September 21st, 2006 Taste of Italy

Years ago when I first began writing about wine, a colleague questioned why I was including so many Italian wines in my columns. He was an avid Francophile, when it came to wine. And that's fine. But, I told him, my job is to write about food and wine, and Italian wines go exceptionally well with food.

Often, you'll taste an Italian wine, and it will seem asleep, as if nothing were happening in the glass. Then you taste it with the food you're having, and it seems to wake up with a smile on its face. When the food is gone, that last sip or two seem to return to the somnolent state in which you found the wine originally. That's because Italian wines may be preferred as food-wines, rather than quaffers.

We tend in this country to fall into familiar habits where wine is concerned. In the case of Italian wine, we go for Chianti when it comes to red wines. And in whites, we drown ourselves in Pinot Grigio, a grape that Italians, by and large, don't have a whole lot of use for. A friend from Italy tells me that many Italian winegrowers are grafting over good vineyards with Pinot Grigio simply because Americans are drinking it up as fast as Italians can pump it out. Some come at perfectly ridiculous prices, yet we lap them up. I do have a few favorites, just as I have a few (perhaps even fewer) favorite Chardonnays, but by and large, Pinot Grigio has become just another quaffer which I find most quite boring, especially those from the Veneto, which tend to lack acidity and character.

So what other white wines can one find in Italy: Try Arneis, for instance, an ancient Piemontese grape that nearly fell out of favor, but now is even planted in this country. Its steely crisp fruit is perfect with seafood. Trebbiano is the grape of Frascati and numerous other zones. In the north you'll find good Chardonnay and Sauvignon, the latter often especially interesting, but also some grapes of German origin, such as Kerner, Silvaner, Riesling and Gewürztraminer, because this part of Italy once was Austria. In southern Italy, you'll find such grapes as Inzolia and spicy Catarratto. So break the bonds of Pinot Grigio and explore other types.

For reds, besides the well-known Sangiovese of Chianti, you'll find Nebbiolo, the great black grape of Italy's Piemonte, and thus of Barolo and Barbaresco. Also in the north, Lagrein is a key variety, and it makes a terrific rosato (see the one from Alois Lageder, Quality Wine & Spirits). Abbazia di Novacella In the south, Nero d'Avola is among the red grapes of Sicily, along with Nero Amaro (the bitter black one), and
Italy must have as many grape types as it has producers, and that's a gracious lot of producers. So why in the world limit oneself to one or two types? Just as there's more to the ice cream shop than chocolate or vanilla, there's way more to wine growing than Chardonnay and Cabernet. Especially when it comes to Italy, not that the country doesn't grow those two varieties, because it absolutely does. And can do a pretty good job of both of them.

When it comes to regions, American's seem stuck on the Piedmont and Tuscany. And those are two rather good places to get stuck on, admittedly. The lovely hills and hill towns of both regions are as much a draw as are their food and wine, their history in art, the latter especially in Tuscany. But they're not all that makes up Italy. There's the dramatic north that used to be Austria prior to World War II. And in the South, besides famed Sicily, there's Apulia, Campagna and many other interesting and distinctive regions, all with commensurate distinctive wines, such as the Primitivo of the Salento peninsula, a grape that is kinned to America's Zinfandel.

Dessert wines from Italy run a wide range of choices, from Piedmont's Brachetto, a fizzy lightly sweet red wine ideal for red fruits and chocolate, to vin santo from Tuscany (gorgeous with apple tarts in the fall), and the moscato and malvasia bianca wines. Sparkling moscato d'Asti is awesome with fresh fruit. Recioto (ray-CHO-toh) di Soave is a delicious and hard-to-find white dessert wine using the same grapes that make dry Soave, while Recioto della Valpolicella is the sweeter counterpart of Amarone. The term recioto references grapes that, like French vin de paille, have been dried on straw mats until the sugars are concentrated.

Finally, when looking at all that Italy offers to taste, don't overlook grappa, the Italian equivalent of French marc, both distillates of the remains of winemaking (the pips and crushed skins). Initial encounters with grappa may seem a bit violent, and you might swear the stuff would knock the hair off a dog at fifty paces, as the alcohol is very high. But it is lovely as a digestif, for completing the meal in fine fashion. Grappas made from aromatic wine detritus might be more appealing to the novice grappa enthusiast.

These are just a few suggestions for you to explore, as the full story of Italian wines is way too large to tell in a few lines. So look further into Italy, and find some grape types and regions that might be new to you. In the spirit of exploration and discovery, have a look at these, keepingin mind that they're built to go with food.


Jane Garvey

Food Pairings: Terrific apéritif wine with herbed Boursin-stuffed tiny cocktail potatoes and similar cocktail fare. Also creamy pasta saldas; artichokes; white asparagus (with or without good mayonnaise); zucchini with olive oil, garlic and herbs; grilled scallops and shrimp (the latter especially), French-style tartar sauce; mild fish, such as fresh cod or tilapia; angel hair pasta with lemon-caper pesto (awesome!), white pizza; clams Casino; pasta with white clam sauce or butter/oil and fresh herbs; soft, mild cheeses such as Fontina Val d'Aosta. Does not like earthy flavors.

Price: $12
Wholesaler: Bacco Fine Wine

Food Pairings: White asparagus plain or with garlic or plain homemade mayonnaise; artichokes; pasta salads or warm pastas with creamy sauces; very mild fish, such as cod or flounder; grilled scallop or shrimp with not spicy Rémoulade; pasta with creamy shellfish sauces; chicken salad with tarragon; creamy mashed potato salad

Price: $18
Wholesaler: Ultimate Distributors

Food Pairings: Likes earthiness: Dishes with truffle oil; ripe earthy cheeses; rich black olives (pops the plummy character); pâtés; rabbit or chicken cacciatore; salamis and other cured meats; grilled mild (not spicy hot) sausages; muffaletta; lasagna; dishes with tomato sauce; bracciola (stuffed braised steak)

Price: $14
Wholesaler: Atlanta Wholesale Wine/NDC

Food Pairings: Dishes with truffle oil; muffaletta; cured dry salami, such as cacciatorini; prosciutto; black olives; pasta with herbs, garlic and olive oil; lasagna; vegetable dishes; grilled veggies, spicy sausage; earthy cheeses such Caccio di Roma, red beans and rice; barbecued chicken

Price: $14
Wholesaler: Georgia Crown

Avignonesi Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2002
Montepulciano, Tuscany

Score: 90 Points

Tasting Notes: Full-bodied dry red wine; deep, dark ruby red. Constantly evolving aromas offer alternate sensations of fresh plum, aromatic brown spices, chocolate, a touch of licorice, with flavors that grow in complexity as the wine stays open (decanting highly recommended). Finish shows alcohol, typical of the genre, but tannins are fruit-rich and firm, but not aggressive. A hint of dried dark fruits polishes off the final flavors. Vino Nobile di Montipulciano (mon-tee-pull-chee-AH-noh) is one of Tuscany's four D.O.C.G. wines. In this case the word references not the grape grown in Abruzzo, but the town of central Tuscany. A lesser kisin' cousin of Brunello, this wine is more alcoholic than other Tuscan reds. A family originally from Avignon, France, Avignonesi is one of the type's best producers. Decant and serve cool, about 60-65 degrees, in large tulip-shaped glasses.

Food Pairings: Black olives; pâtés and terrines, grilled steak, lamb, veal or pork seasoned with sea salt (important, actually); beef Stroganoff and other creamy braised or stewed beef dishes; roast duck, sea-salt seasoned prime rib, sausage lasagna; firm, aged cheeses, such as aged Gouda. Not bad with dark chocolate.

Price: $25
Wholesaler: Quality Wine & Spirits

Food Pairings: Fresh fruit, especially red raspberries, strawberries, peaches or nectarines. Or by itself.

Price: $33/275ml
Wholesaler: Quality Wine & Spirits