The Italian wine regions setting London alight

Italian food and wine is taking London by storm at the moment, and high-end examples too. Sommeliers and chefs tell Lucy Shaw why their customers are more receptive to lesser-known varieties and which regions will soon come to the fore.

Italian wine is having a moment in London. We’ve gone mad for meatballs, potty for pasta and bonkers for bruschetta. At pasta palace Padella in London Bridge you’ll find queues snaking into nearby Borough Market rain or shine, full of hungry urbanites keen to get their cacio e pepe fix. Italian food has become so popular in London that barely a week goes by without a new Italian opening popping up around town. It wasn’t always this way.

Wind the clock back a decade and you had The River Café and Locanda Locatelli at one end, Spaghetti House at the other, and a huge hole in the middle. This hole has recently been filled by savvy restaurateurs who have realised that there is money to be made from exploiting Brits’ unconditional love for Italy, a country as expressive as the UK is reserved.

Ruth Rogers of The River Café

Places such as Luca in Clerkenwell, founded by the team behind the hugely popular Clove Club in Shoreditch, embody this new breed of Italian restaurant in London that offers the best of both worlds. Led by head chef Robert Chambers, the site serves seasonal British ingredients interpreted through an Italian lens.

The Italian food renaissance in London has ushered in a renewed thirst for Italian wines, particularly those made on a small scale from native grapes that give the customer an inimitable drinking experience. Many of London’s established high-end Italian restaurants, from Sartoria on Savile

Row to The River Café in Hammersmith, champion almost entirely Italian wine lists, save for the odd bottle or two of Champagne. The same is true of the new guard, with both the aforementioned Luca and Bocca di Lupo in Soho shining a light on native Italian grapes and lesser-known regions, from Alto Adige to Umbria.

Grape wise, the two stars blazing a trail in the London on-trade at the moment are Sangiovese and Nebbiolo, from their respective regions of Tuscany and Piedmont, which is where, according to David Gleave MW of Italian specialist Liberty Wines, “the real depth and quality in Italian wine lies”.

At The River Café, French head sommelier Christophe Decoux is pushing Nebbiolos from Alto Piemonte in the foothills of the Alps, where wines from the sub-regions of Gattinara, Ghemme, Boca and Bramaterra offer a similar taste experience to Barolo and Barbaresco at almost half the price.

Barolo and Barbareso are also selling well at the restaurant, which started life 30 years ago as the staff canteen at architect Richard Rogers’ practice.

“Barolo is flying more than the Super Tuscans at the moment. Burgundy lovers who like mono-varietal wines are going for it,” says Decoux. He adds: “Barolo’s ageing process is similar to Burgundy’s because they both become more savoury and earthy when they lose their fruit.”

Gleave of Liberty is equally excited by the potential of the Nebbiolos from Alto Piemonte. “Younger producers and winemakers from outside of Italy are coming to the region. The wines are a lovely counterpoint to the Langhe – they’re more subtle, velvety and aromatic,” he says.

Gleave has also noticed positive changes taking place in the Langhe, where producers are seeking to make more balanced wines with riper tannins and less toasty oak that are more approachable at a younger age. “I’ve seen so much change in both the Langhe and Tuscany over the past few decades. The wines are delicious and thrilling because of their vibrancy, acidity, definition and well-judged oak,” he says. Philippa Saunders, the Italian wine buyer for Flint Wines, agrees.

“There is a real buzz around Piedmont and Nebbiolo at the moment. People who appreciate Pinot Noir tend to appreciate Nebbiolo, and Burgundy’s sky-high prices are making Piedmont look very attractive. Plus, more gentle extraction is making for easier-to-understand tannins, which have previously been Nebbiolo’s nemesis.”

Jacob Kenedy of Bocca di Lupo

Italian wines are flying at Flint – 2017 sales were up by 65% on 2016. But while most in the trade welcome this softer approach in Piedmont, Jacob Kenedy, executive chef and co-owner of Bocca di Lupo, believes Barolo is suffering from an identity crisis fuelled by consumer demand for lighter reds. “People are demanding wines that are ready to drink after a short time in bottle, but that’s not really what Barolo is about, so I’m seeking out older expressions.

It would be good if producers start holding back more stock and releasing the wines when they’re ready to drink, but you need the capital to do it,” he admits. Across town at Ristorante Frescobaldi in Mayfair, Tuscan wines are leading the charge. Of its 200-bin list, 90% of the wines hail from the Frescobaldi portfolio, which includes Super Tuscan Ornellaia and 100% Merlot, Masseto from Bolgheri – “the jewels in our crown”, according to head sommelier Fabrizio de Fenzo.

The 2012 vintage of Ornellaia is currently selling well at £75 a glass, and de Fenzo believes the 2001 vintage of Masseto is “better than 2001 Petrus”. Due to its growing popularity as a tourist destination, Puglia – the heel of Italy’s boot, famed for its charming conical-roofed dry stone huts (known as ‘trulli’) – the southern Italian region has emerged as a rising star in the London on-trade.

Trulli madly deeply: Brits are heading to Puglia in their droves

“Puglia is enjoying the ‘Tuscan’ effect, as a lot of Brits are buying holiday homes there. Antinori is leading the way on the fine wine front with its Tomaresca estate and is helping the region to be taken seriously as a quality wine producer,” says Kenedy of Bocca di Lupo. Diners are similarly thirsty for Puglia at Luca.

“We get a lot of requests for wines from Puglia. It’s a beautiful region and a popular travel destination, plus Primitivo and Negroamaro are affordable, so it’s winning on all fronts,” says Abruzzo-born head sommelier Stefano d’Andrea.

But as popular as Puglia might be, the region stealing hearts (and headlines) at the moment is Etna in Sicily, which is charming sommeliers and diners in equal measure with its smoky, saline whites and mineral reds.

“I went to Etna last summer and there is so much potential for both its whites and reds in the UK. The region is full of old abandoned vineyards that could be revived,” says d’Andrea. For Decoux of The River Café, Etna is the region that “everyone is talking

about”. “We’re seeing incredible demand for Etna wines, and the quality over the past decade has improved dramatically. The reds have a flintiness due to the volcanic soils that is hard to find anywhere else in Italy,” he says. The region to have emerged as the sommeliers’ darling, however, is Friuli on the Slovenian border in northeast Italy. “Whenever a guest is open to suggestions I direct them to the wines of Friuli, which are outstanding.

Whites like Vitovska have great minerality, and Josko Gravner’s orange wines are really exciting,” enthuses Decoux. Kenedy of Bocca di Lupo is equally smitten. “I’m in awe of the reds and whites from Friuli. Light reds like Refosco and Schioppettino (meaning ‘gunshot’) are doing really well for us as we’re getting behind them in a big way, and they pair well with a lot of our dishes. I’ve been championing Friuli for a long time and our customers are starting to get to grips with the native grapes from there,” he says.

Opinions are divided in the trade as to which Italian region will be the next to steal the limelight Etna is basking in. Frequently mentioned as a place to watch is Campania in Southern Italy, whose native whites Fiano and Greco di Tufo, and red Aglianico are poised for a spike in popularity. Fabrizo de Fenzo of Ristorante Frescobaldi goes as far as to say that Aglianico is “the new super wine from the south”. Encouragingly, consumer knowledge of Italian wines is on the rise, and most diners have at least a basic knowledge of the key regions on Italy’s boot.

“Things have improved so much over the past decade as there are a lot more opportunities to discover Italian wines in the UK now. So many of our customers tell us about a magical wine experience they had on holiday in Italy, which they’re keen to recreate back home. The romance of Italy really appeals to the Brits,” says Michael Simms, the longtime head sommelier of Sartoria on Savile Row, headed by celebrity chef Francesco Mazzei.

“Most of our diners have been to Italy at least once,” says Kenedy of Bocca di Lupo, who believes traditional-method sparkler Franciacorta is becoming better known in the UK as an Italian alternative to Champagne.

Francesco Mazzei of Sartoria

It’s easy to see why Italian food has been embraced so enthusiastically in London lately. As our political situation becomes ever more precarious, and our economy more fragile, people are seeking comfort, and what could be more comforting than a giant bowl of pasta? The beauty of Italian food lies in its simplicity. Italians know that great tasting food needn’t break the bank.

But it needs to be made with high-quality, fresh, seasonal ingredients – a food philosophy the Italians have championed for centuries. The new wave of Italian venues in London aim to recreate the comfort of ‘mamma’s’ home cooking in an elegant and refined manner. “Italian food is simple, tasty and great value for money, which is a winning formula in London,” says Stefano d’Andrea of Luca. He adds: “The Italian tradition of spending hours at the table is a bit of a contradiction in London but it somehow seems to work.”

Ristorante Frescobaldi in Mayfair

Italophile Jacob Kenedy of Bocca di Lupo believes holidays in Italy have played their part in the recent renaissance of Italian restaurants in the UK.

“Brits go to Italy in their droves because it’s heaven. Italian restaurants became a bit hackneyed in the ‘90s, but new players have come along and repackaged Italian cuisine in a refreshing and appealing way,” he says.

For de Fenzo of Frescobaldi, it’s the simple fact that Italians do it better. “We get a lot of tailors coming to our restaurant because we’re near Savile Row.

We serve them pasta with black truffle and they fall in love with it,” he says. Simms of Sartoria, meanwhile, believes the appeal of Italian food lies in its universality. “I don’t know a single nationality that doesn’t like Italian food.

The root of the cuisine – tomatoes, lemons, olive oil – is universal and appeals to everyone,” he says. Buoyed by the Italian food boom, Italian wines are thriving in the UK on-trade.

When both still and sparkling wines are taken into account, Italy is the top-selling wine country in the sector, propelled by super-seller Prosecco. A whopping 5.5 million cases of Italian wine were sold in the UK on-trade last year, and the country achieved value sales of £1.1 billion, according to the latest figures from on-trade specialists CGA Strategy.

While Italy has always been the jewel in Liberty’s crown, Gleave reports that its Italian wine sales are in double-digit growth. Encouragingly, sales aren’t just coming from London-based Italian restaurants. Half of Liberty’s Italian wine sales come from outside of the capital, and half of the wines are sold to non-Italian restaurants. In London, the likes of Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, Maze, The Wolseley, Berners Tavern, China Tang and Lorne are all championing Italian wines on their lists.

“There’s a sense among sommeliers now that you need a good Italian wine offering on any fine wine list that aspires to be taken seriously,” says Gleave. But as rosy as the picture might seem, the inevitability of Brexit is casting a long shadow. The uncertainty surrounding the UK’s exit from the EU has led to rising restaurant rents, a dip in the value of the pound and an exodus of talented European staff, so the months ahead won’t be easy for anyone who operates in the on-trade.

“London will always be London, but many Italians are moving back home due to the uncertainty in the UK on-trade at the moment,” says Stevie Kim, managing director of Vinitaly, who believes that for Italian wine brands to weather the storm, they need to find innovative and targeted ways to tell their brand stories in the UK. Whatever the future holds, for now at least, London’s love affair with Italy remains red hot.