This time of
year, everyone's thoughts turn to sparkling wine. For some reason, most
people think that the only sparkling wine comes from France. This,
of course, is not true. The Italians make wonderful sparkling wine, not only
from traditional grapes, but also, from some very unusual grapes. One very
good choice is Prosecco, which has great bubbles, is relatively
inexpensive, and is the most popular sparkling wine in Italy today.
The sparkling wine, however, that intrigues me the most is the Caluso Spumante, by Orsolani, a wine made from 100%
Erbaluce grapes (a variety nearly identical to the Greco of the South). This
particular wine is not only great for toasting in the new year but is also a
great food wine. What makes a great food wine, you ask? The ability of the
wine to go with different types of food. The Caluso Spumante has good acidity
(which cuts through the fat of what you're eating). It has nice fruit flavors
(which give body to the wine and make it stand up to flavored foods). And it
has a really nice, clean after taste (which refreshes your palate as you
change courses in a meal).
It just so happens that on Christmas morning, I had scrambled eggs and white
truffles along with the Caluso Spumante by Orsolani. It was a perfect
combination: the eggs, of course, were local but the truffles, like the wine,
came from Piemonte.
This wine also goes very well with lobster, especially lobster boiled and
dressed with lemon and butter. It seems that the fruity flavors of the wine
and its good acidity make it a great combination for the fatty meat of the
lobster and the butter but it also stands up to the tartness of the lemon.
In Italy,
it is considered good luck to eat lentils on New Year's day. Usually, this is
combined with bollito misto, arrosto misto, or zampone. Panettone
is also traditionally served on New Year's, the famous cake of Milano, and it
is paired with sweet sparkling wine, such as the Moscato d'Asti from Cascina Castle't in Piemonte or the Malvasia Frizzante by La Stoppa in Emilia-Romagna. The
latter is a very unusual wine that you don't see very often. It's the kind of
wine that the farmers in the Italian countryside make. The first time I
tasted this wine, I thought to myself this would be a great combination
with any type of biscotti, panettone, or pan d'oro. It's a perfect
end-of-the-meal wine: it's low in alcohol and fresh and bubbly and tasty.
This is Charles Scicolone, like 007, raising a glass of bubbly to all of you
and wishing one and all a happy and healthy new year.
Buon 2007 a tutti!!!
--Charles Scicolone, Wine Director, I Trulli and Vino
Charles would love to hear from you: please email him at charles@vinosite.com.
