As you can tell by the title, this is a follow-up to last week’s column. I had gathered with some friends to focus on pairing great food with some great Italian wine.
After enjoying some first courses paired with prosecco, dolcetto and barbera wines, we launched into the main course with two chiantis.
If you thought the French way of labeling and controlling wine production was confusing, the regulation that occurs in Italy is even more complex.
Italian wine is overseen by the “Denominazione di Origine Controllata” (DOC). This controlled denomination of origin helps regulate the practice of grape growing and wine making. This includes strict laws on growing area, permitted grapes, maximum yield per acre, minimum alcohol content, irrigation and pruning ordinances, etc.
To take this a step further than the French, the laws in Italy can also dictate that some wines must stay in oak barrels, the minimum time that a wine must stay in oak barrels and the aging time for wine in bottles. For wineries that follow the DOCG, an even stricter controlling system, the rules are magnified to ensure the quality of the product being produced.
Chianti is a red wine that originated in the Tuscany region of Italy. Chianti comes in many styles, but for the most part, it is comprised of the grape varietal sangiovese.
The first wine we enjoyed was a 1999 Castello di Paneretta chianti classico. A chianti classico is defined as a wine being produced in the inner zone of the Chianti district, a bowl-shaped geographic region that lies between Siena and Florence. Many of the best producers are found in this zone and they have a reputation for making solid, well-balanced wines. The second wine was a 1999 Isole e Olena chianti classico. Both of these wines were exceptional. Like the barbera and dolcetto, the chiantis were earthy and rustic, but still had noticeable fruit that reminded me of cassis and cherry. Some Chianti may blend a small percentage of cabernet sauvignon with the sangiovese, just to give the wine more nuance and aromas. I failed to notice if these wines had a blend, but no worries – I’ll just do more research. Each bottle was around $18.
The main food course was grilled pork tenderloin that had been marinated briefly in a bit of soy sauce and rosemary. There were only six of us dining, but there must have been about one and a half pounds per person (as you can guess, I handled my share and more!).
Our host added a nice touch by soaking bunches of garden-fresh rosemary in water, then throwing them on the grill while the pork cooked. The rosemary began to smoke and helped infuse more flavor into the meat. It was fork-tender when plated.
To round out the meal, an assortment of vegetables was also put on the grill. Yellow onions that were charred nicely, mini sweet peppers in a variety of colors and baby portabellas with garlic, parsley and olive oil.
The final main course wines that were opened were a 1996 Sino Pacenti Brunello di Montalcino and 1997 Casisano Columbio Brunello di Montalcino.
Brunello di Montalcino is considered one of Italy’s finest red wines. Produced entirely from the Brunello grape, a variant of sangiovese, this world-class wine is subject to very strict laws from the DOCG. Brunello must be aged in oak for a minimum of three and a half years and may not be released until four years after vintage. Patience is a virtue!
Again, these wines were earthy and herbaceous. The Casisano had aromas of pine wood. This earthiness may scare some from drinking this wine alone, but like a lot of Italy’s wines, they are meant to go with food. The price for each of these wines tipped the scale at $80. This was decadent for sure, but permissible now and then.
Our final wine was a take on Italian dessert wine, a 2001 Trentino muscato rosa. What a great wine to sip after a large meal. It was fragrant, a bit floral, full of sweet honey and a bit of spice.
We basked in our food coma into the early evening. Our palates were cleansed with fresh seasonal fruit, including strawberries, cantaloupe and grapes.
Our host-with-the-most has promised us a special surprise next month when we meet for a Spanish food and wine dinner. Could some Rioja and tapas be on the horizon? I’ll just have to wait and see!
Cheers!
