131 / 220
Red Wines
131
Chianti, of course, is the most popularly known of the
Italian wines, but there also are the red and white Marsala
wines,the wines ofsunny Capri,immortahzed by Lord Byron
when he spoke of Lacrjona Christi as "the drink of the gods,
the pride of Italy"; the wines from the slopes of Asti—rich,
full-bodied, rare in bouquet and a dehght to the epicurean
taste; vintages of Moscato, Frascati and Orvieto; or nectars
from Piedmont,Tuscany and the Umbrian hills.
One's mouth waters at remembrance—if one has been to
Italy—ofthe Roman and Neapolitan beverages,warm wines,
romantic and historic. One must pay due reverence to them
or be callous,indeed,to merit.
And just as in the case of the rales given for the French
and other wines, adapt them to these noble products of the
land of the Caesars and her modern Caesar, Mussolini.
I could go on,with dehght,talking about Barolo Barbera,
Santa Maddalena, Corvo di Casteldaccia, Valpohcella and
ValteUina,among the red wines of old Italy, and the famous
sparkhng Spumantiof Capri,the Orvieto and Soavethatrank
with the white Frascati of dehcious memory,but in a general
survey of the entire field of drinking,one must not linger too
long at any one place lest the comprehensiveness sought be
not attained.
Nor mustI neglect that land of the Alexandrian empire—
Greece,the ancient—whose vines inspired Homer before the
Roman Empire ever was dreamed of or a Caesar crowned.
It would not surprise me also to find in the nearfuture the
wines of the South Americas coming into the United States,
especially the rich ruby vintages of the Andean slopes. Now
that we have effected more amicable relations with our Latin-
American neighbors, this really is to be desired. I have
tasted some of these beverages and found them delightful.
The supremacy of France in wines is not yet lost, but she
mustlook to her laurels among some of the rivals for favor I
have mentioned.
Yet,in most cases, whether the wines travel long journeys
from Madeira,Morocco,Algeria,Malaga,the CanaryIslands,
or even from the"Cape"district of South Africa,the general
rule remainsthesame:thatthe still red wines must(with only