The Inside Story from Italian Wine Merchants

Go-To-Wine Tuesday

Cascina Barbatella Noè 2006

Having the opportunity to taste a white wine with a little bit of maturity is a special thing indeed.  Most whites produced these days are meant to be consumed young, usually one or two years from the vintage for maximum vibrancy and freshness. While these wines are great when new, they don’t have the guts to stand the test of time.

This past weekend I had a great experience with a five-year-old white from Piemonte, Cascina Barbatella Noè 2006.  It’s made of a fifty-fifty split of Cortese (the grape of Gavi wines) and Sauvignon Blanc, and prior to opening the bottle, I wasn’t sure what to expect because these two grapes don’t generally age well in the bottle. To my delight, I found the wine to be a beautiful golden yellow, a hue indicating some signs of age.  The nose was very complex, slightly nutty and loaded with concentrated fruit flavor.  This wine was in excellent shape!

To be quite honest, it was football Sunday and the only thing I could pair this wine with were crinkle-cut kettle chips with some sour cream and onion dip. Let me tell you it was awesome! The freshness of the wine cleansed the palate of the tangy sour cream, while the herbaceousness of the Sauvignon complemented that of the dip.  Before I knew it, a bottle of wine and a bag of chips were gone, and the Giants had lost one of their most important games of the season.

The Cascina Barbatella Noè , though, was a sure winner.

Cheese, Please

The skinny on some of IWM’s favorite Italian cheeses

La Tur

As a server for the IWM Vintage Tasting Room and our Studio del Gusto events, as well as being a sales associate in the store, I’m required to learn the ins and outs of each cheese and wine pairing, which couldn’t be a more enjoyable work requirement. In the spirit of sharing this delicious knowledge, I’m giving you a thumbnail sketch of some of my invaluable on-the-job cheese knowledge.

First, here are a few common terms to remember as you venture into Italian cheese territory:

Fresco—fresh

Tenero—tender

Dolce—sweet

Duro—hard

Stagionato—aged/matured

Vecchio—old

Stravecchio—very old

Toma: this soft- to semi-hard cow‘s milk cheese comes from the high Alps of Valle d’Aosta and Piemonte regions of Italy.  It ripens like Brie to create a thick rind with a pale to golden yellow sweet paste on the inside. One of Piemonte’s traditional cheeses, it works especially well with Chianti, as well as local Valle d’Aosta wines such as Torrette and Piemonte’s Dolcetto and Barbaresco.

Bra

Caprino: derived from the word, “capra,” which means “goat,” this cheese is made from whole or skim goat’s milk. It can be made in the fresco (fresh) or stagionato (seasoned) styles. The Fresco only ages for three to five days, and therefore maintains a soft, creamy texture. Fiano, Falanghina and Asti Spumante are white wines that serve this cheese well, as do reds like Barbaresco and Beaujolais.

Bra: originating in northern Italy in the Piemonte town of Bra, this cheese is made with pasteurized or unpasteurized cow’s milk. The unpasteurized version is the traditional hard style that ripens for three to six months. During this time, the color darkens and the flavor intensifies. The other type, which is pasteurized, is sold after only 45 days of aging while the paste is still soft.

Robiola: deriving from the word “rubeole“ (ruddy) due to the hue of its seasoned rind, Robiola is made from a mixture of cow, goat and sheep’s milk and is a soft-ripened cheese from the Stracchino cheese family (Stracca means “tired”; cheeses from the Stracchino family are made with the milk of tired cows since it’s richer in fats and more acidic).  Robiola is tangy and has an intense aroma with subtle creamy flavors to compensate. Robiolas can be aged alone or wrapped in different kinds of leaves to absorb the flavors of the leaves, imparting complex flavors.

La Tur: my most favorite cheese on the planet, it is a bloomy, pasteurized mix of cow, goat and sheep‘s milk. It stands about two inches high and about two inches wide, cakey in texture, yet oozing towards the rim. It’s fresh but also tantalizingly funky. I love pairing this cheese with unusual, obscure varietals such as Frappato, Grignolino and Freisa.

Fontina: a cow’s milk cheese made in the Alps of the Aosta valley since the twelfth century, this cheese has stood the test of time and is one of the most popular and easy to distinguish Italian cheeses. Also made in Sweden and France, the Aosta valley stands as this cheese’s original hometown. Fontina is well known for its earthy and mushroom flavors, which pair perfectly with braised meats and shaved truffles.

Taleggio: a washed-rind cheese, this is another one of my favorites with its buttery texture, pungency and fruity flavors. This cheese goes best with young Nebbiolo wines and fluffy Italian loaf.

Toma

Pecorino Romano: produced primarily in Sardegna and very popular in the States, this cheese is made completely from ewe’s milk. Showing a slight sweetness with a buttery and nutty aspect, Pecorino is usually aged for eight months, making the texture just right—not too hard, not too soft. This flexible cheese goes superbly with most Italian wines, especially Chianti Riserva.

Gorgonzola Cremificato: Also known as “Gorgonzola Dolce,” this gorgonzola is creamier and sweeter than most other blues and a lovely complement to sliced pears. If serving it as an after-dinner treat, don’t forget to pair it with every blue cheese’s favorite dessert wine, Sauternes.

Callu de Cabreddu: also known as Cabrettu, this unusual cheese dates back 6,000 years. A Sardinian goat’s milk cheese that is ripened in a baby goat’s stomach, the flavors of Callu de Cabreddu are extremely strong and explosive.  It’s tough to pair this cheese with wine, because it’s so intense; I prefer this cheese on its own with some warm, Italian ciabatta bread.

As with the vast majority of Italian food, the adage “if it grows together, it goes together” works with wine and cheese as well. Check out the region, and if possible the township where your wine and your cheese originate. Chances are you’ll be on the right track. Or ask any of the IWM sales associates. We love to share our cheese expertise.

A Look at Risotto

There are several types of risotto rice, but not all of them can be found in the US. Two of the most common are Arborio and Carnaroli.

One of the most misunderstood dishes, risotto is definitely one of my favorites. Some people think that risotto’s wonderful creamy texture comes from the addition of cream and butter, but really it’s just the natural composition of the rice itself. Starch, the main component of rice, is composed of amylopectin and amylose, and different kinds of rice have different percentages of these two starches. The rice used in risotto is short-grain rice and this type has a higher percentage of amylopectin, which is the sticky starch that results in the creamy texture. Medium-to-long grain rice, such as Jasmine and Basmati, has a higher percentage of amylase, which is why they seem to be fluffier. There are several types of risotto rice, but not all of them can be found in the US. Two of the most common are Arborio and Carnaroli.

Arborio rice gets its name after the town where it was originally grown in northern Italy’s Po Valley. Arborio is the easiest to find in the US because it’s now being grown in parts of California and Texas. It has a relatively low percentage of amylose for a risotto rice, which means it takes longer to cook because absorbs liquid less efficiently, and it will make a starchy and sticky risotto. Since it does not absorb liquid quickly, Arborio requires careful tending because it will go from undercooked to overdone very suddenly.  Anyone who has eaten mushy risotto will attest to its unpleasantness.

Carnaroli, known as the “king of rice,” is the most common type of Risotto used in Italy and originates from the Piemonte towns of Novara and Vercelli. Of all the risotto rice, Carnaroli has the highest percentage of amylose, which makes it absorb a lot of liquid and makes it less likely to overcook quickly and get mushy. Carnoli is usually designated “superfine” to indicate its high ratio of length to width, though it can also be labeled “semifinos” to show that the grain is rounder. Carnaroli is harder to find in the US, but you can locate it in most specialty stores.

The biochemical composition of the rice helps explain the ineffable connection between risotto’s raw ingredients and the fragrant, gleaming pool of risotto lounging on the plate in front of you. With this knowledge, you may understand risotto a little better—and appreciate this mysterious, beautiful and delicious dish even more.

Struck by the Beauty of a Perfect Pairing

An ah-ha moment of a young career

As both a new Junior Wine Portfolio Manager and a junior wine enthusiast, I have been extremely busy these past few weeks here at Italian Wine Merchants.  My first two weeks as a Junior PM made me a student in the most intense crash course in “Wine 101” that I ever could have imagined.  I learned about wines and their history and their production; I discovered how environmental factors influence wine; I was schooled in the art of fine dining service; and I grew to know IWM’s corporate culture.  I’m a recent Finance and International Business graduate from Villanova University, and in taking this job, I’ve found that my mind has been inundated with a lot of information in a short period of time, all of which has been challenging to absorb, but also extremely exciting to learn.

Of course, it’s not like I never drank wine in my life. I have, and more than enjoyed it, I saw it was important. However, I can’t say I “got” wine. Prior to my wine exposure at IWM, I struggled with the complimentary relationship between wine and food.  Cooking has always been one of my passions, so I can appreciate the use of wine as an essential ingredient. However, I couldn’t internalize the idea of wine as an integral component to a flawlessly prepared meal.  This changed a few weeks ago at my first formal wine tasting.

Prior to the tasting, I told myself to abandon my uncertain and somewhat cynical opinion of how wine and food interact with each other.  I had been schooled; I was primed; I was ready. But while I did my best to convince myself, my taste buds were still somewhat naïve and skeptical—until my wine epiphany.

All it took was a sip of the 2004 Ada Nada Barbaresco Cichin and a perfectly prepared taste of braised veal cheek with polenta to make me see the light.

In that white-light moment, I struggled to find the perfect words from the wine nomenclature I’d so recently been steeped in. But the only words that came to my mind were these: “Holy cow, that’s fantastic!” Just to make sure that this experience was something special, my skeptical taste buds and I went in for a second try.  My mouth savored the tender and juicy veal cheek as it softened the tannins in the Ada Nada. I focused on the spices and fruit that the red wine had to offer; I had finally been struck by the beauty of a perfect pairing.

This “ah-ha” moment has transformed my opinion on pairings and has become another driving force for my wine curiosity.  I not only find myself excited to taste wine, but also thriving on the experience I had.  I look forward to opening my senses and my mind to a world of “ah-ha” moments as I cultivate the career—and the tasting journey—that I’ve embarked on.