It’s a question that I get asked a lot: is restrained sulfur the reason why Italian wines are easier on the body when consumed in Italy?
And even before the wine community’s current obsession with sulfur and that bizarrely applied word “sulfites,” the same conundrum took the shape of why do the wines in Italy taste better than they do here?
In the case of the latter query, the answer sometimes came in the form of because the Italians keep the best wines for themselves. (A tint of an old and unhappy trope there?)
Today, many people tell me that they believe it’s because Italians use less sulfur.
A friend and colleague from California wrote me the following earlier this week:
- I’m on perhaps 20 facebook groups abut Italian travel, and on virtually every one, once a month, there’s a discussion about how people can drink the wine in Italy because “they don’t add sulfites over there.” Or “they have no additives over there in their wine.” People are judging this based on their reaction to wines while in Italy, vs here in the US.
My belief is that it’s not a question of additives or sulfur.
In my view and experience, the wines often “taste better” to vacationing American travelers for the following reasons: 1) they are eating fewer processed foods while in Italy; 2) they are eating more wholesome and balanced meals, including foods that are easier to digest; and 3) they are more relaxed, less stressed, probably sleeping more, which also aids in digestion.
They’re probably also having better sex than when they are at home. Just kidding but there’s something to that, too!
When you order “house wine” in a country restaurant in Italy, you are probably drinking a wine that has more sulfur added than your $130 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Tavern wines are usually bulk wines, often sold by the demijohn.
That’s a photo of tagliatelle al ragù that I ordered in a hotel restaurant near the Bologna airport. It wasn’t actually the best or most wholesome meal of my trip. But it was a hell of a lot healthier than the Sysco-driven food we often eat stateside.
Paired great with a glass of cheap Lambrusco!
In your experience, why does the wine taste better and feel better in Italy?
Do Bianchi 
I used to spend time at an art and writing retreat in Assisi that was run by my two aunts and attended by her friends from NYC. They never smoked when they were back home, but in Italy, they’d smoke because “you can’t get cancer in Italy.” Proof that there are no carcinogens in Italian cigarettes!
For the same reason it tastes better in California, Spain, Germany, and France. Wine always tastes better when you are vacationing or enjoying work travel and enjoying it with the local food. People underestimate the degree to which environment, food, and the company around them affects their enjoyment of wine.
Cheers!
Because in a restaurant in Italy I can afford a wine for 50 euro, which in US would probably be for 200$, that I cannot afford.
cheers
you ordered pasta in a hotel restaurant, there is your mistake. Tell me you don’t know how to travel and eat well without telling me you don’t know how to travel and eat well.