In wine terms, this might mean looking for a refreshing bottle, but still delivers lots of flavor as well as some structure and complexity. A Cerasuolo fits just this kind of situation perfectly.
Cerasuolo (pronounced “Chair-AH-swolo,” or hear it here) is a type of Italian rosato found in central and southern Italy, most notably in Abruzzo and in Sicily. The word cerasulo means “cherry” in Italian and it refers to the beautiful, deep ruby tones of the wine. Rather than the pale, salmony pink tones most of expect from our rosés, these wines are more like light, translucent reds.
Cerasuolo wines are made by leaving the grape juice in contact with the skins longer than you’d expect for most rosés, but less than for most red wine production. They have the flavor and structure to match, with more intensity and tannins than most rosés, while being brighter, fruitier, and less tannic than your average red. Ultimately, that makes these wines perfect for warm summer evenings!
Abruzzo has a dedicated appellation for these wines – Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo – which achieved DOC status in 2010. The wines must be made of at least 85% Montepulciano. This is the star grape of the region and it typically makes deeply colored, intense wines. (Not to be mixed up with the city of Montepulciano and it’s wine Vino Nobile de Montepulciano. We’ve previously explored the grape here.) While delicious, that power and intensity is not typically what I’m looking for during the summer. It makes perfect sense to me that the people of Abruzzo would feel the same way, especially given the intensity of Italian summers.
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| Map courtesy of WineFolly.com |
If you’re interested in learning more about Abruzzo, please see these previous posts:
- Cooking to the Wine: Lammidia Anfora Rosso from Abruzzo & Pot Roast with Tomatoes and Chickpeas
- Passion and Authenticity in Abruzzo: A Conversation with Cristiana Tiberio of Az. Agr. Tiberio
- Cooking to the Wine: Tiberio Pecorino & Saffron Chickpea Stew with Seafood
THE WINE
We opened up a bottle of Praesidium Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo Superiore 2018 (average price $25; purchased at Whole Foods) for a cheese and charcuterie night at home – a perfect summer dinner. (Let’s be honest, I’d be happy to have that any day.)
Praesidium is a family-run winery founded in 1988 by Enzo and Lucia Pasquale. Enzo was born in Prezza and grew up working in his grandparent’s vines. Their children, Antonia and Ottaviano have joined the family winery as well.
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| Image borrowed from the winery's website. |
It’s clear that the family and winery take a lot of pride in their city and their land. The winery takes its name from Prezza’s name during Roman times – “Praesidium” – when the city was a defensive fortress. The town is perched up on a rocky mountainside that overlooks the surrounding Apennine range. The winery’s logo features three towers and was inspired by an image on a bronze portal in the Abbey of San Clemente a Casauria which has become the insignia of Prezza.
The winery farms using organic practices, native yeast fermentations, and minimal intervention in the cellar. It’s not clear to me if they’re certified, but the winery lays out their practices in-depth on their website. My favorite detail is that the vines are fed fava beans in addition to manure as fertilizer. Lucky vines.
They make their Cerasuolo from 100% Montepulciano using the same grapes that go into their Riserva but simply limit the amount of time it spends in contact with the skins.
On the nose, this Cerasuolo showed notes of sour cherries that were just a little dusty, raspberries, blood oranges, and orange flowers. They all make a comeback on the palate and are joined by pomegranates, a touch of white pepper, light smoke, and dusty earth. There was tons of freshness to back up the fruit, with a little tannic grip at the very end.
THE PAIRING
Here is how everything worked with the wine:
- Humboldt Fog - Good. The cheese brought out a smoky, meaty quality in the wine, and the wine enhanced the ashy aspect of the cheese.
- Journeyman Meat Co. Italian Salame with Red Wine and Garlic – Very good to excellent. The salame brought out the fruitier side of the wine and the match brought out depth in the salame.
- Prosciutto – Good to very good. An easy-going match.
- Roasted Radishes - Solid to good. I was actually a little surprised these worked as well together as they did. Neither really highlighted anything in the other, but they also did not clash.
OTHER POSSIBILITIES
The winery recommends this wine with “pasta, white meat, salami, and even fish.” I think this would be a great general-purpose wine. It might not be ideal with the most delicate fish dishes, or the most robust of meat dishes, but in general, this is a wine that you don’t have to think too much about in terms of pairing and it should work well with a very wide range of foods.
THE GEEKY DETAILS
Quick note: If you see Superiore on the label, like with this wine, the wines must meet additional standards beyond those dictated for regular DOC wines. For example, they are required to have a half percentage point of minium alcohol over the regular DOC wines. (12.5% vs 12%.) They also have lower permitted yields.
Details taken from the tech sheet on the winery’s website.
Grapes: 100% Montepulciano d’Abruzzo
Location of the vineyards: Western hills of Peligna Valley, Abruzzo. 1,247feet (about 400 meters) above sea level.
Soil: Clay with very rich with white calcareous stones.
Microclimate: Very windy with low humidity and temperatures that fluctuate widely from very hot during the day to very cold at night.
Average age of vines: 25 years
Farming: Practicing organic. Manual labour. Winter pruning, green pruning. The grass at the base of the vines is removed manually, by using the hoe.
Winemaking: Spontaneous fermentation in stainless steel barrels and maceration for about 24 hours. Unfined and unfiltered. Minimal sulphites – added much lower amount than the maximum allowed from the organic certification.
Maturation: At least 5 months in stainless steel barrels.
Alcohol: 14%
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The rest of the Italian Food, Wine, Travel Bloggin Group (#ItalianFWT) is exploring the rosé wines of Italy, hosted by Lauren of Swirling Dervish. Check out their posts here:
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