Tag: wine

The wine of the week: Adènzia Bianco 2018 Baglio del Cristo di Campobello – Italian Cuisine

From one of the less known areas of Sicily for the production of wine, a large white with a small price, perfect for seafood

"Vignaioli for passion and dedication", we read on the site of Baglio del Cristo di Campobello. And it is enough to know the Bonetta family to understand that it is not just a slogan. Carmelo, with Domenico, took over the reins of the company, but his father Angelo is still active in the day-to-day management, and then there are wives and children, who work so that work at the Baglio del Cristo is a well-matched choir. We are a Campobello di Licata, in the province of Agrigento, in a marvelous nothingness where the gaze can range for kilometers on the countryside. The sea is near, it is about ten kilometers away, and it is felt in the evening breezes, which cool and smell of salt.

The first thing you notice when you arrive in the beam is the statue of Jesus crucified, which protects the entrance and is a destination every May of Pilligrinaggiu a lu Cristu, a deeply felt religious procession, which involves the inhabitants of the surroundings and beyond.

The company works some thirty hectares of property, planted with indigenous and international vines, on rolling hills of chalky calcareous matrix; each vineyard is vinified separately and in the cellar we make use of the advice of a famous oenologist like Riccardo Cotarella, for an annual production of around 300,000 bottles.

It is difficult to choose which is the best label: the CDC Cristo di Campobello Bianco has an exceptional relationship between quality and price and is the wine for the everyday table; the Nero d’Avola Lu Patri and the Grillo Lalùci are perhaps the most famous, destined to become icons of contemporary Sicilian viticulture. And then there is the Adènzia Bianco, a mix of native vines cricket and insolia, that with the 2018 vintage has reached levels of absolute value or, to put it better, is very good! Like all the labels signed by Baglio, it is a very gastronomic wine, which is enhanced by the combination with food. The aromas are those of ripe fruit, peach and medlar above all, and of broom flowers, with hints of citrus and fresh almond; it is very pleasant to the taste, delicate and intense at the same time, with an adequate acid-sapid spine and a slightly spicy finish. With a price like this, you risk doing the business of the season.

Why now: in this wine you can feel the sea and the desire to go on vacation is great for everyone.

As did: after soft pressing, the fermentation takes place in steel, as well as the refinement of the wine which lasts for 5 months on the fine lees. The wine is then refined for a couple of months in the bottle before being sold.

To combine with: octopus salad, steamed crustaceans, sushi, spaghetti with mussels and clams, pumpkin flowers stuffed with feta.

Serve it at: 8-10 ° C.

Price: 12.50 euros.

cristodicampobello.it

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The wine of the week: Colli Piacentini Malvasia Emiliana 2018 Lusenti – Italian Cuisine

Summer has arrived. The time has come to uncork wines that are drinkable and low in alcohol, like this white refermented in the Colli Piacentini bottle

It is noon and the grandmother is hungry. On the table filled with bottles – Lodovica Lusenti produces an infinity of labels – a piece of really good cheese comes out, so much so that, at the appearance of the casing alone, even the dogs will raise their ears. Shortly thereafter, we will move to a trattoria (including my grandmother), the ones that make the joy of truck drivers and those like me, in Milan, usually eat a salad in an anonymous bar. Towards the end of the lunch, even an accordion appears and my visit to the cellar, which should have lasted a couple of hours, takes the form of a reunion with old friends, even though we only know each other since morning.

Since that time I have a wine of the heart, with which I inaugurate thearrival of the warm season. The wine is declined in the feminine – it is called Malvasia Emiliana – and resembles so much to those who produce it. Lodovica is a bubbly woman, full of brio, genuine and welcoming, of other times: the wine that best represents her could only be a white man as it was once, a refermented in the bottle, of those to be uncorked to a picnic, after letting it cool in the waters of a stream. The Malvasia Emiliana is born on the Colli Piacentini, in the area of Ziano, in Valtidone, on hills exposed to the north-west, with clay-loamy soils, veined here and there by a bit of limestone. It is made with organic grapes of Malvasia di Candia aromatica, a typical Piacentino grape variety which, as the name suggests, is generous in aromas: it ranges from wisteria to yellow fruit, citrus fruits and they blend well with the flavor and the refreshing, pleasantly sour note.

Above all it is a wine that does not exceed 11.5% alcohol and is easily drunk even on the hottest days. Before untapping it, follow Lodovica's advice e shake the bottle to put back the yeasts in suspension: in the glass you will have a cloudy wine, but even more full of taste.

Why now: little alcohol, easy to drink and lightness: it is a perfect white for summer recipes.

As did: after vinification in steel, the wine is bottled with its own yeasts and 10% of sweet Malvasia must; this will trigger the refermentation in the bottle which will bring the wine to be sparkling.

To combine with: savory pies, omelettes with vegetables, stuffed vegetables, rice salad, fried fish, cold cuts and fried dumplings.

Serve it at: 6-8 ° C.

Price: 12 euros.

lusentivini.it

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The wine of the week: Nizza Cipressi 2016 Michele Chiarlo – Italian Cuisine

What is the trick to recognize an excellent Barbera? Consider the versatility on the table and measure how long the bottle ends

If one began to dedicate statues to the most deserving Italian winemakers, Michele Chiarlo would certainly have one. His talent – for quality productions and the ability to sell Piedmontese wines in the world, when no one knew them yet – inherited it from his father Pietro, who was, in 1952, among the promoters of the birth of the social cellar of Calamandrana and that was awarded in 1978 with the Grand Medal of Cangrande by the Verona Trade Fair Authority "for having made a significant contribution to the development of viticulture and the enhancement of Italian oenology".

There are many teachings that the father leaves to his son, as when he says to him "Use patience and make sacrifices, but buy only vineyards in large locations". Michele also remembers his father's reaction when he began to thin out the grapes (that is, to throw some of the grapes on the ground) in the Barolo vineyards in 1985: "But he lived to convince himself of the great qualitative results that derived from my choice". Today, after about sixty vintages, Michele is joined by his sons Stefano and Alberto, who succeeded in transmitting the same passion and great skills needed to produce (and sell) wines appreciated all over the world.

Indeed, more than appreciated, since the Nice Cipressi 2015 was declared best wine in the world from the American magazine Wine Enthusiast. The grapes are born in the La Court estate in Castelnuovo Calcea, purchased by Michele Chiarlo, in 1995, after long years of "courtship". To make an already excellent place for viticulture even more special, the Chiarlo family has created Footprints on La Court, a artistic park en plein air, accessible to all, which houses the works of some artists of the caliber of Emanuele Luzzati and Ugo Nespolo.

But how is a good Barbera made? It must be born in a very suitable area and obtain the Docg for Nice in 2014 it is certainly a guarantee in this regard. And then it must be fruity and juicy, vibrant to the taste, for the acidity that sustains the body, and easy to drink, indeed very easy, but never banal. The Nizza Cipressi 2016, and also that of the 2017 vintage (tasted in preview and on sale from September), has all these features. The aromas, especially cherry, raspberry and something sweet tobacco, are elegant and fresh; the same characteristics can be found on tasting, along with a savory and round finish, which invites the next sip.

Why now: it is a red of great versatility on the table and, playing with the service temperatures, it can accompany both structured and lighter dishes: a perfect choice in this period of uncertain climate.

As did: the wine is made in steel, with a maceration on the skins for 10-12 days; the wine ages for 12 months in large barrels and, therefore, for 6 months in the bottle.

To combine with: white meats, medium-aged cheeses, first courses with meat sauce, stuffed pasta, stewed fish.

Serve it at: 16 ° C

Price: 16 euros.

www.michelechiarlo.it

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