Italian Wines
Wine is one of my passions. I’ve been joyfully drinking and studying wines for many years. To me, wine is the perfect beverage for sharing pleasure with friends. It’s a conversation piece backed by history, geography, weather and dedicated artisans. You can talk about its smell (nose), taste, color, locale, vintage and on and on. Even the size of a bottle encourages splitting. But best of all, you can match it with foods. Thus, it becomes one of the many colors in the palate of flavors that make up a wonderful meal and a great social occasion.

Over the years, I’ve explored wine regions around the world, and I’ve found many a wine to love. Some were short flings (Australian wines), others long-time friends that that you enjoy on the special occasions where your paths cross (classified Bordeaux). Many added to a special dish, while most others, unless matched with the prefect food, were better on their own. But the wines from one country always seemed to be the first I grab whenever I’m looking for something to accompany a meal. Those wines are from Italy.

Italian wines are made to accompany food. Both they and the food are better for the match. A powerful California Cabernet is wonderful on its own, but it goes with very narrow range of foods. Compared to fruit forward, heavy body and tannic intensity of a Cab, many (but certainly not all) Italian wines taste lighter and acidic. This sourness may make the wine seem less attractive when tasted along with the Cab, but that very characteristic helps the wine work with a broad spectrum of foods. Also, many Italian reds benefit from breathing before drinking. You’ll note the wine keeps improving in your glass as the night goes on. I like to decant my Italian reds for 1 to 2 hours when possible to give them a chance to open up.

As I write this entry, I’m sipping the last of a 1997 Prunaio Chianti that I had with a dinner of herbed roasted chicken (marinated overnight with the Simon and Garfunkel mix – Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme!) and oven roasted porcini mushrooms. Along with black cherry flavors, the Prunaio has a “woodsy-ness” that complements the mushrooms and enough acidity to counterbalance the richness of the sauce (a chicken stock reduction).

Chiantis may be among the best known Italian reds, but there are a multitude of other choices to match the need of the moment. I’m particularly high on Montepulciano d'Abruzzo. These wines are the ultimate price performers. You can get very reasonably priced quaffers or spend a little more and get a wine of surprising richness, substance and quality for far less than you expect. Drink this wine with pizza (it is the best pizza wine by far!), any Italian red sauce or even with spicy foods (it goes very well with chili flavors for some reason). Here are some recent favorite Montepulciano d'Abruzzo wines:

Castello di Salle – Riserva – 1999 (a real favorite)
Masciarelli – 2001 (simple, but a great price performer)
Masciarelli - Marina Cvetic – 1999 (a much richer, higher end version)
Valle Reale – 2001 (reliable, mid-priced)
Lepore -Re – 2000 (a solid performer)

Enjoy!