surroundings. However, it has only recently been rediscovered by the consumer and wine critics, in part because of its success as a rosé wine. Susumaniello can be blended with other autochthonous varieties such as Nero di Troia or Negroamaro (or both), but the following is in purity. 2021 Tenute Rubino 'Oltremè Susumaniello Brindisi DOC' has a dense red color, with fruity notes of ripe plum, and cinnamon, followed by hints of cedar, black currant leaf, hazelnut and a smoky touch in the final. In the mouth, it is round and savory, clean and long. Interestingly, the producer suggests pairing this wine with some original combination, such as the sound of 'Up Where We Belong' by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes or Ang Lee's intimate film 'Eat Drink Man Woman.'
Vineyards. Mezzolombardo. Piana Rotaliana. Trentino Alto Adige. Italy. (Photo by: Marco ... More Simonini/REDA/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Taste of Earthiness From Trentino
With the next wine, we move to North Italy. Teroldego is a historic, renowned grape cultivated almost exclusively in Trentino. Its cradle is very likely to be the Rotaliana plain between Trento and Mezzolombardo, and from this place come some of the most appreciated bottles of Teroldego in the world. With firm tannins and vibrant acidity, it's a wine wine bold and structured, and typically shows dark fruits such as plum and blackberry, with bit of earthiness. Sometimes it even has a slightly wild, herbal character, not unlike a cooler-climate Cabernet Sauvignon. 2020 Endrizzi 'Gran Masetto Teroldego Vigneti delle Dolomiti IGT' is an award-winning wine powerful and gentle at the same time, with a bright dark red color. The nose explodes in fruity aromas of ripe wild blackberries and currants with ethereal nuances and vegetal odors, mellowed by toasted, mineral, and spice notes. The taste is consistent, with a velvety texture on the palate: great balance between acidity and alcohol, full and pleasant to the finish. A wine that doesn't need food to be fully enjoyed but that can enhance grilled or roasted red meat as well as seasoned cheese.
A Wine That Flies Under The Radar
The renowned "skewed" bottle of Travaglini Gattinara
In the northwest of Italy, Piedmont region is the homeland of some of the most renowned red wines all over the world. Gattinara is a red wine made from Nebbiolo grapes, specifically produced on the hills close to the town of Gattinara, a small town in the area of Upper Piedmont. It can be made with 100% of Nebbiolo, or Spanna, as someone calls the variety in this part of the region. Sometimes the wine can be a blend of Nebbiolo, with small percentages of Bonarda di Gattinara or Vespolina also included. According to its admires, Gattinara is a top-tier Nebbiolo wine that often flies under the radar. It offers the complexity and power of a Cabernet Sauvignon, but with the finesse and the aromatic touch that only Nebbiolo can have. Bottled in its characteristic unmistakable 'skewed' bottle, the 2018 Travaglini 'Gattinara DOCG' is an almost educational sample of this wine. The color is an almost transparent antique and shiny garnet; the nose delivers delicate floral scents of violet and rose petal that take on spicy and balsamic mottling with age. In the mouth, it is elegant, fresh, and well balanced, with an enjoyable finish of small red fruits and fruit jellies.
Why You Should Pick Wines Like Them
Despite their original characteristics, all these wines share with Cabernet Sauvignon some key attributes, such as structure, tannic texture, complex aromatics, and age-worthiness. Each of them, though, also brings a distinctive Italian feature—whether it's the warmth of South Italy, the mountain strength of Trentino, the nobility of the Piedmontese tradition, or the pride of Umbrian wines. So, if you're looking for Italian alternatives to Cabernet Sauvignon that hold their own, these five are solid contenders. Your guests and maybe you will be nicely surprised .
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