Looking to bolster our Italian wine knowledge, we recently attended a tasting put on by Slow Wine (part of Slow Food) where we sampled offerings from Italy's many storied wine regions. While many pleased our palates, some stood out more than others. Click through for our top picks, and get inspired to savor a bottle or two yourself.
— Additional reporting by Susannah Chen and Anna Monette Roberts
While Susannah will be in Germany sampling Rieslings at their source this Labor Day weekend, I'll be stuck stateside, but believe it or not, I'm not lamenting my lack of long-weekend plans. That's because I'll be taking things easy, sipping on a well-chilled glass of 2010 Arnaldo Caprai Grecante Grechetto dei Colli Martani ($20), an Italian white wine that I consider my Summer secret weapon.
While any variety of drinks might do the trick, Grecante is my wine of choice for sweltering Summer days; it's immensely refreshing, thanks to its mouth-puckering acidity and smooth long finish. I'll be pairing mine with a good book, but it'd be equally at home consumed in concert with grilled fish, burrata stuffed squash blossoms, or a simple appetizer of cheese and crackers.
What will you be drinking this Labor Day weekend?
Photos: Anna Monette Roberts
We've been on a bit of an Italian wine kick lately at Sugar HQ, imbibing everything from spumante Rosé to smooth Valpolicella. Now, you might think that this recent surge would quell my interest in the region (at least temporarily), but rather, I've found myself lingering longingly in the Italian section of the wine store, plotting my next exploration by glass.
Today's find was a happy accident of sorts, plucked off the shelf by my beau at random — or so he says — to pair with a home-cooked Italian feast. The 2008 Fattoria del Cerro Vino Nobile di Montepulicano ($20), demarcated with an official, purple DOCG label, signifies this wine is truly sourced from Tuscany. Further establishing its authentic Italian origins, the wine is a blend of Sangiovese, Colorino, and Mammolo grapes. Although it sounded foreign to our taste buds, the first sip had us sold. We found that its light body and velvety-smooth texture paired exceptionally well with a range of Italian cuisine, from bucatini coated in vodka sauce to pork ragu.
One last note: while we relished this bottle in its relatively young state, this is the sort of wine that's worth aging. So if you're feeling particularly canny, snap up a bottle or two, and hold tight. I can only imagine what wonders a few years will add.
I was skeptical of Mionetto's wine spritzer, Il Spr!z, on the outset; perhaps I wasn't quite sure what to make of the bottled cocktail, fearing that it might be a bit too "semi-homemade" for my taste. Or maybe I was put off by its vibrant orange hue that seemed to scream artificial coloring. Regardless, it was long overlooked. But I'm not above admitting when I'm wrong, and boy was I! If I could, I'd redact all negative thoughts toward the beverage, and to make up for my misjudgment, I'll be snapping up a bottle for my next beach picnic posthaste.
This bottle is modeled after a spritz, which is a popular Italian apéritif, traditionally consisting of white wine, seltzer water, and Campari, Aperol, or Cynar, all bitter orange apéritifs. It's meant to stimulate the appetite and act as internal air conditioning on a scorching Summer day. While this bottled version is slightly sweeter and less alcoholic than a standard spritz, it still retains much of the intrigue and bitterness associated with the beverage along with a trace of effervescence, making it an excellent stand-in and the first bottled cocktail that I can wholeheartedly get behind. While Mionetto's Il Spr!z is available in "individual" sizes of 200 and 375ml, I could easily down a whole 750ml bottle ($12) when poured over ice. It's that good.
The most common Italian sparkling wine is Prosecco, which is a dry white sparkling wine made from Glera (Prosecco) grapes. However, Glera isn't the only grape to produce lovely Italian bubbly. We tried Santa Margherita's Vino Spumante Rosé ($24), which is a blend of 50 percent Chardonnay and five percent Malbec in addition to 45 percent Glera to achieve its salmon-colored hue.
This peachy wine is floral on the nose with a slight whiff of ripe berries, like a flower-flavored Perrier sans the sugar. On the tongue, rose, jasmine, and vanilla followed; a mouth-puckering finish helped those dry flavors to linger on the tongue. We'd likely pair this wine with a dozen shucked oysters, dressed in freshly squeezed lemon, and light antipasti before dinner. No wonder this wine quickly disappeared among our tasters.
We oohed and ahhed over the peach hue of 2011 Attems Cupra Ramato Pinot Grigio ($19); after tasting plenty of crisp whites and full-bodied reds for wine month, it was truly something shiny and new.
Ramato translates to "coppery," and this Attems Cupra is categorized as an orange wine, a style of wine made by leaving dry white wine varietals (in this case, Pinot Grigio) to macerate with their skins for a prolonged period of time to achieve a golden orange tone.
The Cupra Ramato consummates its signature color with a distinct flavor. On the nose, I got a bouquet a roses — the recognizable floral scent that comes to mind with Pinot Grigio. This taste-bud-awakening wine is thirst-quenching, with bright green apple and a slightly grassy wild lavender aftertaste.
With a bolder palate, this bottle is an ideal fit for late Summer evenings rather than the high daytime heat. Pair the chilled bottle with light Italian fare, like polenta with grilled shrimp, or a bowl of handmade fettuccine and mussels.
2010 Masi Bonacosta is as passionate as the Italian land it was cultivated in. The winery — situated in Valpolicella, one of Northern Italy's most renowned wine-growing regions — has vineyards with sweeping hills close to Verona, evoking the notion that this might have been Romeo and Juliet's table wine.
Valpolicella has a rich history and was revered by Hemingway himself for wines with "light, dry, and friendly" qualities. This bottling is a blend of traditional Veronese grapes, including varietals I've never heard of, like Corvina, Rondinella, and Molinara — but that didn't prevent us from popping the cork!
And we're glad we did: this wine is all about intoxicating your senses from the very beginning. We got vanilla and cherries on the nose and a light, smooth palate with minimal tannins. The earthy, almost salty finish gives it complexity that will please any lover of a robust red wine. And for the price tag of $14, it's a steal. In fact, we're already dreaming of it with a simple spaghetti aglio e peperoncino or a chocolate gelato.
Have you ever had Valpolicella?
