Keepin’ It In The Hood.

…so I had picked up dinner already; some tasty Italian take-out. I opted for the fettucine in cream sauce and figured I should pick up a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc to wash it down. I mentioned my dinner choice to Mari, one of the wine experts at my neighborhood wine store and she asked: “Why aren’t you having an Italian wine?” “Uhhhh” was my quick reply. “It’s always fun to pair cuisine with wine from its country of origin, especially Itallian food”. “Uhhhh,” I reiteratied.

I was suddenly reminded of a story my good friend Joe told me about his vacation somewhere in the Italian countryside (I want to say he was in Tuscany, but don’t quote me). He described a meal that he and his wife enjoyed early in thier trip. They were instructed to go down the road from the villa that they were staying in, to a non-descript eatery where the locals ate. Upon arrival they noticed a less-than-friendly woman wearing an apron and smoking a cigarette outside of the place. They walked in and looked for the hostess. There was no host or hostess-there wasn’t even a hostess stand. They were escorted to a rustic table and chairs, and they sat down, not sure what to expect.

They were presented with several bottles of wine (all local Italian offerings) and asked to choose, which they did.  Once the choice was made, the charming woman they had met outside earlier, who was still smoking her cigarette, suddenly appeared and went to work in the kitchen which was adjacent to their table and hardly hidden from view. Inside the kitchen was a 7 inch black and white TV, a church pew and a wood burning stove.  She went to town and picked out some meat and vegetables from the pew (there was no refrigerator evident), put the steaks on the stove, and whipped up thier food for them without a smile or a nod. The food was presented unceremoniously on a couple of plates, and the wine was poured into a couple of plain tumbler-like glasses (apparently their Riedel order hadn’t come in yet… or maybe they were in the dishwasher? …maybe not since the dishwasher was also the aforementioned un-smiling woman).

What happened next you ask?  They tried the food and wine and were FLOORED.  The food was amazing; like someone’s Italian mother made it with fresh ingredients from the farm behind the house; which is essentially what happened.  And the wine?  Not only was it wonderful, it was A PERFECT MATCH to the food on the table.  It’s almost as if the wine grapes were grown alongside the ingredients in the food and/or that the food was made to pair with the wine that was served…. which is exactly what had happened.  TRUE STORY, though I may have screwed up a few of the details as I heard the story a couple of years ago.

So as I pondered Joe’s story in the wine store, I decided to take Mari’s advice and I looked for a nice Italian white.  She already had one in hand.  “Here, try this one” she said.  “Uhhhhh”  I replied.  And the rest, as they say, is history.

The 2007 Venica Collio Friulano “Ronco delle Cime” was the bottle I took home, and there’s kind of an interesting story behind the grape used in this wine.  The grape was originally called Tocai and it’s indigenous to Friuli  in north eastern Italy though it’s not related to the French Tokay-Pinot Gris or Tokay from Hungary. Furthermore, they decided to change the name (I guess to avoid the confusion) and starting with the 2006 vintage, it’s now called the Friuliano. I was told that the grape possesses great natural acidity and a slight spice/musk on the back end.

The wine was a nice light yellow color, and displayed a sweet lemony, floral nose with a spicy, nutty undertone.  On the palate there’s a crisp citrus peel thing going on, and a subtle spicy aftertaste with a crisp, clean finish.  It was definitely more complex than your average Sauv Blanc, and it really cleaned my mouth out after each bite of creamy pasta.

So now I know… Next time I have Italian, I’m having Italian wine.  Not sure what I’m gonna do when I order Viking food.