(ANSA) - Legendary American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan may not have had a chart-busting album for a while, but his red Italian signature wine is an international hit.
The wine, named Planet Waves after his 1974 album, is made by the Fattoria Le Terrazze winery here in Italy's central-eastern Marche region and is a vintage blend of 75% Montepulciano and 25% Merlot.
Despite a steep price of some $65 a bottle, all 415 cases made the first year sold by November, more than half of them sent to the United States, and the only complaints were that there was not enough of it.
The wine was created by the Terni family, which has owned Fattoria Le Terrazze since 1882, on a request from the music icon after he had tasted their Visions of J special reserve wine, named after his song Visions of Johanna, from his 1966 landmark Blonde on Blonde album.
Dylan personally approved the blend for Planet Waves and each bottle carries his signature on the back label. According to winemaker Antonio Terni, a long-time Dylan fan, Planet Waves reflects the singer-songwriter's own personality:"Montepulciano makes it severe and unpredictable, while Merlot makes it soft and friendly."
Grapes for the wine are grown on the foothills of Monte Conero, about one kilometer from the Adriatic coast. It is a full-bodied wine and has a deep ruby color with a purple tinge, a bouquet of ripe fruit and a velvety flavour. Visions of J, on the other hand, is 100% Montepulciano and is made only in special vintage years. It is similar in taste to Planet Waves but with a touch of spiciness to it. Aside from the Dylan-inspired wines, Fattoria Le Terrazze produces the red wines Rosso Conero, Sassi Neri reserve, and Chaos - a blend of Montepulciano, Syrah and Merlot. They also make a white Chardonnay, Le Cave, and a white sparkling wine, Donna Giulia.
Italy has become popular among people in the music and entertainment business who have taken up winemaking. Simply Red's flame-haired leader singer, Mick Hucknall, has a vineyard on the slopes of Mt Etna in Sicily where he successfully produces a red Nero d'Avola wine which he has named Il Cantante, The Singer.
Another music celebrity, Jim Kerr of Scottish rock band Simple Minds, also bought a Sicilian vineyard recently. French actors Gerard Depardieu and Carole Bouquete have a vineyard on the island of Pantelleria where they make their own version of its famous dessert wine, passito. Depardieu, who comes from a winemaking family, is said to have become a connoisseur of the wine during his frequent holidays on the island between Sicily and Libya.
