European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 15, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                I t a l going to the source Ying wine in bulk Good Way to meet people while cutting Costa a is. A. A a a a a by Gail Fisher Italy is one of the largest wine producers in Europe and italians drink wine As americans drink milk or soft drinks. Not All wine produced in Italy is of top Quality and before the last 10 years the great majority of the wine produced was of inferior Quality. Remember the Straw flasks everyone burned candles in fortunately no one can remember the wine that came in the flasks. In the last 10 years however there has been a growing interest in producing top Quality wines. For the common consumer this Means that High Quality wines Are readily available inexpensively. Many italians Don t buy wines by the bottle except for special occasions. Rather they buy wines in bulk directly from a local producer and pay As Little As 1,500 lire roughly $1 per liter. You Don t have to be a local to take advantage of this and buying wines in bulk can be a fantastic cultural experience most foreigners never have. If you plan on travelling in Italy you Don t have to be in Tuscany to get Good wine wine is the blood of Italy and every single Region has some wine production. In the North the mountainous Region is famous for White wines produced in the style of German wines the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region near Aviano a is known for both its red and Whites and the Region of Tuscany near Camp Darby is most famous for its reds. How do you buy wine in bulk first gather All your old bottles including water and wine and even Champagne bottles. Have them washed and cleaned beforehand. Don t forget that the Normal wine bottle is three fourths of a liter since you will buying the wine by the liter continued from Page 5 makers was Piero Antinori scion of an ancient florentine Chianti House. The Antinori had Long been Active in the Orvieto Region from their base at the castello Della Sala a 14th-Century fortified Castle that Piero Antinori s father Niccolo purchased along with about 1,200 acres just before world War ii. So i drove Over the mountains to Sala a wide spot in for a amps Gall Fisher to buy wine in bulk gather ail your old bottles and buy a Dami Giana you la need four bottles for three liners of wine. Next you la need a Dami Giana pronounced Dah Mee John a which is a huge bottle wrapped in Woven plastic or Straw. A Amigine come in a variety of sizes generally from 10 liners up to 50, and Are sold at Garden Supply stores called agrico Itura a Gree col Turah. Every town seems to have an agrico Itura and they seem to be especially prevalent in Rural areas or on the outskirts of towns. When you find an agrico Itura smile a lot and ask for a Dami Giana in Vetro in Glass per Vino. Or just look around until you see one and Point. While you Are at the agrico Itura look for bottle corks and if you Don t own a funnel pick one up there too. Recently a 35-liter Dami Giana Cost 20,000 lire about $12.50. Now that you have your Dami Giana and your bottles and corks you Are ready to have fun. As you spin through the luscious italian Countryside keep a look out for signs pointing off the main roads that say Vendita Diretta. This Means that the wine producer will sell his wines to you directly. Also wines Are sold by producers called Cantina. It is customary to taste the wines before you buy. Taste everything they have Vino Rosso is red wine and Vino Bianco is White wine in some regions the locals prefer red in the Winter and White in the summer and availability May vary accordingly. If you like what you taste they will fill your Dami Giana for you. If you Don t have enough bottles saved up to accommodate the volume of the Dami Giana you can ask to have your Dami Giana filled Only partially. Just Point to the level you want it filled. Now that you have your Dami Giana of wine you should take care while transporting it. Whether your wine is the cheapest you could find or the finest you should take some precautions to ensure that you Don t harm it. Wine is sensitive to heat and Light so be sure you Don t leave it in the car to Cook on a sunny Day. Likewise try to avoid cold temperatures especially difficult when travelling across the Alps. In addition wine is somewhat susceptible to vibrations obviously some shaking is going to happen but try to keep it to a minimum when moving the Dami Giana about. When you get Home use your funnel to Transfer the wine into the individual bottles. Fill the bottles full and Cork them and store them on their sides to keep the Cork wet. It is important that excess air does t get in the bottle because the wine will ferment rapidly and you May find yourself with Many liners of vinegar. Store your bottles out of direct sunlight where the temperature remains relatively Cool and constant most wine cellars Are at about 55 degrees  should find that even if you Don t speak italian the wine producers Are incredibly Friendly and eager to please. Buying wine directly from the producer is an Opportunity to delve into an aspect of italian culture that is a ancient As the romans. You la be surprised by the encouragement you la receive and most people you meet will do their Best to overcome any language Barrier that May arise. A wonderful guide to Italy s wine regions that May help any intrepid adventurer is the wine roads of Italy by Marc and Kim Millon published by Harper Collins in 1991. Another Handy reference to wine is Hugh Johnson s pocket encyclopedia of wine Publ shed each year by fireside a division of Simon amp schuster. Gail Fisher la a from Lanc writer living near Voma Italy the Road about 20 minutes North of Orvieto on the Road to Arezzo. There at the castello Della Sala under the watchful Eye of Renzo Totarella one of the Antinori key winemakers a fascinating variety of White wines take on life. Orvieto Secco the dry version of the wine traditionally is composed of up to 65 percent Procanick the local name for Italy s ubiquitous White grape and up to 25 percent Grechette a local variety. Three others verdello Drupe Gio and Malvasia make up the rest depending on the winemaker s whim. Because of the Procanick and the Grechette both the Borro Della Sala a a blend of 70 percent Sauvignon Blanc and 30 percent Procanick a and the Cevaro Della Sala a about 75 percent chardonnay and 25 percent Grechette a have a distinctly local flavor. Quot there Are technical and philosophical reasons for using the local grapes Quot Totarella said. Quot in warm vintages like 1988 and 1990, chardonnay alone was too Flat we needed the Grechette. In cold years we might go from 30 Down to 10 percent  but beyond that using the old local grapes preserves some of the local culture. Piero Antinori firmly believes that it s important to preserve As much As possible these regional characteristics. Quot besides anyone can make a chardonnay but one with an umbrian flavor is something very special Quot he said. Would old Luca Signorelli like the new style wines probably but perhaps not As much As his colleague Bernadino Dibetto who called himself pint Uricchio. Anderson said pint Uricchio was fired from his Job at the Orvieto Cathedral after some clerical bookkeeper decided he d consumed too much azure too much Gold and too much wine.6 stripes Magazine de Cernier 15, 1994