All Things Grape and Wonderful

For many years it has been a ritual in our household for Amy to indicate how much she likes grapes, for me to buy some and then for Amy to lament how inferior they are to Italian grapes. Grapes from a supermarket in the US are juicy and sweet, but for Amy that is where they end. They have little flavor and aren’t worth the trouble to pick out the seeds. Even seedless grapes fail to live up to her standards. When we arrived in Viterbo one of the first things Amy did was to try the grapes. She was disappointed; they were just like grapes in the states. However, a few days ago, interesting things began to happen. The assortment of grapes began to change. There are now no fewer than six varieties of white grapes in our local fruit store and Amy is in heaven. Her favorites so far are uva moscata (Muscat grapes) and uva fragola (strawberry grapes). The uva fragola are aromatic and bursting with flavor, similar to but without quite the same bitter aftertaste to a Concord grape. It would appear the season of the grape has begun.

It is also interesting to me that Italians use the same word for raisins as they do for grapes. Uva is modified by adjectives to indicate the type of grape or the fact that they have been dried out, but the basic description is still a grape. There are other examples of this. The word for plum is the same whether it has been dried out or not. Both are called prugna.

Finally, we have the fermented grape. I am hardly a wine snob. But, with the help of our friend Danny and by tasting lots of different wines, I have slowly been able to distinguish various wines and what makes them good. Wine is the drink of choice here in Italy and, unlike most other items you find, it is far less expensive than in the US. You can buy a great bottle of wine for 4-5 euros and an excellent wine for twice that. What about cheaper wines? Our local supermarkets always have a wine special for 1-2 euros a bottle. One of our friends told us his strategy. When the sale first starts he buys a bottle and tries it out. If he likes it he goes back before the sale ends and picks up a case. Apparently there are very few stinkers. I can’t even imagine finding a bottle of wine in the US for $1.50, let alone drinking it. But, that is becoming our norm here. For those of you who visit, prepare to be surprised by a bottle of wine that costs less than bottled water or soda!