The wines and book in this post were provided as media samples. No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

A recent read, What’s Good?: A Memoir in Fourteen Ingredients by Peter Hoffman, has gotten me thinking about the ingredients I use and is encouraging me to be more curious about them. Of course, I regularly try to look into the wines I drink and how they’re made and share those explorations on this blog, so I see many tie-ins there. I also try to regularly buy organic produce and meats and shop at the farmer’s market to support local farmers, but adding an extra element of curiosity can add layers to the experience.

The book is a unique look at the world of food and of the world through food. Over the course of the book, Hoffman not only shares with us his personal story and a look inside his now bygone restaurants Savoy and Back Forty, but also takes us on explorations of our foodways by digging deep into some of his favorite ingredients. He takes us along to tap trees at a maple syrup operation, inside seafood and meat systems, and shows us a view of the world from the point of view of various fruits and vegetables. He also examines the challenges facing those in the food world wanting to support sustainable practices and choose varieties of plants bred for flavor. Along the way, he also shares what the items mean to him and introduces us to some of his favorite producers as well. I love that he shows how interdisciplinary food can be. In short, food geeks have many journeys waiting for them in this read. 

These explorations the book takes inspired me to be more inquisitive about the foods I buy, and I thought I’d start by taking a closer look at one item I’ve been regularly buying to get to know it better.

Early Girls

In one chapter of the book, Hoffman shares his love for Canestrino tomatoes, an heirloom variety he loves for their density and exceptional flavor. While they’re a hybrid and not an heirloom variety, I have been bringing home pounds and pounds of Early Girl tomatoes every week from the farmer’s market these past few weeks, as seems to be the case at certain times of the year the last few years. You might notice that it’s nearly November right now, which might lead you to say “Really, tomatoes? Right now?” Well, I am in California, and here in the Bay Area it does tend to stay warm until late in the fall, and with global warming, that seems to get further extended every year. So yeah, there are tons of tomatoes at the market right now.

Early Girls tend to be round and range from golf ball to tennis ball sizes (although I generally find more of the former. They’re like little bright red globes. They’re juicy, sweet, and have a good concentration of flavor. They’re a dependable variety that ripens early and they continue to ripen and set fruit throughout the season, probably one of the reasons I’m seeing so many of them late into the fall. I learned that this characteristic of growing new fruit throughout the season makes them an “indeterminate” variety of tomato, which yields a slow and steady supply, rather than one big harvest. It can withstand large temperature shifts, and they do particularly well when dry-farmed (the ones I buy are dry-farmed) which forces these vines to develop deeper roots and produces more concentrated flavors –– much like with wine grapes! This attribute makes them particularly attractive for areas like California that are experiencing more and more drought conditions. We’re definitely water-conscious around here.

This variety was brought to the US in the 1970s by horticulturalist Joe Howland. He discovered this tasty, early-season variety developed in France. He served as chairman of Pan American Seed Company and on the board of directors for PetoSeed Company, and he secured the rights to sell the seed in the US, nicknaming it the “Early Girl.” Some modifications have been made by US seed breeders, and the tomato has been gaining in popularity ever since. So while not an heirloom, this tomato has a lot to recommend it from sustainability, economic, and flavor standpoints, with many people finding the flavor to be on par or even surpassing that of some beloved heirloom varieties. These gals are winners on many levels.

They’re also super versatile. These tomatoes are considered slicing tomatoes, so they’re great on salads and in sandwiches. However, because they’re juicy and sweet, I really like to roast them, which further concentrates the flavor and makes them jammy or slightly candied and oven-dried depending how long you let them go. They’re great like that to use as a topping, or I then use them for sauces and soup. I’ve been buying up tons of these, roasting them, and will be storing them in the freezer to use during the winter.

In the book, Hoffman combines the Canestrinos with eggplant for Pasta all a Norma, and I thought these would be perfect in that dish. I switched up the techniques slightly from the recipe he shared by roasting both the eggplant and tomatoes. This creates a few more dishes, but means you don’t have to stand by the stove for as long, and seems appropriate during this time period here that is half summer and half fall. It worked out beautifully and we got a delicious and hearty vegetarian dish where we didn’t miss the meat for a second.

The Wines: A Trio of Merlot

As it’s #MerlotMe month, I have quite a few bottles of Merlot about and the plummy red fruit flavors and moderate tannins of many make this variety a good candidate to pair with a dish like this. However, this pasta has a couple of wild card elements. First, tomatoes can be tricky to pair at times because they’re high in acid which can flatten the flavors of wine that’s less acidic. However, eggplant is pretty low in acid and can mitigate the effect. The bigger variable is the spiciness of the chile peppers in the sauce, which can also cause pairing problems. The fruitiness of New World Merlots stand a good chance of mitigating the heat, but of course, individual cuvées will vary. We had 3 bottles that I received as samples to play against to see what worked. All three are made sustainably, which only seems appropriate to pair with a recipe inspired by a book that deals so closely with issues of sustainability.  

Matanzas Creek Merlot Alexander Valley 2018

Blend: Merlot | ABV: 13.8% |  Price: $40

Matanzas Creek was founded in 1977 on the site of a retired dairy farm in the Bennett Valley region of Sonoma County. All of the winery’s fruit is sustainably grown, certified under the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance. They focus primarily on Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc, although they do also make some limited quantities of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Bordeaux-style reds. In addition, to their grapes, they also have fields of lavender gardens. Matanzas Creek is a part of the Jackson Family portfolio of wines. 

Winemaking: The grapes for this wine were picked sourced from 14 blocks in mountains and benchland areas. (86% from Alexander Valley, 14% Bennett Valley) The wine was cold-soaked for five days and then fermented on skins for an average of 15 days. Élevage occurred over 533 Days in 32% new French oak. Additional information can be found here.

Tasting Notes: Aromas of black cherry, red plum, and black tea hit on the nose and then continue on the palate, along with flavors of sour cherry, a touch of chocolate, a little bit of pencil led, and cinnamon. The wine had medium+ body with moderate, smooth tannins, and plenty of brightness. 

How it Worked: This was our favorite of the three wines with the Pasta alla Norma. It was the most red fruited of the three, which matched nicely with the flavors in the food, and it had the most moderate tannins and the medium body worked well with the weight of the dish. It also worked the best with the spiciness in the sauce, and it become more savory and more peppery in the pairing. 

 

Seavey Vineyard Merlot Napa Valley 2018

Blend:  Merlot |  ABV: 14.5%  | Price: $65 

Seavey Vineyard’s history goes back to the 1870s when it was commonly known as the Franco-Swiss Farming Company. After about thirty years of producing great wines, the dual punches of a phylloxera infestation and Prohibition led the company to fold. The land was used to raise cattle and for growing grains for the next half-century until Bill and Mary Seavey acquired the land in 1979 and began to revive the original vineyards. Vines are planted on steep, rocky, south-facing hillsides in Conn Valley near Lake Hennessey. They only produce estate wines from their 40 planted acres. The grapes are farmed sustainably, certified under Napa Green as well as by Fish Friendly Farming. You can find more information on their sustainability practices here.

Winemaking: Grapes from each vineyard block were harvested and vinified separately. Grapes were harvested in the morning and promptly de-stemmed and the uncrushed berries were gently transferred into fermentation tanks to carefully manage the tannins and resulting wine texture. Following whole-berry fermentation, the wine was aged in 100% French oak barrels (35% new) for 20 months before bottling in June 2020. Additional information can be found here. 

Tasting Notes: This wine showed darker fruit notes, with black plums, blackberry, and cherry on the nose. Chocolate, a touch of iron, and licorice joined in on the palate and led into a savory finish. The wine was a touch more structured than the last, and had a fuller body and showed a little more grip on the finish, and still had plenty of acidity. 

How it Worked: This was our next favorite with the food. The tannins and fuller body competed a little bit with the weight and spice of the dish, but in general, it made a very good match. 

 

L'Ecole No. 41 Estate Merlot Walla Walla Valley 2018

Blend:  84% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, 4% Cabernet Sauvignon | ABV: 14.5%|  Price: $36

L’Ecole No. 41 has made several appearances on the blog before. They’re a third-generation family-owned winery and the third oldest winery in Walla Walla Valley. The winery gets its name from the historic Frenchtown School building in which the winery is located. Marty Clubb is L’Ecole N° 41’s Managing Winemaker and co-owns the winery with his wife Megan. Megan’s parents, Jean and Baker Ferguson, founded the winery in 1983. L’Ecole has been at the forefront of leading the way on sustainability in Washington. They are certified by VINEA as well as Salmon-Safe. You can find more info on their sustainability and farming practices here.

Winemaking: The grapes for this wine come from the winery’s estate vineyards in Walla Wallas, split evenly between their Ferguson Vineyard with fractured basalt soils, and their Seven Hills Vineyard with wind-blown loess soils. Each lot was hand-harvested and gently crushed into 1.5 ton stainless steel fermenters. Then the wine was cleanly racked to small French oak barrels, 35% new, with four rackings over 18 months. Additional information can be found here. 

Tasting Note: This wine showed notes of dark cherry, black plum black tea, and savory herbs. Notes of black pepper, cedar, and charcoal join in on the palate. This was the most structured of the three wines, with the darkest flavor profile, due in part to the blend in the wine, and likely from volcanic soils, the grapes were grown in adding to the smoky impressions. 

How it Worked: While it didn’t make for a bad pairing, this is a wine that wants a meatier, richer pairing. The tannins and flavors competed a bit with the spice in the dish and just felt a little heavy alongside it. Have this with a peppery steak or a braised meat dish. We also enjoyed the rest of the bottle with a big juicy burger, and that was a hit!

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There is a lot to be anxious about. The world is a little overwhelming at present with so much work to be done across so many spectrums. I’ve been trying to fill the quieter moments in between with as much softness, light, care, and coziness as possible. On my downtime, I have to admit that I’ve been looking for comfort just about everywhere these days – in food, in wine, in books and movies, and in memories. I decided to bring a bunch of different things that bring me comfort together in today’s post – a bottle full of memories from a wonderful trip paired with a fun read and a meal inspired by it.


Once upon a time in the “Before Times,” when there was no COVID to keep us from traveling,  Greg and I took an amazing road trip through central and northern Italy. I’ve slowly been sharing our trip here, and today I’m adding another piece with a stop at Frescobaldi’s CastelGiocondo in Montalcino. 


Montalcino was actually the very first stop on our road trip after we recovered from our jetlag for a couple of days in Rome. It is off the charts charming. Montalcino is a walled, hilltop town with a castle fortress in the Val d’Orcia. Everything about that sounds like a fairy tale! Once you arrive in the town, spectacular views of the countryside spread out around you that will take your breath away. 


 
I’ve always seen all those paintings of Tuscan landscapes and towns that are so ubiquitous that they almost seem cliché and thought they must all be exaggerating a little. Nope. It turns out that they’re not exaggerating one bit. Walking in around in Montalcino you fully feel that you’re walking around in a watercolor painting because you pretty much are. I went on to have similar sensations in many places we went to, but this was the first spot that hit me in this particular way.


It also feels like you’re in a completely different moment in time since pretty much everything around you was built centuries ago. Here is a brief history of the town from Traveling in Tuscany:
 

The quiet Tuscan village of Montalcino has undergone few changes since medieval times, when it was a stronghold pertaining to the nearby city of Siena. Montalcino was once a strategic point along the road to Rome and offers a panoramic view of the beautiful Asso, Orcia and Ombrone valleys. . . . The history of Montalcino dates back to the Etruscan and Roman periods, and its name was formed from the Latin ‘mons ilcinus’ (holm-oak mountain). Though independent for a time in the 12th century, the town later became subject to Sienese rule. During the 14th century, the city’s fortress was built to better defend the southernmost border of the Sienese Republic. However, four years after Florence defeated Siena (in 1555), Montalcino landed within the jurisdiction of the Granducato di Toscana of Cosimo dei Medici.

The pairing I created for today’s wine was inspired by a novel that brought me right back to this walled city and it amazing wines. Before we get there though, let’s take a look at those wines.

BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO

The area has had some economic ups and downs over time, but its fortunes certainly rose thanks to the fame of its premiere wine – Brunello di Montalcino.

Tuscany’s star grape is Sangiovese and there is no exception here. Sangiovese is an ancient grape with many clones and biotypes and the versions particular to Montalcino helped to make it famous. The story goes that Ferruccio Biondi-Santi isolated superior clones of Sangiovese Grosso particular to the area. He first bottled a wine from this clone(s) in 1865 and gave it the distinctive name Brunello, which translates roughly to “little dark one."

Note: Sangiovese’s story is confusing and evolving as more genetic research is conducted. According to the Oxford Companion there are six to eight different clones of Brunello and I’ve seen more cited elsewhere.

What’s interesting though is that for a very long time the region wasn’t known for its red wines. Even after Biondi-Santi first bottled his Brunello, the area was mostly known for making sweet and sparkling wines from the Moscadello grape. Brunello production didn’t really start to take off until the 1960’s and 70’s. Then it’s reputation and production kicked into high gear. By 1980 it had made a big enough name for itself to be named one of Italy’s first DOCG’s, along with Barolo in Piedmont.

Brunello must be made from 100 percent Sangiovese and aged for at least four years, with a minimum of two years in wood, and four months in bottle prior to release. Riserva wines get an extra year in bottle for a total of five, and six months in bottle prior to release. Even with all that aging prior to release, Brunello wines can age for a very long time and might take quite a few years before they hit their peak.

THE WINE

Today’s wine is the Marchesi de Frescobaldi Castelgiocondo Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2013. As this is a long post, I’m going to save sharing a longer description of the winery and details about our trip there for another post. For now, I’ll say that the winery is one of several wineries owned by Frescobaldi. The family has been involved in wine in Tuscany for over 700 years. We spent a really delightful afternoon there and had an amazing visit during which we learned a lot about the land and terroir. 

I had some hesitation about opening this bottle now as it was still a little young for a Brunello. Nonetheless, we decided to go ahead and just made sure to give it a lot of air. Better too early than too late after all! (At the same time, "too late" for this wine won’t be for a long time.) 


On the day we opened this bottle, we picked up notes of licorice, violet, black cherry, and prunes on the nose. All of these notes came back on the palate and were joined by notes of dried blackberries, pine forest, and cigar box.

This is an opulent wine that’s full-bodied, with medium + to high acidity, and dense but fine tannins.

THE PAIRING

Sometime last year, writer Andrew Cotto found me on Twitter and offered to send me an e-copy of his novel Cucina Tipica: An Italian Adventure. Book nerd that I am, I happily accepted. (Note: all opinions are my own and no other compensation was received.) 



It’s a fun romp through Tuscany in which the main character, Jacoby Pines, heads to Italy after being fired from his PR job in New York. He ends up unraveling a family mystery and finds a new life in the process. It’s exactly the type of wish-fulfillment caper that makes for the type of escapist read that is so appealing at the moment. I mean, who doesn’t want to suddenly find themselves with a delightful new life in Tuscany?! I read it last summer, but have recently found my thoughts drifting to this fantasy.

Food and wine are major features of the story’s backdrop, which certainly helped draw me in. At one point, Jacoby takes himself on a little excursion to Montalcino and winds up falling in love with a Brunello he drinks at the enoteca inside the fortress:

From a handsome man about his age, Jacoby ordered a plate of Pecorino in three varieties and a goblet of 2007 Brunello from a producer called Il Poggione. He sipped and swirled the marvelous wine, deep yet floral, complex yet accessible, taking little bites of cheese, some soft and studded with tiny black truffles or unadorned but dripped with local honey; some aged and dappled in syrupy vinegar. When it was over, Jacoby felt a thread of sadness which he hoped to dash through the purchase of a case of the very wine he’d just drank. (Ch. 30)

While we didn’t have a glass in the castle’s enoteca on our visit, we did stroll around inside and had many meals and glasses at restaurants nearby. One of our very favorite meals of the trip was at Drogheria Franci which is across the street from the castle, and we also had a delicious dinner at  Re di Macchia which is a short walk away.

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Our first and best #Carbonara of the trip was at @drogheriafranci. We’d done a lot of research on where to eat (of course) and then lucked out in that this @michelinguide recommended spot happened to be right by our inn. The food was beautiful and delicious. #latergram 1. Carbonara w housemate spaghetti alla chitarra. Sublime! 2. For a starter we had the #Octopus w potatoes and olives. 3. Tortelloni filled w ricotta and herbs, butter and sage, and spicy tomato sauce. 4. Our other favorite dish of the evening! Sesame #lamb chops with pistachio cream. 5. Our server steered us towards this lovely #Brunello from @bellariamontalcino which pair beautifully with our lamb. 6. Dessert and digestif in one. Baba al rhum soaked sponge cake. Greg had a little grappa to finish his meal, but I think these packed an even bigger punch than the grappa. 7. The sign for their shop spoke to me. 8. & 9. Ambiance shots. We closed the place down.

A post shared by Nicole Ruiz Hudson, DipWSET (@nibblinggypsy) on Oct 1, 2018 at 12:33pm PDT

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Oh the Pici Pastas of Tuscany! (also spelled Pinci) I absolutely fell in love with this hand-rolled style of pasta that’s like a thicker spaghetti. This one was part of an altogether incredible meal at @redimacchia in #Montalcino. Proprietors Roberta and Antonio run a warm and homey dining room. 1. Pinci “fatto a mano” with wild boar ragu. Our favorite of the evening out of a delicious line up. 2. Homemade Taglioni with rocket and nettle sauce. Also delicious and so seemingly simple! 3. Duck breast with red wine sauce. 4. Antonio recommended this #RossodiMontalcino from #NostraVitaWinery. It was a delicious match with both the wild boar ragu and as well as the duck breast. 5. Mixed roast vegetables. 6. Tiramisu with berry sauce. Mmmmmmmm! 7. Ambiance shot.

A post shared by Nicole Ruiz Hudson, DipWSET (@nibblinggypsy) on Oct 3, 2018 at 1:02pm PDT

Moreover, our room at the B&B we stayed at, Il Barlanzone Affittacamere,  overlooked the castle, so I had a very vivid picture in my mind as Jacoby had his glass and strolled around the streets of Montalcino. 


He goes on to buy a case of the wine and later shares it with his new friend, father figure, and fellow expat Bill as he is preparing a boar for a local sagra, a big town festival. When I read the book, I thought it would be fun to try to recreate a version of Bill’s dish to pair with a Brunello. Now seemed like a great time to give this experiment a shot!

In the book, Bill’s boar is slow-cooked and served with creamy polenta. On the one hand, this type of dish seems very autumnal to me – not typically what I find myself cooking at this time of year. On the other hand, it’s also a super comforting dish, and that certainly seems in order at the moment. I decided to search through the book for clues on Bill’s process:

After the gallons of brine were ladled over the meat in their containers, Bill and Jacoby carried them together, very carefully, to a walk-in storage area off the kitchen. The room was not refrigerated but dark and cool enough to keep the meat fresh, especially under liquid swimming with aromatics and seasoned with dissolved salt and sugar. The next day, they would have to be removed, the meat rinsed of the brine, dried and returned to the cleaned containers to be covered with a marinade for the last 24-hours before the sagra. (Ch 35)

The boar, or cinghiale, is then cooked low and slow. A little later there’s a further description of the finished dish:

On baking sheets, under foil cover, the meat glistened with moisture. Jacoby tried to fork some out but the meat broke on the tines. He grabbed a metal serving spoon and scooped up some meat and its flavorful broth colored by tomato and spiked by seasonings, including whole black peppercorns. He covered the polenta with the concoction and then walked slowly to the dining salon, where he placed the plate on a table. (Ch 40)

So we know that a brine with salt and sugar is used, followed by a marinade with aromatics, and that broth has tomatoes, black pepper, and additional seasonings. I also wrote down and made use of juniper berries, but for the life of me can’t find it now in the book. Still, I do think they evoke the cypress trees you see all over Tuscany, so I think they fit even if I potentially imagined reading that they were included.

Most of this was easy enough to incorporate, even though I made a few changes for home cooking. Given that I’m not likely to go kill my own boar (Jacoby provides the boar in the book after an unforeseen altercation), I always figured I’d use pork instead. I don’t typically make use of both brine and a marinade at the same time, but went ahead and gave it a shot. I used a dry brine instead of a wet one because it’s much easier to do, takes up a lot less room, and is a lot less messy. The next day, I used wine and some aromatics for the marinade and let the pork soak in it for a couple of hours before cooking. The marinade then did double duty and became part of the cooking liquid.

I prepared the polenta according to Marcella Hazan’s method, although I decided to add pork fat stolen from my braise instead of butter, and I swirled in a little cream at the end.

The results were fantastic! And the pairing with the CastelGiocondo Brunello was phenomenal. The wine matched the weight of the dish, but all the acidity cut through the fattiness of the pork in a refreshing way. The savory and herbs and spices in food complemented the wine and vice versa. Pepper notes in the wine emerged with the food, as did note of sundried tomato. Light hints of juniper in the sauce elevated floral and pine notes in the wine. I gave a happy sigh at the pairing, while Greg’s exclaimed “Oh Mama!” 

OTHER POSSIBILITIES

I love Brunello, but let’s face it, it is pricey and definitely not an everyday wine, at least not around here. Luckily, there are lots of good alternatives to be found. You can easily opt for a Rosso di Montalcino, which is also made from Sangiovese and from the same area. These wines are usually made from younger vines and require much less aging than Brunello. They tend to be fresher in style, are ready to drink much earlier, and are a lot less pricey. They’re definitely a great alternative for everyday consumption!

Fuller and more structured versions of Sangiovese from elsewhere in Tuscany, like Vino Nobile de Montepulciano or Chianti Classico, and the rest of Italy should work as well.  In fact, the recipe I created for this Ricasoli Chianti Classico is also a slow-cooked pork dish with some variations, and either wine should work nicely with either preparation.

If you love Piedmontese wines, Barbera and Nebbiolo based wines like Barolo would make great options as well. Actually, polenta would be much more typical of the northern part of the country where these wines are from.

The winery recommends “beef stews, braised meats, and aged cheeses” with this wine. In general, because this is a big wine with lots of flavors, it tends to work well richer dishes.

THE GEEKY DETAILS

Taken from the tech sheet.

Vineyard Location: CastelGiocondo Estate, Montalcino. Well-drained soils, and southwest facing exposure.
Blend:  100% Sangiovese
Winemaking Details:  30 days maceration on the skins. Malolactic fermentation immediately done after the alcoholic fermentation.
Maturation: Completed in Slavonian oak casks and French oak barrels.
Vintage Report: The 2013 growing season saw regular rainfall throughout spring and early summer, which helped the grapevines develop perfectly. The second half of the summer was quite warm, but without the type of heat spikes that could have compromised the grape’s ripening. The ripening of the berries benefited from alternating warm days and cool nights, producing ripe grapes rich in phenolic substances – e.g. anthocyanins and tannins – whilst preserving their delicate aromas.
Alcohol by volume: 14. 5%

MONEY TALK

Brunello’s price tag will almost always be in the Baller Wine realm. The aging requirements alone make making this wine pricey. Growing grapes of sufficient quality to withstand that aging also isn’t easy or inexpensive. Not every bottle is great of course, so if you’re going to buy a bottle it’s a question of making sure it’s a good one. We really enjoyed this one.

We bought this wine at the winery, but I don’t know for how much. The average price for this wine across all vintages is $57, although I believe the release price was around $79. Sadly, I do not see many US retailers listed. If you can find a bottle for $57, I actually think that’s a really good price for this wine.

PRO TIPS

Definitely decant this wine. Our bottle was still a bit young for Brunello and needed the time to open up. I opened it several hours before we drank it and was very glad we did! If you’re opening an older Brunello, it is just as important to decant as it will tend to have a lot of sediment. Be gentle with the bottle as you handle it, and stop pouring as soon as you see sediment appear in the shoulder of the bottle. It helps to keep a light on this spot to help you see as you pour. Candles are traditionally used by somms in this ritual, but your phone’s flashlight will work very well too, and is probably better since you will likely already have it with you! 






Check out these other posts related to our Italian road trip:

• Exploring Castello di Brolio & On Location Pairings From the Home of Chianti Classico

• Cooking to the Wine: Barone Ricasoli Brolio-Bettino Chianti Classico & an Italian Twist on Pulled Pork  

• Classically Contratto: Beautiful Wines from Italy's Oldest Sparkling Wine House

• Contratto Millesimato and Vitello Tonnato Two Ways

• One Afternoon in Lugana at Podere Selva Capuzza 

• The History of Amarone at Cantina Valpolicella Negrar, and Domìni Veneti Amarone Classico with Decadent, Braised Lamb Shanks    

• The Sweet Side of ILatium Morini: Sette Dame Recioto di Soave Classico with an Old-Fashioned Strawberry Cake 

• Cooking to the Wine: Pezzuoli Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro with Antipasto Pizza 

And here are a few more pics of our time in Montalcino.

• Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla is sharing Piadina Margherita + Bucci Piceno Pongelli 2014.
• Terri of Our Good Life served up Spatchcocked Chicken And Sangiovese.
• Linda of My Full Wine Glass is talking about "A taste of Tuscany to chase away the pandemic blues"
• Susannah of Avvinare is "Exploring Sangiovese di Romagna."
• Robin of Crushed Grape Chronicles is sharing "Sangiovese by another name...like Morellino or Prugnolo Gentile."
• Gwendolyn of Wine Predator is visiting "5 Sangiovese, 4 terroir, 3 producers, 2 regions, 1 country"
• Cindy of Grape Experiences is sharing "Tuscan Wine and Food Classics: Ruffino Chianti Superiore 2017 and Paglia e Fieno (Straw & Hay)"
• Jane of Always Ravenous is tempting us with "Tasting Tuscan Sangiovese Paired with Comforting Pot Roast"
• Katrina of The Corkscrew Concierge is "Exploring Sangiovese - Rosso di Montalcino Paired with a Summer Classic"
• Katarina of Grapevine Adventures is talking about "Tuccanese - A Sangiovese From a Pugliese Perspective"
• Jennifer of Vino Travels says “Montecucco: Tuscany’s Hidden Gem featuring ColleMassari”
• Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm thinks "A Sangiovese by any other name is still a Dang Good Wine"

Additional sources used for this post:

The Oxford Companion to Wine via JancisRobinson.com
Guildsomm.com
ItalyAbroad.com
VisitTuscany.com 
DiscoverTuscany.com 
Native Wine Grapes of Italy by Ian D'Agata




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