Chicken and Shrimp Pasta Alfredo Paired with Nunzio Ghiraldi Lugana DOC

This week spring hits here in New England.  I’m looking forward to plenty of sunshine, which got me thinking about what white wines I had in my stash to try.  It was a tough decision between opening a bottle of Lugana or Soave as they are both whites I enjoy very much.  I decided to go with a bottle of 2018 Nunzio Ghiraldi Il Gruccione Lugana DOC that had snuck by me and I felt had probably overstayed it’s welcome.  Typically, I recommend drinking white wine in their youth up to 3-5 years upon release depending on the wine, but there are plenty of great white wines that can also surprisingly age well as well. 

About Nunzio Ghiraldi 

The Nunzio Ghiraldi winery all started back in the 1950’s when the current owner’s grandfather, Nunzio Ghiraldi, had purchased Podere Sant’Onorata that sat in the Lugana di Sirmione countryside of the Lombardy region of northern Italy.  The winery sits outside the southern borders of the picturesque Lake Garda that moderates the climate of this area along with the alpine breezes that travel down from the north. 

Pictures sourced from Nunzio Ghiraldi

The vines of Nunzio Ghiralid’s vineyards are completely planted with the Trebbiano di Lugana grape, also known as Turbiana.  The vines there can age anywhere between 15 years to their older 60 year plus vines which you can experience with their “Sant’Onorato 1953” wine.   

Trebbiano di Lugana/Turbiana grapes - sourced from Nunzio Ghiraldi

The Lugana wine region is unique not only for its microclimate, but also for the composition of the land.  The soils of this area, and specifically within Nunzio Ghiraldi’s vineyards, are rich in clay that originate from glacial deposits that contain calcarous and mineral salts.  This is due to the last Alpine glacial period that existed in this area known as Wurm.  About 50 acres of vines are made of pure clay soils on their territory that lend concentration to their Turbiana wines.   

Clay soils of Lugana - sourced from Consorzio Tutela Lugana

The 1700’s farmhouse located on the estate where the winery is located has always remained within the Ghiraldi family, but the family recently adding another farmhouse in 1995 that houses the winemaking facilities for the winery with an additional 37 acres of vineyards.  

Today the winery is run by the grandson, also Nunzio, whom followed in the family’s footsteps to live and work his family’s land and to continue to build upon the quality and reputation that the Ghiraldi family had established. 

The Wine 

The 2018 Nunzio Ghiraldi Il Gruccione Lugana DOC is made from 100% Turbiana.  The wine’s name, Il Gruccione, is named after the local, rare bird.  These low yielded grapes are hand harvested and whole bunch pressed with free run juice, known as mosto fiore.  It is fermented in stainless steel. 

This Lugana wine was brilliant straw colored with a floral bouquet of stone fruit, in particular apricots stood out.  Medium bodied with a round texture and mostly stone fruit flavors on the palate.  A touch of acidity and a tinge of salinity near the finish.  13% ABV, SRP $18-20 

Wine Pairing with Lugana 

In this house it’s hard to prepare a dish to go with my wine pairings that please all the various palates, especially since I have small boys.  I decided to go with a combination of a shrimp and chicken pasta dish in a light cream sauce to pair with this Lugana wine. Usually any cream based dish will pair well with a wine backed with some good acidity.  This wine from Lugana provided just the right amount of acidity to go well with this dish.  You could also try grilling the chicken or shrimp to provide an added layer of complexity to the pairing. 

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

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