WINES OF THE TIMES An Italian Name Worth Practicing

In an effort to remedy this sad state of affairs the wine panel recently sampled 25 aglianico wines, mostly from the two leading aglianico regions, Campania and Basilicata, with a couple of other areas sprinkled in. Florence Fabricant and I were joined for the tasting by two guests, Chris Cannon, an owner of Alto and Convivio, and Charles Scicolone, a wine consultant.

Both Chris and Charles agreed that aglianico wines languish unfairly out of the minds of most consumers. Part of the reason is simply that the wines are overshadowed by more familiar names like Chianti, Barolo and even Valpolicella.

More important is the diffuse nature of aglianico production, which has prevented any one name or region from becoming well known. In addition, while the grape is ancient, widespread production for international consumption is relatively recent.

Why would you want to drink quality-labeled Italian wine from a box?

There, you have your little villa, with wonderful pine trees around, ancient stones, the scorching sun, crickets buzzing in the garden. And on the table, slices of mozzarella, Roman plum tomatoes covered in olive oil and basil and, of course, some wonderful white wine ... served in a paper box.

Why would you want to drink quality-labeled Italian wine from a box? Ask the Italian ministry of agriculture.

The agriculture ministry has decided to allow the producers of the country's top-notch wines to sell their vino in cardboard boxes and in more refined versions of the wine box with a plastic pocket inside that protects the wine better.

The reasons are a mix of concerns about the environment and flattening sales abroad because of tough competition.