The wines of Ticino (Switzerland)

After reviews of the broader wine region, the industry structure, and its wine production practices, I will now examine the wines of the Ticino region.

White Wines

In my view, the great white wine regions of the world are so designated because their wines exhibit typicity, balance, and, in most cases, bright acidity. You know when you are drinking a Chardonnay from Burgundy or Margaret River; or a Chenin or Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire; or an Assyrtiko from Santorini; or a white from Rioja or Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Ticino is not one of the world's great white wine regions. Rather, it still seems to be casting about in search of a white-wine identity. As I survey the number of different white wines being made in the region, I am reminded of conversations among Virginia Wine Bloggers a few years ago as to what grape varieties were best suited to the region; but Virginia is an emergent wine growing region while Ticino has been turning the sod for a minute.

The Ticino white wine environment is not as monolithic as is the case for its reds but the primary red variety -- Merlot - also plays an important role in the region's white wines. For the production of white wines, the Merlot grape is crushed and then gently pressed with little or no contact between the skin and juice. The 2013 Brivio Contrado is such a wine. It is barrel-fermented and aged for 10 months in oak. The wine was cold-filtered to remove any color and, according to the owner, fermentation flavors were also removed during this process. Aromas include chocolate, coffee, banana, and lychee. It had great weight on the palate. This was the standout white Merlot for me.

Most of the other white wines tasted were blends of Chardonnay and one or two other varieties -- Chardonnay-Sauvignon Blanc blends were fairly popular -- and these were, for the most part, indistinguishable one from the other. Even when paired with foods, these wines did not stand out.

One white wine that was a reveal as to the potential of the region -- if it focused its effort -- was the 2011 Agriloro Chardonnay. This was one of the few varietally labeled wines that I encountered on this visit. Both alcoholic and malolactic fermentation were conducted in barriques and the wine was then aged for 9 months in 25% new barriques. This was an excellent representation of Chardonnay. Apple-pear on the nose and palate with white fruits, oak, biscuit, and spice. Margaret-River-Chardonnay-like on the palate. Elegant, with perfect balance. Apple on the aftertaste. Phenomenal alone. No give when paired with a Braised Hare with Pomegranate Seeds and a Cortona Apple Puree.

Red Wines

As I have mentioned many times previously, the dominant grape variety in Ticino is Merlot. And so is the dominant red wine. One of the characteristics of the Ticino wine region is that the allowed yield is 70 hl/ha and, as I have pointed out elsewhere, this compares unfavorably with other leading Merlot-produing regions. There are a number of distinct issues with overcropping, in general, and with Merlot, in particular:

• Given the vigorous nature of the Merlot variety, as well as the soils in the south, it is quite likely that large canopies accompany this type of yield
• Proper canopy management in this environment will be very time-consuming
• With the perceived canopy sizes, enough light may not be getting through to the fruit, with implications for berry size and concentration of solutes
• An effect of these high yields is a diminution of the herbaceousness of the Merlot and an increase in its fruitiness

My impression of the Ticino Merlots is that there are a number of standout representations surrounded by a vast sea of average-to-poor wines. But, as we found out, the wines of Ticino do best with foods, as even the less-than-stellar wines spring to life in the presence of a mouthful of the robust fare of the region.

Tasting notes for a small subset of the reds follow:

Brivio 2011 Refisi de Epoca -- Concentrated fruit, balsamic notes, coconut oil, tobacco, cuban cigars. Elegant, refined, integrated, balanced. Long, refined finish with chocolate aftertaste.
Brivio 2011 Sassi Grossi -- Grapes from the north. Spice, toast, balsamic, tar, shoe polish. Good acidity. Rich, weighty, and smooth. Coffee. Long finish with a creamy aftertaste.
Brivio 2010 Trentasei -- Grapes from the north. Successive 18-month new oak treatments. Straight oak notes with spice, smoke, sweet baking spices, and milk chocolate. Elegant. Long finish with a creamy aftertaste.

Agriloro 2011 Merlot Reserva La Prella -- Alcoholic fermentation in barrels for 15 days followed by MLF and 2 years of aging in 50% new oak barrels. Ripe red fruit on attack with concentrated black fruit on mid-palate. Rich. Spice. Chocolate. Elegant and balanced. Great weight on palate. A little light on the finish.
Agriloro 2011 Casimiri -- Nine-variety blend to include Bordeaux varieties plus Arinarnoa, Tannat, Gamaret, Egiodola, and Marselan. Alcoholic fermentation in barrels for 15 days followed by MLF and 2 years of aging in 50% new oak barrels. Complex. Chocolate and baking spices, fudge, and milk chocolate. Slate, tar, anise and spice. Excellent acidity. Balanced and harmonious.
Agriloro 2007 Syrah -- Alcoholic fermentation in barrels for 20 days followed by MLF and 2 years of aging in 60% new oak barrels. Very Syrah. Blood, iron, meat, with a gaminess. Good concentration. Ripe but not overripe. Fresh.

Vinattieri 2011 Ligornetto -- Grapes for this wine had yields of 35 hl/ha. Aged for 16 - 18 months in part new oak. Plum and licorice with good acidity. Spice. Austere. Ripe tannins. Astringency without aggressiveness. Good, firm aftertaste.
Vinattieri 2012 Ligornetto -- Same treatment. Only bottled this past June so not yet on market. Vinous. Austere. Lean. Vibrant and zesty.

The visit and tasting of Ticino wines were both informative and revelatory. It was informative in that I was exposed to Ticino wines and winemakers for the first time ever and gained some insight into what they are trying to accomplish. It was revelatory in that it gave me some insight as to the potential of the region (my perspective, of course). The Agriloro Chardonnay cries out for a concerted attempt to place this type of quality before the world's wine drinkers and influencers. The fine, elegant Merlots that I drank seemed to come from vineyards with lower yields. It may be that the high Merlot yields in effect are there to provide grapes for the white wines also but I think that the region would be better served by cutting back on merlot production and converting some of those vineyards to Chardonnay (at the appropriate yield levels). This would improve the quality of the Merlot offerings and place another great Chardonnay onto the world wine stage.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Wine production in Ticino, Switzerland

After reviews of the broader wine region and the industry structure, I will now, as promised, examine the wines of the Ticino region.

One of the limitations of our assessment effort was an inability -- due to inclement weather and the short duration of our stay -- to walk the vineyards and engage with viticulturists on their strategies and cultural practices. As a believer in the mantra "great wines are made in the vineyard," for me this was a gap of significant proportions.

Due to its early-ripening nature, and the region's ability to bring it to full phenolic ripeness within the available period, Merlot is far and away the dominant variety and wine in Ticino. The table below shows types of wine grapes planted in the region and the relative dominance of Merlot.

Red Grapes	White Grapes
Merlot (85% of all plantings)	Chardonnay (2.3%)
Pinot Noir (1.5%)	Chasselas
Bondola (1.7%)	Semillon
Cabernet Sauvignon	Sauvignon Blanc
Cabernet Franc	Kerner
Gamaret	Riesling x Sylvaner
Garanoir	Pinot Gris
Ancellota	Pinot Blanc
Pinot x Cabernet

History

But Merlot did not always have this level of prominence in the Ticino winemaking landscape. According to winewaysofitaly.com (The History of Merlot in Ticino), winemaking in Ticino was laid low by Phylloxera, odium, and mildew in the 1860s and then a re-appearance of mildew in 1878. Two of the important waypoints along the comeback trail were (i) the introduction of Riparia x Rupestris 101 and 3309 rootstocks and (ii) the introduction of the Merlot grape into the cultivar mix.

In an effort to revive the wine industry in Ticino, in 1901 the Department of Agriculture established a "Circulating Chair" of Agriculture seated in Lucarno and that institution initiated testing the suitability of cultivars for the environment. Between 1901 and 1906 the Chair tested a number of cultivars and reported on Merlot as being of "superior quality, resistant to sickness and decay, of precocious maturation and abundant productivity." In 1907, 12,230 Merlot buds were distributed in Ticino and 220,000 were planted over the next five years (winewaysofitaly.com)

In more modern times the Ticino wine industry was rejuvenated by 12 separate groups of young farmers coming in from the Swiss German parts of the country and taking possession of some of the abandoned vineyards. These new arrivals were focused on quality, at that time not a watchword of Ticino viniviticulture. Ticinese youngsters were influenced by these trailblazers and set out to make their own wines in this new style and initiated a discussion as to the linkage between low yields and high quality. Limits on yields began to be imposed in 1992.

Winemaking

Our understanding is that 15 companies produce 80% of the region's wines. We met with five of the large producers and two of the small ones, and, therefore, have a fairly solid sample from which to make projections.

I will use the Brivio (one of the wineries visited) environment as a yardstick for discussion of the Ticino winemaking environment. The table directly below shows DOC labels produced by this winery; 10 of the 13 wines are 100% Merlot or has Merlot as part of the blend. The figure below the table illustrates the Brivio winemaking process.

                                         Distribution of Brivio Wines by Type and DOC

Type	DOC	# *	Chardonnay	Semillon	Pinot Noir	Sauv Blanc	Merlot	Gamaret	Cab Franc	Cab Sauv
White	Bianco del Ticino		40%	25%	20%	15%
	Bianco di Merlot	2					100%
	Sauvignon					100%
	Chardonnay		100%
Rosé	Rosato di Merlot						100%
Red	Merlot	6					100%
	Rosso di Ticino	2					34% 65%	60%	8%	27%

*One except stated otherwise

The philosophy of Cantina Kopp Van der Krone Visini is "different wines from different terroirs"; and this seems to hold true for most of the wineries that we visited. And this is not limited to the broader terroirs of the north and south. Rather, in many cases, we are looking at a stable of labels from vineyard site to vineyard site such that vineyard site A will have a white label (or even two), a Rosé label, and multiple red labels; and so on. This would seem to present a management headache, especially in that the differences in these "terroirs" are not clearly spelt out. At least I did not get a clear sense of the different terroirs beyond the north and south regions of Ticino. It also would seem to present some confusion to the customer who has to choose between a large number of otherwise undifferentiated labels in making purchasing decisions.

The average yield in Ticino is 70 hl/ha (compared to 68 hl/ha and 60 hl/ha, respectively, for AOC Bourgogne whites and reds). Brivio works with a low-yield clone to realize 50 hl/ha (not clear if this is the 3309 clone mentioned by Wine Ways of Italy) while Vinattieri limits yields to 25 hl/ha for its Castello Luigi Bianco Chardonnay and 35 hl/ha for its Ligornetto. For comparison, Pomerol, also a Merlot-dominant region, has a yield mandate of 42 hl/ha. Again it would seem to be confusing to a customer, and unfair to some producers, to have a 35-hl/ha wine and a 70-hl/ha wine both be classed as Ticino DOC.

The environment would seem to lend itself to, on average, thinner, less-concentrated wines:

• The average yield is high being, as it is, on par with yields for Bourgogne whites and almost twice as high as Pomerol, one of the world's benchmark Merlot regions
• Merlot is a vigorous cultivar and the clay soils of the south are highly fertile. The 3309 rootstock employed in Ticino vineyards is a low-vigor rootstock but rootstock effects are typically trumped by soil and water-holding-capacity effects, a situation that is probably pertinent to Ticino
• The vines  of Ticino do not seem to be grown in stressful environments and the common wisdom today is that slight stress on the vine yields higher-quality grapes
• The drive to deliver wines from each "terroir" may be to the detriment of producing the best wine possible

This concern about concentration levels appears to be the driver for two interesting winemaking tweaks that we encountered. First, the grapes for Brivio's flagship wine (Platinum) are dried for three weeks in thermo-ventilated boxes before alcoholic fermentation begins (This practices increases the solids concentration in the grape prior to alcoholic fermentation but may be at the expense of freshness.). Second, Vinattieri blends their Merlot with juice from dried  Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes. The addition amounts to 2% to 3% of the total and contributes a "chaptalization effect" while also conveying small elements of the character of the mentioned cultivars.

I will characterize the wines we tasted in my next post.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme