You’ve heard the adage, “Red wine with steak and white wine with fish.” It makes sense as a blanket statement. The mouth-drying sensation in wine, called tannins, which originates from oak aging as well as the skin, seeds and stems of grapes, works as a counterweight to the fattiness of steak. Those same tannins often found in red wine can also create an unpleasant metallic taste in fish.
Another restrictive rule that has been proliferated through the masses is that “Italian wine should be had with Italian food.” This is also generally true and highlights a very important concept for pairing food and wine regionally. If it grows together, it goes together. Whenever I am stuck on a challenging pairing, I will often look to regional cues to guide me.
Let’s dig deeper. After all, Italy is a big country. It consists of 20 different regions that are geographically isolated due to a mountain range in its northern border and another that essentially runs down the spine of the entire country, as well as two well-known wine-producing islands. This isolation further exacerbates differences between its regions and is a fascinating study for food and wine pairing.
In the sun-drenched hills of Tuscany, olive trees line the roads and tomato is the staple ingredient. Tuscany’s most grown grape is Sangiovese, which is a perfect foil to the high acid of the tomato and the rustic brininess of the olives.
Up north in Piedmont, the heartier Nebbiolo is championed. The local diet moves away from olive and tomato and skews to richer ingredients like cream and butter to stand up to the fuller bodied and more tannic grape.
Pesto as we know it today is a shortened form of Pesto alla Genovese derived from Genoa, the capital of Liguria. The most grown grape there is Vermentino, a white grape that sings with fresh basil and hard cheeses as it picks up salinity and minerality being grown so close to the ocean.
The next time you are stuck on a pairing, use regionality as your guide, or pick up these two new Italian discoveries that go with everything.
Ferraris, Ruchè Di Castagnole Monferrato, “Sant’eufemia”
Luca Ferraris’s grandfather went to California in search of a fortune and struck gold during the gold rush. He sent the money back home to Monferrato that allowed his family to purchase the wine estate in 1921. Three generations later, Ferraris is making aromatic, gulpable reds with considerable length and complexity. Ruche is a grape that is rather unknown outside of Piedmont and accounts for a scant number of plantings. It leaps out of the glass with an intense floral quality that is unique to red wines. Fresh and dried rose and exotic spices is the hallmark of the grape. The Sant’Eufemia is the more fresher and vibrant of the two bottlings and is perfect to drink chilled with antipasti and charcuterie.
Cost: $19/bottle.
Ferraris, Ruchè Di Castagnole Monferrato, “Clàsic”
The “Clàsic,” while still full of that classic Ruchè rose and spice, packs a heftier punch and a bit more tannin and warmth in the form of alcohol. It will work better with heartier dishes, but I like it just fine by itself as a pau hana wine.
Cost: $22/bottle.
Chris Ramelb is an award-winning master sommelier, and director of education and restaurant sales manager of Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits of Hawaii. Watch him on the “Wine & …” podcast, and follow him on Instagram (@masterisksomm).
