Its brilliant ruby red evokes the passion of the wine makers who, in the Berici Hills area, have lovingly cultivated grapes since always. Those who taste it will be conquered by its bewitching quality. Notes of cherry, raspberry, violet and spice will please your smell, while a sensations of freshness entice the palate. Its soft tannins content enhances an elegant aftertaste of almonds and roses.
It is made from the Tocai Rosso, a native vine that has the same genetic nature of the Sardinian Cannonau , the French Grenache and Spanish Garnacha, but found a suitable area and its own identity in Vicenza, Veneto - Italy.
Red Tai is the wine of the convival get together.
Delicate and versatile, it goes with every meal. It is perfect with pasta dishes and excellent with medium-structured food such as Sopressa Vicentina D.O.P. and the Prosciutto Veneto Berico-Euganeo D.O.P., or traditional dishes like "polenta e baccalà alla Vicentina".
Until 2007 its name was Tocai Rosso (Red Tocai), such as the grape from which it originates; by law it had to be renamed Tai to differentiate it from the Hungarian Tocai wine which, as a pure coincidence, bore the same original name. Today it is therefore known as Tai Rosso (Red Tai), while the Tai produced in Barbarano, Vicenza, and surrounding municipalities, is called Barbarano.
The origin of the vine, in the absence of sure documents, is still shrouded in mystery, to the point that a legend arose, still strongly rooted in popular belief. The Tai Rosso, in fact, is
also known as "el vin del marangon - the wine of the carpenter". In fact the tradition wants that a carpenter form Barbarano Vicentino, a subject of the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, returning home after a mission to Hungary, brought some roots of red Tocai, then planting it with success in his native country.
The truth seems to be another, and dates to the second half of the nineteenth century, when the Venetians, fine wine exporters, were forced by the events to become importers. It was an attempt, however successful, to reinstate the wine heritage after the destruction of the vines due to blight and phylloxera. New vines were then planted, many were French such as Pinot, Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet.
Rumor has it that Tai is it the oldest vine of the Veneto area. In the past centuries the bishops of Vicenza, lords of Barbarano, when going to Avignon-France as guests, would have received the vine as a gift thus bringing to Vicenza grapes from Provence the Vaucluse.
Finally, some say that the red Tocai has always been there in Veneto, perhaps under different names, with some strains belonging to "Schiave" vine, widespread in the Vicentino. It might then be named Tocai Rosso in the nineteenth century, when the Hungarian Tocaj was à la mode among well do to families.
To explore the versatility of the Tai, the Consortium of the Berici wines has implemented the Tai Rosso Riserva Project. The aim is to obtain a more intense ans structured wine, well suited to a medium and long term aging, while preserving its delicacy and elegance. Many wine makers have joined this project and are already obtaining excellent results.
Translated from a document written by the "Consortium of the Berici wines".
