A question for all of the Italian winos out there?

I am still in the midst of my tasting of Italian wines. There are so many out there! Anyway, I am trying to decide what food to pair my Italian wines with. Beyond Chianti, I am lost. What kind of food goes with Montepulciano D'Abruzzo? How about Brunello, Barolo, and Salice Salentino. Right now I am focusing on reds...any insight on foods to match the wines would be great...I have never even tasted most of the varieties that make up these wines.

Paulo, I think you had recommended a steak with the Brunello di Montalcino...and that's the Sangiovese varietal right? Like the Vino Nobile and Chianti.

Thanks everyone for your help!

Bella Maria,

Good luck ... you are embarking on a long journey, because, as you already know, there is an almost endless list of grape varieties grown in Italy. I suggest you find yourself a good guide, like a local wine merchant and/or distributor that specializes in Italian wines. You might want to start with Winebow (winebow.com). I would love to read your notes and recommendations when you are done.

For what it is worth, six of us dined at an Italian restaurant outside of Portland, OR this weekend. I ordered a pasta dish that came with roasted pine nuts and a sauce made from Gorgonzola cheese. [RULE: Big cheese flavors like this need a really big wine.] I selected a bottle of 2001 Fontanabianca Sori Burdin Barbaresco for the table. Although young for a Nebbiolo-based wine, it was extremely enjoyable, especially after giving it lots of breathing time.

Ciao ... Clark

Anyway, I am trying to decide what food to pair my Italian wines with... How about Brunello, Barolo

It's almost impossible to give advice unless you specify New School or Old School.

New School nebbioli & sangioveses will be heavily extracted - very thick and dark, with burly, often unyielding [or even bitter] tannins; typically they'll show lots of [new] oak; and often they'll be sporting so much alcohol that they'll strike you as "hot".

Essentially, they'll be Australian Shiraz.

Which is not necessarily a bad thing, it's just that those New School wines [at least in their youths] won't pair with any food that's much more delicate than cheeseburgers, or BBQ'ed ribs.

Old School nebbiolo & sangiovese, on the other hand, will pair with just about anything.

The big problem here is that good Montalcino sangiovese starts at about $50, and good Langhe nebbiolo starts at about $75-$100, so unless you can make it to some free [or heavily subsidized] tastings, then you're looking at a catastrophic sum of money just to start to get a feel for which style you prefer [and which producers bottle that style].

She could start with the non="appellation" Nebbiolos, though=typically labeled "Langhe" or such? And, Rossos would be a good intro to the nobler varietals of Sangiovese.

Maria

I find the Salice Salentino and the Montepulciano d' Abruzzo wines go very well with many of the rustic dishes I like to eat. They are hearty wines - I'll pair them with macaroni and gravy, sausage and peppers, even Friday night food like escarole and beans. In other words, I'll open them up with almost anything when I want an inexpensive red wine, and I don't worry too much about making a perfect match.

For more refined pasta dishes, when there's tomato present in the sauce, I really enjoy Barbera. It usually has good acidity and makes a fine partner to food.

When I think Barolo and Barberesco I think meat - long cooked roasts, braised beef, even osso buco (though many will call for a white with the veal, instead)

Chianti I like with stuff off the grill, steaks, pork chops, sausages.
If it's a more serious steak, I might move up to a Brunello.

Those are just some of the things that pop to mind - the important thing is that you start drinking the stuff, and don't worry so much about the match - you'll figure it out once you taste some of the wine.

IMHO Montepulciano d' Abruzzo or "Monte" as we lovers of it call it, is the Italian Pinot Noir or "Pinot." Montes go with just about everything including nothing as in quaffing. They come in many versions and price points, but we have never been disappointed with one.

I do not mean that a Monte tastes like a Pinot or comparable in any other way than the universal matching with just about anything that calls for a red wine.

I like John's suggestions, Barbera (high acidity) goes well with tomato based sauces.

Grilled steak with Sangiovese is really good.

In Piedmont they drink Nebbiolo based wines with delicious egg pastas topped with rich sauces, like the Gorgonzola sauce mentioned by Clark, or even with a simple butter and fresh sage sauce. The acidity helps a lot. Also the braised meats John suggested would be good.

The other good suggestion that I would second was from Brian. For $20 or so you can try some Nebbiolo d' Alba rather than the pricier Barolo and Barbaresco wines. The B and B wines can have some pretty fierce tannins when young, and the Nebbiolo d Alba wines are more approachable with less bottle age. You can get a feel for the grape without spending a fortune. But it would also be worth the splurge to try a mature bottle of Barolo, to see if it is something you wanted to buy for your own cellar. Chambers St Wine in NYC has a good selection of older Barolos. (No affiliation, just a satisfied customer).

Maria:

Google "Italian Made" and you should find one of the neatest and best organized winesites on the web. It's done under the auspices of the Italian Trade Commission, and it is a compendium of not only Italian wine, region by region, but also Italian food.


It gives you history, culture, background, etc., but one of the most compelling features to me is it gives you wonderful detail on the foods of each region....and which foods go with which wines.

If you haven't already seen it, it's a great site, and you should check it out.

She could start with the non="appellation" Nebbiolos, though=typically labeled "Langhe" or such? And, Rossos would be a good intro to the nobler varietals of Sangiovese.

Yes, if you can find old-school versions of these wines.

For Nebbiolo, someone recently pointed me in the direction of Vajra's basic Langhe Nebbiolo, which is a very pleasant drink, and should be available for not much more than $15.

And I'm lucky in that I have access here to a Gray Marketeer who brings in lots of affordable old-school nebbiolo & sangiovese, but my impression is that that's rather rare. [I recently got to try an advance bottle of a new mid-range sangiovese - I think maybe it was called "Terra di Siena"? - that was very interesting, and might come in well under $50.]

But as an example, I'm sure that there must be Chianti Classico out there which is made with the old-school approach to Sangiovese, and might not cost much more than $20 to $30, but pretty much every CC I've ever tried reflects the "Sangiovese as Shiraz" model - which is not necessarily bad, it's just that it's not what Sangiovese would become in the hands of a master.

And, as above, after drinking a glass or two of "Sangiovese as Shiraz", you wouldn't want an open flame anywhere in the general vicinity of your mouth, for fear of your lungs catching fire and exploding.

ANYWAY, to make a long, rambling post a little more coherent: What would be really neat would be a list of some affordable [sub-$20] nebbioli & sangioveses that are made in the old-school style - or maybe I should say, that are well-made in the old-school style [seeing as how anyone can make bad wine in the old-school style, and offer it at a pittance].

Because, in general, if you want to try the New School wines, then just look for anything with points from Parker or Tanzer or Suckling [and, especially with the sangioveses, you'll have something that's hot enough to double as lighter fluid].

PS: You know, in fairness to him, Parker might actually have been the greatest champion of some of the old-school stylists, at least back in the day, when he reviewed Italy himself. I don't follow Suckling anymore, but I never cease to be amazed at how hot Tanzer likes his Italians - for the last few years, it seems like every time I've tried an Italian with Tanzer-points, I'm just shocked at how hot it is [particularly if I try it next to something old-school, for comparison purposes].

PPS: You know, Raynolds is trending in that direction himself...

Maria,

Hugh Johnson wrote that roast chicken was the thing if the wine was important; you can drink just about anything with roast chicken.

If you're getting interested in Italian wine you might pick up a copy of the Pocket Guide to Italian Wine, new edition ed. Michelle Shah, pub. Mitchell Beasley, for general guidance. I give the book out to customers, and it's small enough to take to the wine shop with you.

I just thought of another resource: the excellent 'Italian Made' site has a wine and food page:

http://www.italianmade.com/wines/wine-and-food.cfm

I would start with matching the wine with the area's cuisine. For example a quick search on Abruzzo cuisine shows hearty and spicy dishes.

I would have to concur with what some of the others have said about Montepulciano D'Abruzzo. Granted, I've only tried one producer/vintage (Masciarelli 2003), but I've had it on several different occasions with a wide range of food types, and it really is quite versatile.

I think the best italian food/wine pairing I've ever had was a 2003 Bruno Giacosa Nebbiolo D'Alba with ravioli in a veal reduction sauce (can't recall what the filling was). That experience is what got me hooked on italian wines.

Maria:

Google "Italian Made" and you should find one of the neatest and best organized winesites on the web. It's done under the auspices of the Italian Trade Commission, and it is a compendium of not only Italian wine, region by region, but also Italian food.


It gives you history, culture, background, etc., but one of the most compelling features to me is it gives you wonderful detail on the foods of each region....and which foods go with which wines.

If you haven't already seen it, it's a great site, and you should check it out.

Hoke, what a site. Pick a wine and follow the links right to a recipe, or start with a recipe and get suggested wines. This got a bookmark for sure.

(singing: How do you solve a problem like Mariaaaaaaa!!)

The way to answer your question is to taste, taste, and taste! My wine epiphany was a 1990 Nardi Brunello di Montalcino; I did not have it with grilled meat, but with my tomato sauce pasta, ground beef... and angels sang. Several years later I made a pilgrimage to the town of Montalcino and had the real bistecca fiorentina with Brunello and it was magnificent.

You gotta start somewhere, and already a lot of the folks here gave you great tips. I often refer to Italianmade.com - fantastic site. I also like to go to the Italian Wine Merchants website; there is a lot of information there to help you get to know some Italian producers. Their Italian wine guide usually helps me with trying to figure out if a producer makes modern or traditional wines; it is a place to start because ultimately I have to take the risk and taste the wine myself. The annoying part of discovering Italy is that styles vary greatly! Any time I see "Slovenian oak" I know I will most likely enjoy the wine vs. "French barriques" or "American oak". Here is a link for you:

http://www.italianwinemerchantstore.com ... books.html

One of the owners is Joe Bastianich, Lidia Bastianich's son (she has her own cooking show on PBS and heads several restaurants and I worship her!). Vino Italiano is a great book because they talk about wines and producers, and Lidia includes recipes to go with the wines. Love it!

I don't eat red meat on a daily basis, so to have Brunello, Barolo, or Barbaresco on can be too intense for me, especially during summer months. I am less familiar with Piedmont because I have never been there; Barolo and Barbaresco are huge wines, and are usually out of my price range. I did, however, discover that Barbera D'Asti is a great everyday wine, and when made well is quite satisfying. My wine "home" varietal is sangiovese, though the wines do vary in intensity and style. Anything that says "Riserva" means that the wine has had a longer aging period and will have more "umpf" - this is not the same meaning in other countries. When pairing with food, you can't go wrong with sangiovese with a red sauce and garlic. Most of the wines have red cherry/black cherry/red fruit notes.

When I visited the town of Montepulciano last year I had good and bad wine experiences with my meals because I was experimenting with different producers. I find it vital to find out the style of wine that most appeals to you, and then find the good producers who make wines in that style. One of the greatest moments I had was walking into a wine store and specifically asking for recommendations of "traditional" producers. The owner was very friendly and helpful and pointed me in the right direction. The wine I purchased and brought back home to the US was made by Sanguineto (a 2001 Vino Nobile Riserva), a producer who does not export to the US yet. A few months later I opened the bottle at a dinner with a friend and angels sang again!

Thank you all so very much for the incredible amount of wonderful info!! Sorry it took me so long to respond, but I have been tracking down your suggestions, looking at the websites you all recommended and reading the books. So far, my Italian journey has been the most difficult and but most interesting.

Thanks Clark for your recommendation...I am going to look into that. I will certainly post my notes


Thanks John for your post...that's exactly what I was looking for...just a start on what to eat with what.

I find the Salice Salentino and the Montepulciano d' Abruzzo wines go very well with many of the rustic dishes I like to eat. They are hearty wines

Montes go with just about everything including nothing as in quaffing.

I had my first Montepulciano D'Abruzzo a few days ago, and ITA with you both (and K Story)...it is very versatile! I paired it with everything from ravioli to hotdogs, soups, and beef and it held up great to all of it! This might be my new everyday drinker!

Marc - Thank you for the food suggestions...that helps a lot. I will certainly start with the Nebbiolo D'Alba before I try the Barolo. That you so much for the tip!

Hoke and Oliver - That website ROCKS!! Oh my goodness...I have spent the last few days just reading, reading, reading!! I absolutely LOVE it!!

Paulo and Nathan - I do think it makes a huge difference about the style. I think that is what makes this journey even more difficult for me...since it seems a lot of the wine merchants around me know French and American wines inside and out, but are not as informative about the Italian wines.

Paulo - I love that Vino Italiano guide...it has been soooo helpful! I also re-read that article about "Traditional vs. International Styles." Still, I do find it difficult to find out information on the style sometimes. (Sheesh...I am having a hard time finding the name of the producer sometimes...LOL!). But I am getting there. I have only tasted a few Italian wines so far, but all have been a really great experience.

Paulo - I was looking at the Brunellos and they are super pricey! Are they are that expensive (at least $40.00). Or are there less expensive ones? Are they considered the cream of the crop for Sangioveses? Why are they so pricey? I thought only Barolos were that expensive, but I can even find cheaper Barolos.

Thanks Brian and Ryan for your tips...very helpful.

Thanks again everyone! All your info was so GREAT!

Paulo - I was looking at the Brunellos and they are super pricey! Are they are that expensive (at least $40.00). Or are there less expensive ones? Are they considered the cream of the crop for Sangioveses? Why are they so pricey? I thought only Barolos were that expensive, but I can even find cheaper Barolos.

Not Paulo, but Brunello has the reputation for being the most expensive wine in Italy. There are some more or less expensive but $40.00 is probably about the minimum here in the states.
Many people, but not all, consider them the apex of Sangiovese. The Germans and Scandanavians buy a lot.

Paulo - I was looking at the Brunellos and they are super pricey! Are they are that expensive (at least $40.00). Or are there less expensive ones? Are they considered the cream of the crop for Sangioveses? Why are they so pricey? I thought only Barolos were that expensive, but I can even find cheaper Barolos.

Not Paulo, but Brunello has the reputation for being the most expensive wine in Italy. There are some more or less expensive but $40.00 is probably about the minimum here in the states.
Many people, but not all, consider them the apex of Sangiovese. The Germans and Scandanavians buy a lot.

Eric.... what are you saying, that I am CHEAP????

I am VERY expensive!!!

Maria, I love your enthusiasm.

The thing about Italian wine is that there are hundreds of indigenous grape varieties there, which means that the range of wines possible is enormous. I think it's exciting, and I do it for a living.

The other thing that's exciting is that our conception of where good wine is made in Italy has changed a lot in the last ten years, with the south (eg Campania, Sicily) coming into the top rank.

One additional note ... do not overlook some of the more interesting Italian white wines. Just last night I tasted a lovely and affordable Soave Classico made from 100% Garganega. This wine had enough acid to make it refreshing, but not so highly acidic that it dominated. And the flavor/aroma combination reminded me of melons and flowers. Chill this a bit and drink it late in the afternoon.

Also, one of my favorite Italian seafood wines is made from Arneis. Try it with sauteed scallops.

Good luck on your Italian wine journey.

-- Clark