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David Lynch, Wine Director
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THIS MONTH
VENETIAN LAGOON
The northeastern Italian regions
of Veneto, Trentino-Alto Adige, and Friuli-Venezia Giulia were
historically referred to as the "Tre Venezie"(three Venices),
and represent the vast chunk of territory once associated with
the great city of Venice. Today, these regions are more politically
distinct, but their wines converge on the tables of Venice, where
the incomparable array of seafood - cuttlefish in their ink; scampi
(shrimp) dressed in olive oil and lemon juice; flaky branzini
(sea bass) baked in salt crust - is perfectly complemented by
the Tre Venezie¹s minerally, crisp, fragrant white wines.
From Trentino-Alto Adige, the range of whites includes more recognizable
Franco-Italian grapes such as pinot grigio and pinot bianco but
more exotic Germanic varieties such as müller-thurgau, gewürztraminer,
and sylvaner. In the Veneto, the local garganega grape reigns
supreme in the wines of the Soave appellation. And in Friuli-Venezia
Giulia, the premier white wine-making region in all of Italy,
the choices include just about every top white variety you can
think of, but are headlined by the local tocai friulano grape.
Above all else, though, the wine scene in Venice is dominated
by sparkling wines from the prosecco grape, made to the north
of Venice in the pre-Alpine hills of Valdobbiadene and Conegliano.
Prosecco the grape may have originated in Friuli, but prosecco
the wine belongs to the Veneto, and to Venetians in particular.
No walk through Venice is complete without a stop in one of the
tiny little wine bars for a refreshing glass of spumante
with the locals, and it was at Venice's famous Harry's Bar that
the Bellini cocktail was invented.
Unlike Champagne, prosecco sparklers are made in the "tank" method,
wherein the second fermentation of the wine (the one that creates
the bubbles) takes place in a large pressurized tank, as opposed
to a bottle. As a still wine, prosecco is light, fruity, even
faintly sweet, and as a sparkler, prosecco tends to be a little
lower in alcohol, lower in acidity and carbonation, and noticeably
sweeter than Champagne. These qualities make prosecco a great
aperitif, and in general there¹s no beating the price: Most good
proseccos go for somewhere between $13 and $15 retail. We always
have prosecco by the glass at Babbo (not to mention a seasonal
fruit-based Bellini, which at the moment is Rhubarb), and our
favorite producers include Ruggeri; Mionetto; Bisol; Nino Franco;
and Col Vetoraz.
Once the cocktail hour is over and you¹re ready to have some dinner,
it¹s time to turn to one of the many great whites of the Tre Venezie.
At Babbo, we¹re partial to tocai friulano and the rest of Friuli¹s
varietal whites (co-owner Joe Bastianich traces his family roots
here, and now owns a winery here). When all is said and done,
tocai may be Italy¹s greatest native white grape, a variety that
not only offers complex aromatics but also the capacity to age.
The Babbo list is tocai-rich, and at any given time will feature
producers such as Schiopetto, Livio Felluga, Russiz Superiore,
Villa Russiz, Ronco del Gelso, Ronchi di Manzano, Zamò, and of
course Bastianich.
With this month¹s Bigoli pasta dressed with anchovies, I recommend
a crisp, clean white wine without any excess oak or alcohol to
clash with the salty pungency of the dish. Here are three potential
pairings from our cellar:
Tocai Friulano, Bastianich 2003 (Friuli)
A new product from
the Bastianich winery, one styled to be more fresh, simple, and
clean than the mammoth, old-vine Tocai Plus. This straightforward
tocai has textbook mineral freshness and a soft, fleshy texture.
Pinot Grigio Ramato "Vigneto Fontane," Zeni
2002 (Trentino)
Here¹s a classic
of the Tre Venezie: A powerful pinot grigio with a slight pink
tinge due to some skin contact during fermentation. This is the
kind of wine you¹ll see in Venice all the time but rarely does
it make it Stateside (the term "ramato" means "coppery," in reference
to the coppery color of the wine due to the skin contact).
Soave Classico "La Rocca," Leonildo Pieropan
2002 (Veneto)
A perennial favorite
of Italian wine lovers, this single-vineyard Soave has lots of
heft and lots of aroma.
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To
purchase any of these wines, visit
Italian Wine Merchants online or in
New York City, just off Union Square! |
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