Has there ever been a political figure who is quite as divisive as Donald Trump.
The real estate mogul and reality television star now serves as the President of the United States. Any anybody who follows “The Donald” will know that he’s not one to leave Twitter alone for more than a couple of hours.
His tweets are the source of much mirth for his detractors. But they also often provide a call to arms for his supporters.
But there’s one tweet that he made this summer that we couldn’t help but pay attention to.
In July, Trump tweeted:
“I’ve always liked American wines better than French wines. Even though I don’t drink wine. I just like the way they look.”
But we can’t help but feel that this is a spurious claim. Trump says that he judges wines on how they look because he doesn’t drink them. That seems like an odd factor to pick when choosing the best wine. Plus, we can’t help but question his assertion that he doesn’t drink wine when his family owns a winery.
However, all of that is beside the point.
We don’t believe that American wine is the best in the world. We also don’t believe that French wine is the best.
It should come as any surprise to xtraWine readers that we place Italian wine at the top of the heap. And we’re going to give you a few reasons why.
Reason #1 – A Deep and Decorated History
There are wine companies in Italy that have existed for longer than the states in America have been united.
Take the Antinori family has an example. They’ve been making wine since the later 14thcentury. And there are many other producers that can point back hundreds of years when you ask them when their companies were founded.
This isn’t a shot against the American industry by any means. An industry can only exist for as long as there’s been a country for it to exist it.
What we’re saying is that the Italian wine industry has centuries of tradition, education, and experience to draw upon. The Italians, and those who came before who used the land that Italy now calls its own, created the rules for making wine in the first place. And of course, we can’t argue against France’s importance during these early periods here.
That history gives Italian wine something very special that American wine simply can’t have.
Reason #2 – More Regulation
To see how seriously the Italians take their wine, one need only look at the existence of the DOC and DOCG classifications.
There are organisations in Italy that dedicate their entire existence to ensuring that the wines made in the country reach a certain quality standard.
That doesn’t exist in America, or at least not to the extent that it does in Italy.
Wines produced in the States don’t need to meet such stringent quality guidelines. Of course, that doesn’t mean that quality can’t, or doesn’t, come from American producers. There are hundreds of great wines made in the country each year.
But the lack of true regulatory controls means that there are also hundreds of sub-standard wines made in America every year.
Of course, Italy isn’t immune to the curse of low quality wine. Neither is France. But both countries have regulations in place to stop the production of very poor wine as much as possible.
The United States doesn’t have anything similar in place.
Reason #3 – There’s So Much Diversity
America’s wine industry isn’t limited to California. But you cannot deny that most of its production takes place in the state. The famed Napa Valley doesn’t have its reputation for no reason, after all.
This limitation means that American wine simply doesn’t have as much variety as Italian wine.
When it comes to the Italians, every region seems to have its own native grapes. When combined with other grapes brought into the region, you have thousands of potential combinations.
The simple truth is that anybody who likes wine is certain to find something that will suit their tastes when they go Italian. We can’t necessarily say the same thing for the American wine industry.
We’re not the only ones to think so either. SommSelect Editorial Director David Lynch has this to say about the variety that Italy offers:
“Italian wine is beloved by sommeliers because no other wine nation in the world has such viticultural diversity. There are grape varieties specific to single provinces, even single towns!”
As much as we love American wine, it just can’t compare in this area.
Reason #4 – Innovation Is Still at the Forefront
We spoke earlier about the deep history and tradition that exists within the Italian wine industry.
This may give you the mistaken impression that there’s no innovation in the country. That isn’t the case at all.
Just look to the introduction of the Super Tuscans as evidence of that. They turned the global wine industry on its head in the late-70s and into the 1980s.
Today, we’re seeing Italian winemakers experimenting in so many different ways. Many producers have started to use organic and biodynamic growing methods. We’re seeing innovations in technology that change the very way that wine is made.
And of course, producers continue to innovate in terms of the grape combinations that they try.
Simply put, there’s always something new coming out of the Italian wine industry. That’s what makes it one of the driving forces in wine.
The Final Word
We’re not exactly sure if Trump meant his words about wine in jest or if they were a genuine sentiment.
Either way, we can’t help but disagree with him.
America produces some absolutely stunning wines. But when it comes to the best in the world, Italy comes out on top in our eyes.
I’m a passionate about good wine and good cooking.
I like to keep me updated and share with my online friends my gastronomic knowledge.
