Master Sommelier Paul Roberts talks Italian wine with D’Amore

Houston-native Paul Roberts (left, photo by Melissa Barnes, Wine Spectator) joined the Court of Master Sommeliers in 2002 and has worked as the wine director of some of the most prestigious restaurants in North America, including the legendary Café Annie in Houston and Thomas Keller’s Per Se (New York) and French Laundry (Napa). Today, he serves as the managing director of one of Napa Valley’s most closely watched wineries, Bond Estates.

How has the world of Italian wine changed over the last 10 years?

Over the last decade, we’ve seen a diversification of styles. Ten years ago, a lot of wineries joined the “modern” movement, using more new oak and making “bigger” wines. Now people have begun to adapt modern winemaking techniques: instead of making New World wines, they are using modern winemaking to stay cleaner in the cellar and they are more diligent in the vineyard. Modern winemaking doesn’t have to blur terroir. What we are seeing is wines that are fresher, crisper, and cleaner but wines that still have a pure element of fruit and that still “translate site.” Twenty or thirty years ago, wines had to be rustic and dry to express terroir [in Italy] but today we are seeing wines with mature tannin but still have the ability to translate site.

When it comes to Italian wines today, what’s your advice to young and up and coming sommeliers?

Well, it’s just like when you talk about French wine. There’s not just one type of Italian wine. Italian wines offer a wide-ranging diversity of styles and flavor profiles and it allows you to use the wines for a wide array of food. There are plenty of Italian wines that can go with French, American, Peruvian cuisine. That’s what makes them so incredibly exciting. Look to wines from the south of Italy for great value and when it comes to Tuscany and Piedmont, you really can’t lose right now. Tuscany and Piedmont are making wines that can compete with any of the great appellations of the world and we are also experiencing a string of great vintages from Italy, from 2004 through 2007. In Italy, you can taste some of the great wines of the world and they’re not going to necessarily break the bank.

What are some of your top picks in the D’Amore Wine Selections portfolio?

I’ve always been impressed with the Marc de Grazia portfolio and when I was the wine director at Per Se and French Laundry, I used to pour their Etna Rosso project wines [Terre Nere] by the glass. In my opinion, these wines are the Musigny of Italy.

When it comes to Marc de Grazia, you really can’t go wrong: they built their name on their very focused selection of Barolo producers but you can look at any [Italian] appellation, and you will find a top producer in their portfolio. whether it’s Soave Classico, Chianti Classico, or Barolo. For every appellation, you’ll find “reference standard wines.”