Italy at your table (II part)

Central Italy

Central Italy is the food and wine valley of the country. From the Emilia Romagna come some of the world’s greatest food inventions: Prosciutto di Parma, Parmigiano Reggiano, and Balsamic Vinegar of Modena. Jumping down to Marche and Molise you will find enchanted nature, where eating great food is like entering into an Italian Movie of the 1950’s! Taking an outdoor stroll out of Rome in the famous Castelli Romani or stealing an extra half hour to try Sagrantino di Montefalco is a treat not to be missed on your next visit to the Capital. Moving south, Latium has just managed to come out from a very dark age in the last couple of years producing some good Cesanese reds and some more pleasant Frascati.   The Marches are showing better produced Rosso Conero and Rosso Piceno, Montepulciano based reds, and the full bodied whites Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi and di Matelica can both be good drinking.

Abruzzo and Molise to the east are a very rewarding areas for the great Montepulciano d’Abruzzo big reds and the oily, dense white Trebbiano.

Top wineries: Aurora, Emidio Pepe, Valentini, Oasi degli Angeli, Masciarelli.

Tuscany

Tuscany is the most famous wine region not just of Central Italy but of the whole country. This is the area where some of the world’s cult wines are made. Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino and the Super Tuscans -like Cepparello, Falccianello are from this region. Tuscany is also home to some of the world greatest artists such as like Leonardo da Vinci or and Michelangelo, who worked in stunning Renaissance destinations like Pisa, Siena  or and Florence – packed with wonderful galleries. Spend a week in a Tuscan Villa to recharge the spirit, cooking in a 15th century kitchen, visiting the Academia and its David of Michelangelo or strolling around the beautiful artisans and art galleries.

The Frilli Gallery is one of the oldest and most exciting examples. Michelangelo’s Bacchus, a panel of Ghiberti’s Door of Paradise and full size replicas of many other museum masterpieces can be touched freely by the visitors’ own hands.  Nothing has changed from the beginiing: the same marble chosen by Michelangelo for David, carved in the Frilli Studio with the same lost wax process that Cellini mastered in bronze casting is employed in their foundries.

The same classic touch and artistic vein can be found in the great examples of Sangiovese based wines. Usually very austere and mineral with a cherry, violet and licorice driven nose and a lot of aging potential. Competing with indigenous Sangiovese are the Bordeaux blends Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot form the south west coast of Tuscany, which have been awarded several times among the best in the world: like Sassicaia and Masseto.

Before the list of the top Tuscan wine-makers it is worth mentioning Vernaccia di San Gimignano, once a cheap souvenir wine of the beautiful Manhattan of Tuscany, today serious mineral and long aging whites. Don’t overlook Vino Nobile di Montepulciano an elegant Sangiovese based wine made in one of the prettiest countrysides in the world (not to be confused with wines made from the Montepulciano grape in Abruzzo).

Top wineries: Biondi Santi, Boscarelli, Castello di Ama, Castello di Rampolla, Castello di Romitorio, Castello di Monsanto, Fontodi, Isole e Olena, Livio Sassetti, Montenidoli, Ornellaia, Pergole Torte, Petra, Poggio di Sotto, Soldera, Tenuta delle Ripalte, Tentuta Sanguido, Valgiano.

Brunello di Montalcino. Montalcino.

Located on the northern side of Montalcino, in the world Unesco Heritage Val d’Orcia, Brunello Montalcino with its five years of aging and 100% Sangiovese is one of the greatest espressions of this variety available on the market. Castello di Romitorio is built in a 13th century original castle. The owner and wine maker Sandro Chia is also one of Italy most influential contemporary artists whose talent is flooded into his powerful Brunello. Filippo, his son, and an artist himself, has been working closely with his father for the past few years, taking part in the family business to release one of the world’s most saught after fine wines.

Chianti Classico. Siena.

One of the oldest appellations in the world, and one of the finest wines. Chianti Classico is a Sangiovese based red built to last. Right in the heart of Chianti Classico -32 km from Florence and 32 km from Siena, Giovanni Manetti is the most reliable source for a rich and powerful example. His Vigna del Sorbo, has become a lighthouse of this DOCG, but make sure you open a bottle of his darkly extracted Flaccianello. Another rare example of pure Sangiovese, elegant and muscular with an uncommon aging potential.

Sangiovese Tuscany. Florence.

Isole e Olena, on the Florentine side of Chianti near the medieval town of Barberino Val d’Elsa is Paolo de Marchi’s home. One of the world’s most refined interpreters of Sangiovese. His Cepparello – 100% Sangiovese-  has become a mile stone for anyone attempting to bottle this temperamental variety.  Working with wild yeast, fermenting in wooden barrels and aging the wine in a natural Tuscan Galestro stone cellar are some of his secrets. Look also for the crunchy, mineral red fruit driven Chianti Classico.

Worth mentioning Proprietà Sperino in Lessona Biella- Piedmont -the nouvelle vague of the Italian wine scene. Pretty unknown to most people, even Italians Lessona is Nebbiolo made in the most acidic soil of Europe, right under the Alps, and yet releasing the smoothest, caressing, floral and red fruit gentle touch. It is like a Barolo with some years of aging, crispy red fruit and great potential for cellaring. Why is a Northern wine mentioned here? Because the winery is Paolo’s son enterprise: Luca de Marchi.

Super Tuscan. Suvereto. Petra.

This breathtaking winery is located a  few miles away from one of the most important Etruscan 2500-year-old archeological sites. On the south-west Tuscan coast Petra is a modern architectural jewel created by Mr. Moretti, a man in love with life, culture and wine. This young winery has been making wine for the past ten years, but his first vintage 1999 is still alive and kicking with a great smooth chocolaty and black fruit character. Petra IGT is a classic Super Tuscan blend -Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot- which has made its way among the heavy weights of the Tuscan coast.

Absolutely a must stop is Ristorante La Pineta of fisherman and Chef Luciano Zazzeri. One of the humblest and most polite chefs on the planet who cooks the freshest fish in an elegant wooden shack right on the south West Tuscan Coast.

Tuscan Coast Sweet Elba.

Tenuta delle Ripalte. Right off the Tuscan coast is the stunning island of  Elba were in the past a very unique red dessert wine used to be made from the indigenous Aleatico grape. Pier Mario Meletti Cavallari has built a wonderful new cellar overlooking the sea to produce this historic chocolate and raisin sweet wine, which leaves a very clean palate with an almost salty contrast on the finish. The grapes are picked in September and dried for a few weeks under the sun. Exposed to attacks of hungry wasps and to the potential end of the summer rain, this is a heroic wine making project that only a man of the caliber of PierMario could have taken on and triumphed.

Sagrantino di Montefalco. Montefalco. Arnalado Caprai.

Escaping from the Tuscan power house going east is the beautiful and silent Umbria. Nothing much had been said about the wine production of this wonderful countryside until the revival of the cellar of Arnaldo Caprai. Marco Caprai, around twenty years ago, decided to give life back to an amazing indigenous variety: Sagrantino. Since then he has become the leader of this great red, year after year producing a very consistent Italian Fine Wine: elegant, packed with character and style also with a rare aging potential.

Balsamic Vinegar. Modena

Crossing the Appennins is Emilia Romagna,once known for the cheap and nasty Lambrusco sold in bulk, today Emilia Romagna is gaining a higher status, with some respectable and intriguing Lambrusco, some polished and dense versions of Sangiovese and a decent group of desert wines (Top wineries: Bellei Francesco &C., Calogna, Peltrineri, Vigna dei Boschi, Zerbina). If you plan to explore this region, please allow  a couple of gourmet pit-stops for Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and Prosciutto di Parma -ham- before indulging in one of mankind’s greatest food inventions: Balsamic Vinegar of Modena.

From 1605 Acetaia Giusti has been producing this divine nectar called Balsamic vinegar. If you want to get a better understanding of this product though, forget about the word vinegar and just stick to that one of balsamic. This is a product made with cooked grape must fermented with a special selection of yeast for a minimum of 12 and roughly 25 years for the Riserva. Yes! 25 years to release the thicket, sexiest, jammiest vinegar you’ve ever seen! The Acetaia Giusti is only a few miles form the city where Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati and Ducati are made. Any nearby trattoria will be serving you the perfect Italian meal: tagliatelle, tortellini and local meat and vegetables are always matched to the great king of the gourmet kingdom: Balsamic vinegar.