By Ray Spaziani
Wine Talk
Ray Spaziani
The Italian peninsula is inundated by agriculture. It is loaded with fig trees and lemon trees and every possible fruit and vegetable you can conceive, everywhere you look. There are naturally growing strawberries, raspberries, tomatoes and mushrooms. There are bitter greens for upscale salads – the kinds Americans spend a fortune keeping off of their lawns.
The predominant fruit in Italy is the grape. Italy is a sea of grapes. Everywhere you look, on every mountaintop and in every valley there are grapes. Everyone’s grandfather is a winemaker in Italy. Every home has a grape arbor in its backyard. The families proudly gather under the arbor and have weekly meals together. Every religious holiday is celebrated in this manner. They consume homemade pasta and sauces, wonderful pork, veal and fish dishes and always enjoy their wonderful homemade wines. This tradition was brought to the New World but has unfortunately faded out in the greater New Haven area.
The tradition of grape growing and winemaking has continued in Italy. With our holidays emerging, it is time we consider some of the great Italian grapes we can love.
Aglianico is a wonderful grape varietal which produces wines that are big and tannin and match wonderfully with game meats and meat pasta. Nebbiolo is the first grape to bud and the last grape to ripen. It is picked in late October and makes several wonderful wines. The best of these is called barolo. Barolo is a special treat. It is not inexpensive, but is worth every nickel.
Sangiovese is one of the most popular Italian wine grapes. This grape is responsible for the production of Chianti, Chianti Classico and Chianti Classico Riserva as well as Brunello de Montalcino. These are special wines that match well with tomato dishes as well as just about anything else. If you like to grill, Nero d’Avola matches wonderfully with grilled pork chops, steaks and anything off the grill. It is a smokey red with a big flavor and matches well with anything off the grill, even hotdogs and burgers.
Primitivo is the Italian Zinfandel. It is made in Apulia, which is at the heal of boot of Italy. It is great with any meat dish and anything with jam or fruit. I love it. Italian whites are spectacular and not well known. Fiano is grape that makes a spicy wine that matches well with Chinese food. When the Italians are not having pasta they have Chinese. Grillo is a Sicilian grape that makes wines that go well with Thanksgiving. It stands up to sauces and sides and would make a great choice.
Tebbiano Toscano makes a great light Italian white that matches well with light dishes and grilled fish. Verdicchio is a big white wine that will get better with age. It is very complex and aromatic. It has an almond flavor that is great. It is a wine that at first you will hate and then you will learn to love.
Try some of these great Italian wines for your holiday dinners. You will be glad you did.
Ray Spaziani is the chapter director of the New Haven chapter of the American Wine Society. He is on the tasting panels of Winemaker Magazine and Amate del Vino and is a certified wine educator and award-winning home winemaker. Email Ray with your wine questions or activities at realestatepro1000@gmail.com.