Enjoying the Weekend at Home

We are having our apartment painted and will not be eating home for the next two weeks so this weekend, Michele decided to make some things that she wanted to use up.

We started with a salad made with arugula, avocado, tomatoes, tuna, hard cooked eggs and anchovies.

Then we had sardines Beccafico, a Sicilian recipe meaning “figpecker style,” named for a bird.  I am not sure why it has that name, but the rolled up sardines were stuffed with breadcrumbs, pine nuts, currants, parsley, lemon and mint and baked.   

With this we had the Beneventano Falanghina 2018 IGT Donnachiara made from 100% Falanghina. The vineyard is the Torre Cuso, the best location for Falanghina. The soil is volcanic, chalky clay, the vines are 16 years old, the training system is guyot and there are 2,500 vines per hectare. The grapes are not destemmed or crushed before pressing. Cold fermentation is in stainless steel and there is extended maceration. This is a crisp white wine with citrus fruit aromas and flavors, nice acidity and good minerality and a pleasure to drink.

Roasted Eggplant and Peppers

Rosemary Focaccia

On the plate

Since it was hot we had a red wine the could take a slight chill and this one was perfect. Vernatsch Schiava Alto Adige DOC 2019 Peter Zemmer made from a blend of various varieties of Schiava grown on the pergola, the traditional trellis system, on loamy soil on the slopes around Cortaccia. The stems are immediately removed and the grapes are fermented for 8 days at a controlled temperature. The must is kept in regular contact with the skins through circulation pumping and gentle pressure from below with the ideal results for coloring from the skins and emphasizing fruitiness. This is a fresh, light fruity wine with hints of red raspberry, peaches  and light note of bitter almond on the finish.

We finished with Michele’s homemade blueberry and cantaloupe ices

Rosé, Rosato, Red and Sparkling for Summer

Whether you prefer rose’, rosato or red, here are 8 wines to enjoy this summer ranging from $13 to $25

Prosecco DOC Rose Extra Dry Millesimato (Veneto) Organic and Vegan made from 85% Glera and 15% Pinot Noir, Growth system is silo and the harvest is mechanized. There is a soft cold crushing and pressing. The second fermentation is for 60 days and the Charmat method is used. Residual sugar 12g/l. It has intense hints of red fruit, strawberries , raspberries, a hint of citrus and a touch of white flowers. $13.    Rosé Prosecco is very new but it seems to have become very popular.

Montefili Rosato 2020 NV (Tuscany) made from 100% Sangiovese from a 500 meter vineyard first planted in 1995. The soil is galestro and alberese and the training system is spurred cordon. Spontaneous fermentation takes place with indigenous yeast. Skin contact is for 6/7 hours and fermentation is at a low temperature. The wine remains in stainless steel tanks and then in bottles for 3 months. This is a fresh fruity wine with hints of strawberries, raspberries, a touch of red currents and good acidity.  $18

 

Rodon Bardolino Chiaretto La Fraghe made from Corvina and Rondinella from the Comuni di Affi and Cavaion Veronese. The training system is guyot and there are 5,000 vines per hectare. The exposure is south and the vineyard is at 190 meters. Corvina and Rondinella are vinified separately. They are given a cool temperature 6 to 8 hour maceration on the skins, which extracts just enough color to give a lovely, medium bodied hue to the juice. The must then ferments at a cool 17 degrees C. The finished wine matures on the lees in 50HL stainless steel tanks until the following spring when it is bottled. The wine has an elegant bouquet of strawberries and red currents while on the palate the wine is full bodied and balanced with a long finish that evokes the bouquet. $16

Baci al Sole Rosé Veneto IGT made from 40% Corvina, 40% Merlot and 20% Corvinone. After a gentle pressing, there is brief skin contact with the juice followed by temperature controlled fermentation, then  a brief passage in stainless steel. The wine has hints of honeydew melon, red berries and cherries. It is very light pink in color and it is a very food friendly.  It reminds me of some of the rosé wines I had when I was in Provence. $18

Bandol Rosé La Bastide Blanche 2018 made from 72% Mourvédre, 17% Cinsault and 11% Grenache grown without synthetic pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides in the vineyard. The soil is clay-limestone  with cailloux. The grapes are hand harvested. There is a direct pressing of the Mourvédre and a 24 hour maceration for the Grenache and Cinsault.  Malolactic fermentation is based on the varieties. The wine remains in tanks for 4 to 10 months before being placed on the market. The wine has hints of red berries strawberry, orange and Provencal herbs. $25

Domaine de Bila-Haut ”Les Vignes” Pays d’Oc Rose’ 2018 made from 55% Grenache and 35% Syrah. Michel Chapoutier.  Located in Cõtes du Roussillon, Languedoc, France.  In the hills of the Agly Valley, the 40-year-old vines are carefully tended. The juice is fermented and aged in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks. After a short maceration on the skins, a delicate pink hue is attained and the wine is racked and vinified. The wine is then carefully blended for bottling. It has hints of citrus, strawberry and a touch of raspberry. $17

 

Cantina Federiciane Montelone di Napoli Gragnano DOC Sorrento Peninsula 2019, Sparkling Wine made from Piedirosso and Sciascinoso. Fermentation with selected yeast takes place in temperature controlled autoclaves.  This is a fizzy red wine that when poured has a lot of foam that quickly disappears in the glass. It is fruity with red fruit aromas and flavors, hints of raspberries and strawberries, and easy to drink. In Naples they often drink sparkling beverages with pizza and Gragnano goes very well with pizza Margherita. Sciascinoso, also know as Olivella, is used as a blending grape. The clusters and berries are large and it is a late ripening variety. This is a very fruity aromatic wine hints of red berries, strawberry, raspberry and a touch of blueberries. $18

Vernatsch Schiva Alto Adige DOC 2019 Peter Zemmer made from a blend of various varieties of Schiava grown on the pergola, the traditional trellis system on loamy soil on the slopes around Cortaccia. The stems are immediately removed and the grapes are fermented for 8 days at a controlled temperature. The must is kept in regular contact with the skins through circulation pumping and gentle pressure from below with the ideal results for coloring from the skins and emphasizing fruitiness. This is a fresh, light fruity wine with hints of red raspberry, peaches  and light note of bitter almond on the finish. $ 19

From the Alto Adige: Sylvaner, Sauvignon Blanc and Schiava

 

Alto Adige, also know as Südtirol due to its deep-rooted bicultural heritage, is Italy’s northernmost wine region. Located at the foot of the Alps and the Dolomites, the region borders on Austria and Switzerland. The Alps protect it from inclement weather from the North and the Atlantic, while the Dolomites protect the vineyards from the cold, damaging winds from the east.

Along with its proximity to the Mediterranean and Lake Garda, this makes it an excellent region to grow grapes. The vineyards range from 600 to 3,300 feet and the soil is mainly porphyry, limestone and slate rock with glacial deposits of gravel, sand and clay. It is interesting to note that in the summer, the temperature in Bolzano is higher than in Palermo in Sicily. The people that live here call their region the Sud Tyrol and themselves Tyroleans. The food is decidedly Austrian with only a hint of Italy. Ham is called speck and they have a cheese called Weinkase Lagrein and bread called Schuttelbrot.

The Wines

Sylvaner Alte Reben 2015 Valle Isarco DOC Pacher Hof 100% Sylvania. The winery is located on the slopes of Neustifit just above Brixen and the vineyards have been family property since 1142. The vineyards are at 620 to 700 meters with sandy and loamy soil. The microclimate makes it warm here and there is a big variation between night and day temperatures. Training system is guyot and the harvest is by hand the last week of October. There is a slow fermentation at a controlled temperature in stainless steel tanks and the wine remains on the lees in stainless steel tanks and barrels for 6months. The wine was bottled in April 2016. This is a wine with fresh aromas and hints of tropical fruit, pineapple and a touch of banana. The wine works well with speck and the difficult to match asparagus. $26

Lahn Sauvignon 2016 Alto Adige 2015 St. Michael Eppan, The 340 winemaking families that form the backbone of the winery joined forces in 1907 to create the St. Michael-Eppan Winery. Made from 100% Sauvignon from vines 10 to 25 years old in Eppan/Berg at 480 to 550 meters. The exposure is southeast , the soil is limestone gravel and the training system is guyot. Harvest at the end of September to early October by hand with a selection of grapes.
Fermentation and development of the lees is in stainless steel tanks until the end of February. This is a balanced wine with fresh fruit flavors, a hint of grapefruit, a touch of honey and good minerality. It matches well with light Asian cuisine such as sushi. $19

Missianer Vernatsch (Schiava) 2016 Sudtirol Alto Adige DOC St. Paul. The St. Paul’s Cooperative Winery was founded in 1907 by 36 wine growers from St. Paul, Missian, Berg and Unterrrain. Today there are over 141 members.
Vernatsch (Schiava) is a traditional South Tyrolean grape. The training system for these old vines is the Pergola. There is a slow fermentation at a controlled temperature in stainless steel, then the wine is aged in large wooden barrels. This is a fruity wine with red and fruit aromas and flavors and a hint of blueberries. The wine goes well with speck, cold cuts and cheese. $19

Pairing Gnocchi with Three Wines from The Alto Adige

Gnocchi ricotta with tomato-butter sauce

A few weeks ago Michele made ricotta gnocchi with tomato-butter sauce from her new book “The Italian Vegetable Cookbook” for a dinner with friends. One of the guests said that she had tried making potato gnocchi but they never turned out right. Michele said that ricotta gnocchi were very easy to make and she would be happy to show her. Last Saturday, our friends returned and brought prosciutto and melon for an antipasto and three bottles of wine from the Alto Adige to see which one matched best with the gnocchi.

Michele and I used to do wine and food pairing classes and we found that one of the following scenarios was typical:

-The wine and the food may be good on their own but in combination they do not work and leave a bad taste in your mouth.

-The next is when the wine and food do not combine but each keeps its own individual character.

-The last is when the wine and food combine to give you the perfect combination.

Südtirol Eisacktaler Kerner 100% Kerner. Abbazia Di Novacella. The vineyards are 600-700meters, the soil is gravelly morainal deposits and the exposure is south-southwest. The training system is guyot, there are 6,000 to 7,000 vines per hectare and the harvest takes place in October. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks at 20°C. Only natural yeast is used and the wine remains in stainless steel tanks for 6 months before it is bottled. This is an aromatic wine with hints of apple and peach, ripe and full with crisp acidity.

We drank this wine with the prosciutto and melon, and it was a perfect combination. Later, we tried the Kerner with the gnocchi. It was good, but the flavors did not marry. The tastes remained separate.

Alto Adige Sauvignon Sanct Valentin 2012 100% Sauvignon Blanc St. Michael-Eppan. The grapes come from different vineyards in Appiano Monte all at 400 to 600 meters and the vines are 10 to 18 years old. There is long maceration at low temperatures in steel tanks and then 12% of the wine is aged and refined in big and small oak casks. This is sauvignon blanc from Italy with all the characteristics of the best is sauvignon blanc with a hint of figs and light spice. This is one of Michele’s favorite producers of white wine and I have to agree with her.

The Sauvignon blanc overwhelmed the gnocchi so that there were two different tastes but mostly Sauvignon blanc

Hexenbichler Schiava Alto Adige DOC 2012 100% Schiava Tramin The grapes come from the 6 acre Hexenbichler vineyard. The soil is clay-loam and pebbles, the training system is Pergola, the elevation is 990 to 1,320 feet and there is an eastern exposure. Harvest takes place in September. Fermentation is in stainless steel tanks for 10 days and aging takes place for 6 months in 50 to 100 HL steel tank. Length of time before bottling is 6 months and 2 months in bottle before release.

This is a light red wine with fresh fruit flavors and a nice finish finish and aftertaste. It was the perfect combination with the gnocchi, the light fruitiness of the blended perfectly with the delicate ricotta gnocchi and the tomato and butter sauce.