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Thursday, July 25, 2024

Italian Wine & Cheese Pairings

Every year on July 25th the country celebrates National Wine and Cheese Day.  I mean wine and cheese go together like peanut butter and jelly, don't they?  How can I not take the time out to celebrate such a natural pairing, especially when it comes to Italian wines and cheeses.  This week I also just started my Italian language classes focused solely on Italian food, cheese, and wine so I'm ready to dig in.  I am by no means a cheese expert, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to connect with a local cheese expert in the Boston area whom I've featured here on Vino Travels years ago, Adam Centamore.  

Adam Centamore is food and wine educator and writer helping folks "live their best cheese and wine lives".  He is also author of Tasting Wine and Cheese: An Insider's Guide to Mastering the Principles of Pairing.   I reached out to him recently to pick his brain on some classic Italian wine and cheese pairings and his suggestions on folks navigating the Italian wine and cheese world.  

Tasting Wine and Cheese: An Insider's Guide to Mastering the Principles of Pairing
What are your recommendations for someone getting to know and understand Italian wines and Italian cheeses and then pairing them?
I think it's really important to remember that the wine & cheese cultures of Italy are WAY older than the unified country itself. Cheese production dates back more than 2,000 years to the Romans and the first evidence of wine production is twice that old. Italy only unified in 1961. Before that, it was a collection of territories. Being a kind of "wild, wild west" for so long means lots of variation, with more than 2,000 known grape varieties and 2,500 cheeses. It's nuts. 

For anyone getting to know and understand Italian wines and cheeses, I'd suggest tackling one region at a time. With so much culinary diversity, it's impossible to try a particular style of wine or a couple of different sheep milk cheeses and think "I've got this down." Sorry, but not a chance! Instead, choose a region that interests you and try as many products as you can. Take your time, and really focus on the special characteristics that make them represent the region. Once you get a feel for that region, pick another! With 20 regions to explore, you won't run out of amazing experiences anytime soon. 

What are some of your personal favorite Italian wine and cheese pairings?
Wow, that's a tough one. There are so many great pairings. 

The first that comes to mind is Robiola Due Latti with Franciacorta. Sometimes called "Robiola Bosina", this cheese is a blend of cow and sheep milk made in northern Italy. Soft and creamy, with a mild flavor and a touch of salt on the finish, it's an amazingly textural cheese just begging for a wine with lots of texture and energy. Franciacorta, a sparkling wine from Lombardy (also in the north), is totally up for the job. Made in the same way Champagne is made, the bright, crisp tones cut through the creamy cheese, setting you up for another bite. Delicious.

Another classic combination is Pecorino Gran Riserva with an aged Chianti Classico or even a Brunello di Montalcino. Tuscany is home to sangiovese, that amazing red grape that is all about the tart cherry, red plum, herbs, and tobacco...it has so much personality, and it's amazing with food. Chianti Classico is just the right amount of development and complexity to handle the intensity of pecorino's most esteemed version. The Gran Riserva is intense and incredibly well-balanced. Extensive aging yields a drier texture that emphasizes the savory flavors. If you really want to treat yourself, step the wine up to Brunello di Montalcino. The more sophisticated flavors and richer mouthfeel will knock the heavier weight of the sheep milk pecorino out of the park. 
Italian wine and cheese pairing
Image by Elle Katie from Pixabay
What is your rule of thumb or advice when trying to pair Italian wines and cheeses?  There is such a wide array from Italian sparkling, rosé, crisp Italian whites to more textured ones as well as many of Italy's tannic or full-bodied reds so I understand this may not be an easy straightforward question.  
Yeah, it's tough to give a straightforward answer, but a solid rule of thumb for me is to match characteristics between the wine and cheese. If the wine is big & burly, go for a wine that can match that power and assertiveness. If you have a piece of cheese that is herbaceous and fresh, choose a wine that compliments those traits. There is an exception for me, and that's when I want one part of the pairing to completely counter the other part. For example, it's fun to counter a hunk of aromatic, intense gorgonzola naturale blue cheese with a sweet, viscous vin santo. 

My personal favorite Italian cheeses are pecorino, parmigiano reggiano and mozzarella.  Very different cheeses, although what most folks are probably most familiar with here in the states.  What would you recommend with these ones in particular?  I always say what grows together goes together. Would you say that holds true in this situation?
You have great taste! These are some of my favorite cheeses as well. I do agree with your belief that "what grows together goes together", although I usually follow that up with a gentle reminder that great combinations can come from anywhere. For me, the idea that wine and cheese from the same region naturally go together is a fantastic starting point. From there, I try to figure out why they are such great partners and think of other options that might fit the bill. 

For a great pecorino pairing, I consider the specific cheese. The word "pecorino" roughly means "of sheep" in English, and that encompasses a whole family of amazing cheeses, with all sorts of different attributes. Pecorino di Pienza Rosso, for example, is rubbed with tomato paste as it ages, whereas the Morchiato is rubbed with olive must. Similar cheeses at the beginning of their lives, but a bit different at the end. If you mean pecorino in general, I prefer a medium or full-bodied white like pecorino (yes, a white wine), or chardonnay from up north in the mountain regions. Reds made from sangiovese and nebbiolo work great as well. If the cheese has more age on it, you can pick a wine with more body. Reservas, for example, or even wines made in the ripasso style. The salty intensity of the cheese will provide balance to the wine. 

For the king of all cheeses, parmigiano reggiano, I reach straight away for a bottle of chilly, dry Lambrusco. Made in the same region, this combination is a stellar example of "what grows together goes together", especially if you add in a slice or two of mortadella, the star of nearby Bologna. The wine's subtle fruitiness and dry structure are gorgeous with the subtle fruit notes of the cheese and the fattiness of the mortadella. This really is one of my favorite combinations.
Parmigiano Reggiano wine pairing
Image by Morana T from Pixabay
As for mozzarella, it really depends on what you're doing with it, at least for me. Just straight-up, fresh mozzarella calls for a bright & sassy white wine like Orvieto or Gavi di Gavi. If it's melted, I like it with something a bit heavier but still buoyant, like Roero Arneis. If it's covering a pizza or flatbread hot off my grill and covered in torn (never sliced!) basil leaves, preserved lemon, and a healthy pinch of peperoncini, a cooled-off Frapatto is sublime. If you're rocking a burrata, ice-cold Prosecco Valdobbiadene is my way to go.  

Any unique Italian cheese and wine pairings you have experienced? 
Absolutely. I experienced one of the best pairings I've ever had last year when I was in Piedmont. There's a small village called Castelmagno that has been making their namesake cheese since the 13th century. It's a raw cow milk cheese that is semi-hard. As it ages, it gets crumbly and usually develops a bit of blue veining, so the flavor is fairly intense especially the older ones. I tried a few different ages with some of the region's famous wines, like Barolo and Barbaresco, and they were delicious, but then I had it with a youngish Barbera d'Alba Superiore, and...holy cow. It was electric. The wine had tons of red cherry aromas and flavors, and it just made the cheese wake up, really pushing the animal, milky tones to the front. That was awesome. 

During one of your food and wine virtual events I attended you shared some information on this  cheese festival in Bra, Italy that you attended in 2023.  It sounds like this event will be taking place again in 2025.  Can you tell us a little about it for our cheese lovers?  
Believe it or not, it's just called "Cheese" - in English! It takes place in Bra, home to Slow Food Italy. Every other year, in September, the entire village turns into a gigantic cheese exposition. Thousands of people descend on the small village for a few days, visiting kiosk after kiosk of small producers from all over Europe and the States, sampling cheese, charcuterie, jams, honey...it's bonkers how many amazing things there are to experience. It's truly something everyone should see at least once in their lives. 

Do you have any particular events coming up that my readers should be aware of?
I've started arranging more food and wine trips through the Commonwealth Wine School in Cambridge, MA. We have some fun stuff coming up. If anyone would like more info, they can reach out to me via my email, Instagram, or whatever is easiest.

What are some of your favorite Italian wine and cheese pairings?

 
*I may receive commissions for any purchases made via links included this article in support of the operations of Vino Travels.

Friday, July 12, 2024

Chicken and Shrimp Skewers with Poggio della Dogana Romagna Albana

This month I’m hosting our Italian Food, Wine & Travel group (#ItalianFWT) as we pair Italian wines with barbecue.  I recently did a virtual tasting with the owners of Ronchi di Castelluccio from Emilia Romagna, brothers Aldo and Paolo Rametta.  It was fun to explore this region more as it’s not one that I try all too often.  We had tasted a wine from their first family passion project featuring their wine Poggio della Dogana Belladama.  This white I felt would be the perfect feature for this month as it’s from a white grape, Albana, that most may not be familiar with.  Plus, the Albana paired lovely with the shrimp and chicken skewers I barbequed this week. 

The Winery – Poggio della Dogana 

Paolo and Aldo Rametta acquired the Poggio della Dogana estate in 2017 in the town of Terra del Sole within the Forli-Cesena province in the Emilia Romagna region of north central Italy.  The winery was named after the small hill, poggio in Italian, that held the customs post, dogana in Italian, that stood as a territorial and cultural border between the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and Papal Romagna.   

Poggio della Dogana winery in Romagna
Poggio della Dogana
The vineyards are 20-year-old vines that were already in the process of being converted to organic when they purchased the land.  Today, the winery is certified on the European level. 
Poggio della Dogana vineyards
Vineyards of Poggio della Dogana
The estate consists of about 50 acres that sits between the communes of Brisighella and Castrocano Terme.   The Rametta brothers main focus in vineyard plantings is on native varieties of Romagna.  Biodiversity is active between the vines with honey bees living amongst the vines, tended to by a local beekeeper, that helps pollinate the vines.  Also present are an abundance of olive trees. 

The Albana grape 

The Albana grape is a white grape variety that dates back to ancient times and is mostly found in the region of Emilia Romagna. Albana is mostly known for its sweeter style wines, but can also be produced in a dry, secco, version.  It’s sweetness levels vary from amabile (medium sweet), to dolce and passito where the grapes are more concentrated.  You can also find it produced as a sparkling wine under its own DOC, but not under the Romagna Albana DOCG. 

Albana grapes from Romagna
Albana grapes sourced from Consorzio Vini Romagna

The Romagna Albana DOCG was the first white DOCG established in 1987.   Albana can be straw to golden colored with intense florals and sometimes some herbal aromas.  It will show notes leaning more towards stone fruits like peach, pear and apricot.  The wines are mostly medium to fuller bodied with a high acidity giving them the ability to produce great sweeter style wines.   

The Wine 

The 2022 Poggio della Dogana “Belladama” Romagna Albana Secco DOCG is an organic wine made from 100% from the Albana grape.  The grapes are planted in Brisighella, where the vines are situated about 250 meters above sea level in younger, yellow sandy soil.  The wine is named after their mother, Rosanna, whom had a horse with the name from her grandfather’s stable that she loved as a child. 

As described during the tasting this wine is “a red wine dressed in white” due to its complexity shown on the palette.  This wine had no skin contact during vinification and is vinified in cement with indigenous yeasts that helps bring out the nature of the wine.  It is aged for 9-10 months in cement and then bottled for 4+ months.   

The wine was light golden colored with a floral nose and apricot and pineapple aromatics.  Medium to fuller bodied with a round texture and moderate to higher acidity on the palette.  Notes of pineapple and some citrus with a slight bitterness.  13.5% ABV, SRP $30-35 

2022 Poggio della Dogana “Belladama” Romagna Albana Secco DOCG

The labels of the wines were drawn by the great great grandfather, Silvio Gordini, whom is a known artist in the Emilia Romagna region. 

Romagna Albana pairing with Shrimp and Chicken Skewers 

It had been awhile since I made skewers and with this month’s theme on bbq and wanting to try this Albana I figured it was time to make some up.  Without trying the wine first, but having an understanding of the grape produced in a dry style, I felt that some shrimp and pineapple skewers may lend well to the flavors in the albana if they were to be on the tropical side.  I even gave them a little teriyaki glaze as well.   

To appease to my little guys I also made some chicken skewers and asparagus and grilled those up removing them from the skewers and cutting up the asparagus mixed together in a dish topped with some extra virgin olive oil and kosher salt.  I even made some side dishes of a simple greek salad with cucumbers, tomatoes and feta along with some roasted butternut squash.  A little smorgasbord for the sampling. 

chicken and shrimp skewers paired with Romagna Albana wine

Both of the skewer dishes complimented this Romagna Albana, especially the shrimp and pineapple skewers.   Even the roasted butternut squash seemed to go well.  I guess the wine turned out pretty versatile with the array of foods I tried it with.  I guess you never know until you try.   

Enjoy the rest of our Italian food and wine writers group as they share some interesting Italian wines paired with barbeque. 

  • Camilla of the Culinary Cam will entice us with "Simple but Spectacular: Grilled Top Sirloin + Attilio Ghisolfi 2018 Sbardaja Nebbiolo" 
  • Terri at Our Good Life shares "Savor the Flavors: Exploring the Perfect Pairing of Italian Wine and Barbecue with Speri Amarone 2018" 
  • Gwendolyn of Wine Predator writes "Fresh from the grill: Halibut and Pizza with wines from Sicily" 
  • Martin of Enofylz Wine Blog will "Discover Abruzzo: Five Masciarelli Wines and Smoked Wild Boar Pairings" 
  • Alison of Artisan Wine Tasting will feature "Elio Filippino 4 Amis Lange Rosso from Piedmont and a Filet, mushroom and brandy on the grill"

    You can shop on Wine.com in support of Vino Travels and find a variety of Albana wines to try for yourself.

     
    *This wine was provided as a sample, but opinions are always my own.  

Wednesday, July 10, 2024

Italian Wines Paired with BBQ

This month I'm hosting our Italian Food, Wine & Travel group of writers as we jump into the dog days of summer featuring Italian wines paired with barbeque dishes.  If you're like me I don't like to keep the oven cranking to put a meal on the table for my family.  Putting meals together on the grill is not only easy, it's delicious.  Plus, while you're waiting for your food to cook you can sit on the patio or deck and sip on an Italian wine before your meal is ready.  Win win!

barbecue pairing with Italian wines
Photo by Evan Wise on Unsplash
There are so many great Italian wines all over Italy that pair well in the summer months with bbq.  Plenty of Italy's fine red wines go great with grilled meats.  You also have the many choices of Italy's great whites as well as a large array of sparkling wines and rose.  So whether you're grilling up pork, sausage, steak, chicken or grilled vegetables there are options for everyone.

Let's take a look at what our Italian food and wine writers dish up for a pairing of Italian wines with summer bbq. Enjoy!

  • Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm features "Chicken Spiedini and Il Sorriso from Sicily"
  • Camilla of the Culinary Cam will entice us with "Simple but Spectacular: Grilled Top Sirloin + Attilio Ghisolfi 2018 Sbardaja Nebbiolo"
  • Terri at Our Good Life shares "Savor the Flavors: Exploring the Perfect Pairing of Italian Wine and Barbecue with Speri Amarone 2018"
  • Gwendolyn of Wine Predator writes "Fresh from the grill: fish and pizza with wines from Sicily
  • Martin of Enofylz Wine Blog will "Discover Abruzzo: Five Masciarelli Wines and Smoked Wild Boar Pairings"
  • Alison of Artisan Wine Tasting will feature "Elio Filippino 4 Amis Lange Rosso from Piedmont and a Filet, mushroom and brandy on the grill"
  • At Vino Travels I'll be sharing "Chicken and Shrimp Skewers with Poggio della Dogana Romagna Albana"

Our writers posts will be live by Saturday.  If you'd like to join our food and wine writers group this month please email me at vino travels at hotmail dot com.  Ci vediamo!  See you soon!