Page 6 - Italian American Herald - July 2022

6 ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM | JULY2022 ITALIAN-AMERICANHERALD
NEWS FROM ITALY VINI D’ITALIA
Voters favor justice-system repeals, but low turnout preserves status quo
Terroir: When making wine, it’s where everything begins
By Christopher Portante
Voters throughout Italy cast their ballots (le schede elettorali) on five questions (quesiti) related to proposed reforms of the Italian justice system (il sistema giudiziario) on June 12. Italian citizens living abroad voted by mail in May and early June. The majority of those who participated indicated that they supported having the five current laws in question repealed. However, because of low turnout at the polls (scarsa affluenza alle urne) – ANSA has reported turnout of just under 21 percent – these laws will remain in effect. Many cities and towns in Italy also held their municipal elections on June 12.
Referendum questions were presented to voters on separate folded ballots of different colors and are each, individually, called a referendum in their own right. Therefore, there were actually five referendums held on June 12, all of which were abrogative referen- dums (i referendum abrogativi), because voters (gli elettori) were called upon to decide on each ballot whether or not to repeal (abrogare) an existing law; the Italian Constitution
does not allow for the adoption of new legislation via referendum. The last abrogative referendum in Italy was held in 2016, and the most referendum questions voted upon in one day by Italians was 12 in 1995.
Since 1974, Italians have been called
on to decide a total of 72 questions in abrogative referendums, including this year’s five. According to data from the Ministry
of the Interior, 33 of these were declared invalid (non validi), because a quorum (il quorum) was not met: for a referendum
vote to be considered valid, the majority (la maggioranza = 50% + 1) of eligible voters (gli aventi diritto al voto) must cast a vote on that referendum question.
On June 12, the first referendum question asked Italians whether or not they wished to repeal the so-called “Severino Law” (la legge Severino) which requires the automatic disqualification (incandidabilità) or suspension of politicians convicted of certain crimes; the second related to the pre-trial detention (la custodia cautelare) of arrestees; and the remaining three questions related to the regulation and evaluation of magistrates
(i magistrati).
On each referendum ballot, voters indicated
their desire to repeal the law in question (voting “sì”) or to retain it (voting “no”) by making a mark, such as a cross or a slash, with a blue or black pen in the corresponding box.
Abrogative referendums have existed in Italy since the adoption of the Constitution in 1948, but the first one was not held until 1974. In that year, the Italian electorate voted
on only one issue: whether to repeal the 1970 law which, for the first time in modern Italian history, had given Italians the ability to divorce. Fifty-nine percent of Italians voted “no” to allow divorces to remain legal in Italy.
An abrogative referendum may abolish an entire law, or just part of one. The Italian Constitution identifies a few subjects – such as taxes, the budget, amnesty laws, and international treaties – which may
not be addressed by referendum (and the Constitutional Court has added to this list over the years) but other subjects, generally speaking, may be put to popular vote.
Under Article 75 of the Italian Constitution, in order for an abrogative referendum to be held in the first place, 500,000 voters or five of the 20 Regional Councils (i consigli regionali) must request it. After a referendum question has cleared this first hurdle, the Court of Cassation (la Corte di cassazione) must rule that the question conforms with the law. Then, the Constitutional Court (la Corte costituzionale) must decide that the question is admissible before it can be voted upon by the Italian people on a particular date between April 15 and June 15, set by the President of the Republic.
Other referendum questions were proposed this year but rejected by the Constitutional Court, including one regarding the decriminal- ization of the cultivation of cannabis and the elimination of prison sentences for non-traffick- ing related crimes involving cannabis. The Court also rejected a proposed question on euthanasia and one related to civil liability
for magistrates.
The second most common type of popular
referendum in Italy after the abrogative referendum is the constitutional referendum, although there have only been four of these (2001, 2005, 2016, and 2020). Unlike abrogative referendums, before constitutional changes may be put to a referendum, votes must first be held in the Chamber of Deputies (la Camera dei deputati) and the Senate of the Republic (il Senato della Repubblica). In the 2020 Constitutional Referendum, 69.9% of Italians voted to reduce the number of Italian parliamentarians – from 630 to 400 members in the Chamber of Deputies and from 315 to 200 members in the Senate. IAH
Christopher Portante has served on the bench of the Delaware Justice of the Peace Court in New Castle County since 2013. His ancestors came to the United States from Abruzzo, Molise, Puglia, Calabria, and Lazio.
By Frank Cipparone
Terroir, or not terroir? That is the question. Is it much ado about nothing, an idea that exists only in the minds of connoisseurs? Or is it that certain elusive something, a primal force that makes each bottle unique?
The word raises more questions than it answers. There are differences of opinion among winemakers as to exactly what it is, though it’s almost impossible to find anyone who denies that it’s a factor in growing grapes and making wine.
The concept of terroir isn’t new. Farmers
a thousand years ago knew that they couldn’t grow a crop just any old place, that the same olive trees or fruits didn’t do as well if they were seeded elsewhere. The importance of terroir, and the definition of it, was promoted by the French, the original “terroiristes.” They originated the system of designating wine
not by grape but by its place of origin, its territory.
Nowhere is this more evident than Burgundy, a region exalted for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, even though you won’t see those famous grapes anywhere on the label. What you get is its terroir. A St. Joseph or Crozes-Hermitage are both Pinots, Mersault and Chablis Chardonnays. Pride of place
is literally given to where it was grown and produced.
Maybe the best way to unearth an under- standing of terroir is by Q & A that digs deeper into its roots:
What is terroir?
A general description centers on natural conditions such as soil, moisture, humidity, terrain, exposure to sunlight, air currents, altitude, and seasonal climates. Of those, soil is most important. For example, the gelastro soil found along Tuscany’s Conca d’Oro in the heart of Chianti Classico is different than that in other small areas of the same region. Wines from nearby vineyards with varying soil compositions aren’t the same.
Another example is Brunello, the wine that made the hilltop town of Montalcino famous. The wine made from grapes grown north of town and those from the south are strikingly dissimilar, the result of micro-ter- roirs created by subtle changes of climate and elevation. And, yes, you can taste the difference.
Can any grape planted anywhere make good wine?
Yes and no. Adaptable international varieties such as Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet, Pinot Noir, and Syrah do well in varied locations. But there are grapes that don’t travel well, or if they do, won’t get the same results. A great deal of winemaking is
trial and error, finding out which grapes can adjust to a specific environment and which are problematic. The common denominator is matching grape and terroir. A wine “expert” (people I try to avoid) once bragged he could make a great wine anywhere with enough money. There are enough instances that show the flaw in that thinking.
Another way of looking at it is that some growers contend that any terroir is enhanced by planting only those vines that take full advantage of the soil and climate in which they are planted. Would Chianti be Chianti or Barolo be as famous as it is if Nebbiolo had been grown in Tuscany instead of Sangiovese, and vice versa? Doubtful.
Can terroir be manipulated?
Of course, there are winemakers in Italy and elsewhere who believe their wine must reflect the best characteristics of place and vineyards. Francesco Botti of Umbria feels that the only way to make his outstanding Sagrantinos is to listen to and learn from nature. Giorgio Rivetti in Piedmont consid- ers being a farmer more important than making wine, citing the fact that the soils that underlie the Langhe hills were formed millions of years ago and his job is to be a caretaker above all.
Why then are there wines that seem manufactured and obviously pumped up, that override the partnership of man and nature? Easy answer – follow the money.
Does terroir make a difference?
When I taught wine classes, two Barolo sessions I put together shed light on the topic. The first involved the five towns included in the Barolo DOCG and the terroirs that were identified and mapped by winemaker Renato Ratti in the 1960s. The soil composition of the vineyards depends
on which side of a geological fault line they sit. We sampled one bottle from each area,
all from the same year, made by wineries dedicated to making Barolo that represents the place they come from. Some were excellent, some outstanding. All were easy to identify as Barolo, yet the aromas, flavors, and sensations were markedly different.
The second was a two-tired approach with wine from just one producer. Corks were unscrewed for what is called a vertical tasting – four bottles from the same vineyard from successive vintages. Each year was marginally different, highlighting the annual changes of a growing season. To wrap it up, we compared four Barolos from the same year grown in separate vineyards owned by the producer. The contrasts were obvious. Seems as if terroir had gotten the last word. IAH