I’ve travelled a few times to that ancient and venerable land of vines and wines we call Italy, but I had never explored one of that country’s most heralded regions, Piemonte. In the next two blogs, I will recount my visit to Piemonte as well as my short stay in the region of Tuscany. 

Nestled in the northwest corner of the Italy and in the shadow of the Alps, Piemonte is home to perhaps the most revered of all Italian wines – Barolo.  It is also the region where the equally esteemed Barbaresco is produced, as well other excellent reds such as barbera and dolcetto.  The main white of the region is the delicate arneis, a grape producing  a delightfully fresh and dry wine which  sometimes has just a touch of frizzante or sparkle. Some wineries also produce chardonnay in a style reflecting Burgundy more than the new world.

After a flight from Rome to Milan, we rented a car and travelled the 100 miles toward the village of La Morra where we had booked rooms in an “agriturismo.”   An agriturismo is a farm or historical edifice that has been restored and converted into a lodging facility. The one we chose, Cascina Del Monastero, is actually a working winery.

This  16^th Century farm house was inhabited by Benedictine friars for three centuries and now has ten large suites which are tastefully decorated.  The farm became a winery in 1926 when the current owner’s grandfather purchased it.  Giuseppe and Velda Grasso were our hosts for our four day stay and are really warm and accommodating folks.

 Vineyards above Cascina Del Monastero

My travelling partners included my wife, brother-in-law and sister-in-law .  All of these long-suffering folks are accustomed to my obsession with wine and food, and also provided occasional, but necessary, interventions to curb (as my wife put it) “my enthusiasm for trying to experience too much of everything all of the time.”

Anyway, with the Cascina as our headquarters, we set out to explore the vineyards, wineries and exquisite cuisine of the Barolo and Barbaresco regions.  First stop was near the village of Treiso and the   winery of Cantina Vignaioli Elvio known as Pertinace.  Pertinace is actually a cooperative winery and blends the fruit of 19 growers in the Barbaresco and Barolo appellations.    

Cesare Barbero is the winemaker and he tasted us through the entire line of wines from Chardonnay and Arneis, to the reds – Dolcetto, Barbera , Barbaresco’s and Barolo. We capped off the tasting with a late harvest moscato that was heavenly. 

The good news is that the Pertinace wines are very reasonably priced (in the $15 to $40 range) and are now available in West Virginia.  Be sure and look for the 2008 Arneis   along with 2007 Dolcetto and the 2006 Barbera – which is rich, round and full of blackberry flavors. The excellent 2004 Barbaresco and Barolo are also worth seeking out. The Barbaresco in particular exuded a wonderful rose petal aroma and had dark plum tones with excellent balance.  

Tasting wine is very exhausting business and it was necessary for us to recharge our batteries often and so, with the gracious assistance and recommendation of folks at the Cascina and in the wine trade, we felt it obligatory to sample the cuisine of Piemonte at every opportunity. 

As the original home of the “slow food” movement,  the Piemontese believe in using local and seasonal ingredients as the centerpiece of the meals they consume.  In the fall, mushrooms and squash along with red and yellow peppers predominate.  Surprisingly, these people are not salad eaters, nor do you see a whole lot of green vegetables on the table. Of course, pasta in all sizes and shapes is served as primi piatti (first course), but with sauces more white than red.

The region’s most famous culinary delight is the white truffle – an aromatic  delicacy that looks like a stone, is hunted and sniffed out by trained dogs,  and then  surreptitiously dug up by  devious sorts who would rather see their first born taken by gypsies than give up the location of their buried treasure. 

Once the white truffle is brought back to civilization, it is sold at outrageous prices to restaurateurs who then shave it into paper thin slices over all manner of dishes.  It is a very expensive condiment, adding as  much as $35 to your dish of pasta or risotto.

 I actually passed on the little buggers, preferring instead to feast on the incredible array of mushrooms that were bountiful, scrumptious, inexpensive and prepared in an amazing number of ways. Veal, of course, is the meat of choice followed by lamb, chicken and rabbit all of which are exquisitely sauced, many times with Barbaresco or Barolo as the base.

 

Lamb over polenta in a Barolo sauce

Tune in next week and I’ll tell you more about my visit to the wine Country of Piemonte, and to a great winery in Tuscany. 

Hey friends and neighbors, WineBoy here.  Just back from ten days in Italia where I tried to break the Garibaldi Book of World Records for consumption of food and wine.  One look at my dirigible-like countenance and you will agree I must have been a finalist in this gustatory competition.

Anyway, I hope to have a few words to share with you soon on my travels and the spectacular array of wine and food I experienced in both Piemonte and Tuscany. As you may know, Piemonte (which is in northwest Italy) is known for its famous Barolo and Barbaresco while Tuscany is home to Chianti and Brunello Di Montalcino among other fine wines.

Both regions boast some of the best foods prepared anywhere on Mother Earth and I did my best to sample them with flagons of the local wines. In fact, I arrived in Piemonte in the middle of the red wine harvest and at the beginning of white truffle season.

 So stay tuned over the next few days for a report on my travels to wine and food heaven!

 

Fall is a time of transition and I’m going to get a head start on autumn food and wine by preparing one of my all time favorite fall meals.

 

 It is no real surprise, then, that most of us move from the light wines of summer such as riesling, rose’, sauvignon blanc, and pinot grigio to fuller-bodied red varietals such as cabernet sauvignon, zinfandel and syrah.

          

My idea of culinary Nirvana, as I have noted in this space before, is to match full-flavored, spicy foods such as stews, pot roasts and stuffed meats with big, juicy reds.  Today, I am going to share a recipe with you that will be enhanced by any of the above-mentioned wines.  Oh, by the way, this dish is absolutely delicious, particularly if you can tolerate a good dose of garlic and a little heat.  

         

Start with a four or five pound turkey breast.   With a sharp knife, cut several half inch thick slices, placing a sheet of wax paper under and over each piece.  With a mallet, pound the meat to about one-eighth inch thickness (if you have trouble waking your teen age children in the morning this will do the trick).

        

Next, roast a tablespoon of cumin seeds over medium heat in a sauce pan, stirring regularly for about one minute.  In a mortar and pestle, grind the cumin fine and add one-quarter teaspoon of cayenne pepper, a teaspoon of black pepper and salt and a tablespoon of chili powder.  Rub this mixture over the pieces of flattened turkey and let sit in the refrigerator overnight or for at least three hours.

         

For the stuffing, sauté (in three tablespoons of olive oil) one-half each green and  red bell pepper (cut in one-half inch long strips), one-half chopped onion, three cloves of minced garlic and one small can of chopped green chilies. Then sauté until vegetables begin to soften.  Salt and pepper to taste , stir in one egg and add one cup of Monterey Jack cheese and one-half cup of unflavored bread crumbs.  Microwave or cook two links of chorizo or Italian sausage, drain off fat, chop into small pieces and, when cool, add to the mixture.   

        

When the stuffing is cool, portion it evenly on the flattened turkey breast and roll them up, securing with butcher’s string or toothpicks.  Fire up the charcoal or gas grill and place the roll-ups directly over the fire, turning frequently until they are browned on all sides.  Then close the grill cover and roast them indirectly for about 20 minutes. Allow the meat to rest for about 15 minutes, then slice into one-inch sections and serve. You may wish to accompany this dish with wild rice or garlic mashed potatoes.

 

Here are a few wines that will make this dish even better.

 

2007 Castano Monastrell ($9) – A floral, perfumy aroma gives way to a deep, rich, spicy blackberry flavored mouthful of monastrell (also known as mourvedre). An amazingly complex wine for under $10 that has a silky mouth feel, this Spanish red is a lovely match to the turkey roll-ups.

 

2007 Alexander Valley Vineyards Syrah ($18) – Wonderfully balanced wine with none of that sometimes over blown, candy sweet intensity prevalent in many new world syrahs/shiraz.  Excellent dark fruit flavors, some medium tannins and nice acidity make this wine a superb accompaniment to the turkey roll-ups.

Wine friends mark your calendars and start your palates for the following food and wine events around our fair state.

 Tamarak

The Tamarack Foundation Gala, “Hats Off to the Arts!” at the Tamarack Conference Center in Beckley on Saturday, Sept. 19, from 6 to 9 p.m. will feature West Virginia foods on its extensive menu.

Tamarack Chef Jamie Henderson and his team of Greenbrier-trained chefs are saluting West Virginia’s protein, produce and food products from hors d’oeuvres at the reception to the dessert bar at the end of the evening.

“We’re always looking for opportunities to showcase West Virginia’s creative small businesses and entrepreneurs,” said Tamarack Foundation Executive Director Sally Barton.  “It’s great for us to give guests at the gala an opportunity to discover some wonderful local foods as well as fine arts and crafts.”

The funds raised from the Gala are used by the nonprofit Tamarack Foundation to support programs focused on building artisan-owned small businesses and preserving West Virginia’s unique cultural heritage.  The Gala features an auction of West Virginia arts and crafts as well and the proceeds from the auction benefit the Foundation’s Teresa Pauley Artisan Relief Fund.

Tickets are available from the Tamarack Foundation.  Call 304-926-3770 to make reservations.  Tickets are $125 each and a portion of the contribution is tax deductible.

 Ashton Place Kroger

This Friday Sept 18, the Wine Shop at Ashton Place Kroger will host a tasting of La Crema Pinot Noir and Guenoc Cabernet Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. This tasting is free to adults of sipping age.  In addition, wine lovers can usually find an open bottle or two for tasting on Fridays from 3 to 6 p.m. and Saturdays in the afternoon.

Wine Shop at Capitol Market

The Capitol Market Wine Shop will conduct the following tastings this fall:

October 4- Annual Harvest Tasting at the outdoor market; October 18 – tasting of wines from  Moet & Hennessy; November 15 –  Annual Thanksgiving wine tasting;   December 6th – Annual Blind Claret Tasting; December 20th –  Annual Sparkling Wine Holiday Tasting.

All the tastings begin at 2 p.m. and have a fee – usually in the $10 per person range. The Wine Shop will also host a special Spanish Wine Dinner on Monday November 2.  Contact the wine shop at 304-343-9463 for details on where, what time at how much.

Benjamin Disraeli was famously quoted as proclaiming: “The magic of first love is our ignorance that it can never end.”

With all due respect to the late and esteemed Mr. Disraeli, I must say that I disagree, particularly when it comes to wine. The first grape I ever had the pleasure of making into wine more than 30 years ago was zinfandel.  And even though the resulting  liquid  was so over-oaked that it resembled toasted wood more than  it did wine, I still love zinfandel (made by professionals)  to this day.

As I have noted in this space before, zinfandel is the Rodney Dangerfield of red wines. It certainly doesn’t get any respect and even though many enjoy it, very few people want to take it home to dinner.  Why?  Well, the truth is that zinfandel has an identity problem.  In fact, it has multiple identities.  Are you listening, Dr. Freud?

The grape is so versatile that winemakers make it in a variety of styles. From white to blush, from light    to  medium -bodied, from  full-bodied to purple monster, zinfandel can be a confusing wine to buy and, unless you are familiar with the style made by a particular winery, it is difficult to match it with food.

The other problem comes from some wine critics who have declared that, while zinfandel  has some utility and can be a pleasant quaff, it really cannot be taken seriously because it does not age gracefully.  Since it does not benefit from extended cellaring (they proclaim), it should be drunk within the first few years after bottling.

I won’t deny that zinfandel – and almost every red and white wine produced on this planet – is best consumed within a few years after being made. However, I can attest to the fact that zinfandel does indeed age well and can be gracefully transformed into a multi-layered, subtle and complex wine – descriptors which are customarily reserved to describe revered  old Bordeaux.

How can I make such a claim?  Read on.

To honor this much maligned varietal and to test just how well (or not) zinfandel can age, some zin- fanatics (and yours truly) put together a vertical, blind tasting of zinfandel produced from 1974 through 1982.

There were 11 wines in the tasting (ranging in age from 27 to 35) and all were placed in paper bags to hide their labels. The zinfandels were:  1974 through 1980 Sutter Home (Amador County);   1980 Grgich Hills (Alexander Valley); 1980 Burgess (Napa); and 1981 and 1982 Grgich Hills (Sonoma County).

While the cellar conditions where the wines were stored could not be described as perfect, they were reasonably good. My wines had been aged on their sides in a dark and vibration free area of the cellar that has consistent temperature and humidity.   My good friend and wine aficionado, Andy MacQueen, had contributed wines too and his cellar conditions were similar to mine.

 

The wines had been allowed to sit upright for a week prior to the tasting to make sure all the sediment would fall to the bottom.  Just before the tasting, I carefully decanted the wines one by one into a carafe and immediately poured them back into the bottles which had been quickly rinsed to dispose of the sediment.  I also inserted the corks back in the bottles to prevent any further oxidation.

So with an assembled group of anxious and anticipatory wine geeks all fired up and ready, we got down to some serious sipping and evaluating.  Of the 11 wines, four were deemed by the group to be “over the hill” and virtually undrinkable. Those were the 1980 Burgess and 1976, 1978 and 1980 Sutter Home.  The remaining seven wines were all very drinkable and a couple of them were amazingly complex.

Some of the notes from the tasters described these varied and diverse attributes:  ‘tack room and teaberry mint aromas; coffee, cola and spicy cherry flavors; licorice, mint and tea notes;  silky, rich, subtle; and  minty, sweet fruit, layered flavors.’

The consensus favorite was the amazing 1974 Sutter Home Amador County. I described it as “a wine with leather and teaberry mint aromas, silky tannins, rich, sweet cola flavors and remarkable length – a wine with another five or more years of life.”  The 1975, 1977 and 1979 Sutter Home along with the 1980 Grgich Hills were also delicious examples of how well zinfandel can age.

No,  I’m not suggesting that you wait 30 or more years to replicate my tasting to determine if zinfandel can age as well as Bordeaux.   You just need to go out and experience today’s zinfandel, a wine  that is chock full of spicy, minty, jammy, blackberry flavors . And you’ll be amazed at how well zin goes with just about any full-flavored dish.

However, I have to admit it does my hillbilly heart good to prove that the prevailing view among the wine cognoscenti (regarding zinfandel’s inability to age well) is just one more de-bunked myth!

Do you find yourself burdened with a plethora of outdoor chores this weekend? With the heat index reaching Death Valley levels, those grass cutting, weed eating honey-do’s will sap the last lick of energy from your seriously dehydrated body. Thirst is a terrible thing and so in weather like this, one needs – above all else – to force fluids (I’m pretty good at this), limit outdoor activities (golf and fishing don’t count) and spend as much time as possible indoors.

 

The fact that I won’t be leaving the house, though, doesn’t mean I won’t be preparing a delicious barbecue meal. In fact, I plan on doing a brisket of beef that I will slather with some of wineboy’s own sweet and sour barbecue sauce or “mop” (see recipe below). I’ll accompany the barbecue with creamy cole slaw and  a baked macaroni and (four) cheese casserole that’s flavored with chipotles in adobo sauce (you’ll find cans of these fiery little goodies  at many supermarkets).

 

So, how will I accomplish this feat without beating feet outdoors?  Simple.  I’ll use a pre-cooked and smoked brisket that you can find at some grocery stores or at Sam’s Club. I know, I know…It’s almost un-American to call this shortcut barbecue, but it is a pretty good alternative to subjecting my feeble bones to the very real possibility of heat stroke.

 

So what beverage goes with such great barbecue fare? I suspect that to some folks (particularly my good friend and fellow blogger Rich Ireland  – http://thegazz.com/gblogs/beerstoyou/ ) it’s traditional  to drink that foamy beverage with the menu suggestion above. And I wouldn’t disagree. However, after a little warm-up with your favorite frosty lager, I’m going to suggest you try a sip or two of  wine with this meal.  

 

If you’re thinking that full-flavored reds would go nicely with the brisket, you are somewhat correct. But barbecue also does nicely with cooling and refreshing wines, many of which are not red.  So how about trying a refreshing – heaven forbid –white wine?  No problem with either choice as far as I’m concerned, but first let me tell you about an experience that opened my eyes and my mind to unorthodox food and wine pairings. 

 

About 20 years ago, I had the opportunity to visit a winery in Lake County California  – which is about two hours directly north of the Napa Valley.  I made the trek to Guenoc Winery to visit with Orville Magoon – a Hawaiian hydrologist turned winemaker – who was the guiding force behind Guenoc. 

 Magoon was absolutely obsessed with Lilly Langtry (the “Jersey Lilly”), an 18^th century actress/prostitute turned genteel lady , who occupied the main house that still exists on the Guenoc winery grounds. So much was Magoon taken with the “Lilly” that Langtry’s face adorned every bottle of Guenoc.

 

I had dinner with Magoon at the historic house and sipped several of his wines with a multi-course meal that  included barbecued wild boar that had been “ harvested” at the winery.  Magoon chose to accompany this course, much to my surprise, with a Guenoc chardonnay. Lo and behold! The match was delicious.

 

Magoon has long since sold his winery and Lilly’s face no longer graces the label, but the message resounded loud and clear:  you might be pleasantly surprised if you push the wine and food envelope every now and then.

 

 In honor of Magoon (and because the wines are particularly good), I’m going to recommend both of the following Guenoc wines as able accompaniments to the barbecue brisket.

 

2007 Guenoc Lake County Chardonnay ($12) – Lovely, ripe pear and bright fruit flavors highlight this nicely balanced chardonnay. Rich and round with excellent acidity, the wine is a refreshing accompaniment to the barbecue.

 

2006  Guenoc Lake County Petite Sirah ($14) – This is a full-flavored wine with tones of ripe dark fruit, coffee and spice with  none of the sometimes baked raisin flavors petite sirah can exhibit when made from fruit grown in very hot regions.  It is remarkably well balanced  and a delicious pairing with the brisket.

 

The WineBoy Mop

 One cup of Ketchup

One quarter cup of  apple cider vinegar

One teaspoon of dry mustard

One 12- ounce can of beer

Two ounces of molasses

Two tablespoons of brown sugar

One teaspoon of cayenne pepper

Two ounces of orange juice

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Turn down the  heat to a simmer and stir until the liquid begins to stick to the back of the spoon.  Baste the mop onto the brisket before putting it into the oven bag, and then brush again once it is removed from the bag. Reserve most of the mop to ladle over the brisket once it is sliced.