I can’t stop thinking about Emilia Romagna. Today’s news of another earthquake, this time deep in the sea, off the coast of Ravenna. Ravenna is one of my favorite cities, the home of a number of my friends and home to inestimable art treasures. Luckily it seems that no one and nothing was terribly damaged but as I prepare to go to Italy tomorrow for work and play, I am acutely aware of the numbers of people in that region that are under “dura prova” or being severely tested. I hope that the earth stabilizes and that somehow the gods of fire who seem angry down in the depths of the earth decide to quiet themselves. I will drink some Albana when I am there, if I can find it in Tuscany, Liguria or Roma, my destinations. Albana, a much maligned grape, was the subject of a long blog post of mine some years ago: Albana di Romagna.
Tag Archives: Emilia Romagna
Emilia Romagna: Albana A Much Maligned Grape Variety
Filed under Indigeous varieties, Italian regions, Italian wineries, italy, wines
Italian Regions: Emilia Romagna On My Mind, Modena DOC
I’ve finally had more time to read the news and look at the devastating pictures of Emilia Romagna. Scary. According to this story published yesterday on the Wine Enthusiast’s website, much of the damage has been to the cheese industry rather than the wine industry although some producers have naturally been impacted severely. Here is a nice blog post with a list of places to donate money should you want to give concrete help. As the days pass by and I am closer to the event, leaving for Italy on Thursday, I am getting more anxious. Not for myself but for the people who have been harmed and for friends in the area.
I looked into which wineries are located right near the epicenter of the earthquake. They seem to be around the towns of Carpi, Finale Emilia and Mirandola. That is an area know for producing Lambrusco and not just any Lambrusco but specifically Lambrusco made from Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce.
In order to make this Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce DOC (denominazione d’origine controllata), a wine must be made with 85% Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce. There are other famed Lambrusco clones that one sees widely including Lambrusco di Sorbara, Lambrusco Grassparossa di Castelvetro and Modena DOC Lambrusco.
Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce comes in a variety of styles: red and rose’ both with a frizzante and a spumante version. There are a few wineries that are known for producing this particular wine including Cantina Santa Croce.
Emilia-Romagna has a number of DOC wines, although few that are very well known. In April I spent a considerable amount of time tasting wines from the Colli Piacentini while staying with friends in Bobbio, a wonderful town in the northern part of the region.
Parma is another city that I love and I have tasted numerous wines from the Colli di Parma DOC, as noted in yesterday’s repost of an article I wrote two years ago about these wines. Colli di Scandiano e di Canossa DOC are wines I know less well while the Colli Bolognesi are favorites from my graduate school year in Bologna. Reno DOC, Bosco Eliseo DOC, Colli d’Imola DOC, Colli di Rimini DOC, Colli di Romagna Centrale DOC are all wines that are seldom seen in the States. I’ve tried some of them during the years I frequented the Lidi Ferraresi with my exes. Yes plural. Both of my long term Italian partners had families in different parts of Romagna. Thus, it is an area that was and remains close to my heart. I hope the earth has stopped shaking although I just read that today they had 30 small earthquakes. I hope that population has at least some rest and sogni d’oro stanotte.
Weddings, Friends & Nostalgia
I haven’t written in a long while it seems but I was working very hard before going on a 10 day trip to Il Bel Paese. I’m staying with friends at the moment near my second home, Milan. My dear friend Silvia got married yesterday in Bobbio, a beautiful little town near Piacenza to a lovely man named Michele. As luck would have it, while it was hailing in Milan, the sun was shining over their beautiful church in Bobbio.
I’m a bit overcome with emotions at seeing my friend so happy and about 120 people I know well from Milan. La nostalgia sta salendo…Meaning, I’m getting very nostalgic for this country and that life that I loved so well.
Oddly enough, the last weekend in New York before my trip, I saw a movie set in Bobbio called Le Sorelle Mai by Marco Bellocchio. It was fascinating as only a European film can be, small and intimate about families and their intricate balancing act.
Emilia-Romagna has been at the front of my mind for weeks now. In addition to this wonderful event in Bobbio (Emilia-Romagna), I just saw a group of friends from my master’s program at SAIS in Bologna and went to an event in New York for alumni from the school.
Additionally, I just worked on a great project for the University of Bologna Alma Graduate School, a new MBA in Food and Wine. For more information on the program and the 10 scholarships being offered by Ferrarelle, read this article from I-Italy.
At the wedding, we had traditional wines from the Colli Piacentini – Ortrugo, Gutturnio e Malvasia. As a fan of indigenous grapes, I was happy to drink light hearted wines with local fare. Emilia-Romagna is very well known for its salumi which pair perfectly with both Ortrugo and Gutturnio, although the first is a white wine and the second a red. I’ve had still and frizzante Gutturnio throughout the years and have voted for the still each time.
In sum, I think I may need to make a stop over in Bologna before heading towards Tuscany later this week, after my brief trip to the Veneto. It’s nice to be back and see so many smiling faces, especially these three.
My dear friends, Anne Caterine and Stefano at their wedding a few years ago who are wonderful friends, perfect hosts and amazing cooks and their little jewel, Matilde, one of my favorite little girls.
Italian Restaurants: Ai Fiori
I have decided to expand the blog to include reviews of Italian restaurants. Here’s one that I wrote for the Alta Cucina Society website on Michael White’s Ai Fiori in the Setai on 5th Avenue and 37th Street.
White has created a mini empire in New York restaurants as the owner of Osteria Morini, Ai Fiori, Marea, Convivio and Alto with other partners. I have only been to two of the five and look forward to trying his other venues.
White’s creativity is exciting although some of his combinations are a bit much for my particular palate. People say they see the influence of his Italian mentor from San Domenico in Imola but I see none of that in his food. My memories from when I lived in Emilia, in Bologna specifically were of simpler fare but as I said, I think that’s just my palate.
Ai Fiori is a real destination spot and I look forward to going to have a drink at the lovely bar while I try more things on the menu.
Filed under Italian Restaurants, italy, Memorable Events
Winter Ragu Alla Bolognese Paired with Sangiovese di Romagna
It finally feels like winter has arrived and I decided to ring in the season with a Ragu alla Bolognese. My friend Teresa from Rome and I had just had a conversation last weekend about Ragu and my Mom, the day after Thanksgiving, also declared a desire to make Ragu.
I jumped on the band wagon with a very simple recipe I got from the Silver Spoon or Il Cucchiaio D’Argento. My only missing ingredient was some celery for the soffritto but I think it came out rather nicely.
It seemed sort of like my own Sunday Sauce. I’ve noticed a number of Italian restaurants in New York City have a Sunday Sauce on their menu, including ‘Cesca on the Upper West Side. Another restaurant which elaborates on this concept is Table Tales at the South Street Seaport. Grace the owner was nice enough to give me an interview earlier this year and I will write it up tomorrow because I left my notes in the office.
What to drink with my Ragu? The book suggested a Gutturnio or a wine from the Colli Piacentini but I think I may stick with a nice Sangiovese, perhaps even one from Romagna. I’ve had a few that I enjoyed but they are few and far between. One that I did like was from San Patrignano. This is a community in Romagna that helps people with addiction issues. They have been hugely successful with their charges and also with a wine and food business. I like to support them for this reason as well but they do make a mean Sangiovese, somewhat more modern in style than those that I drink from Tuscany but none the less, quite interesting. The wines are widely available throughout the United States as well.
Filed under Italian Delicacies, Italian recipes, Italian regions, Italian wineries, italy, Travel, wines
Vinitaly Tastings: Sangiovese From Emilia Romagna
One of my biggest discoveries this Vinitaly was just how good wines can be from Emilia Romagna. I had generally overlooked Emilia as a wine region, my mistake, and aside from great Lambrusco, had tended not given its wines their due. That said, I love Emilia Romagna and spent a great year of my life in graduate school there at SAIS in Bologna.
I also spent a fair number of summers on the Adriatic at Lido degli Estensi and Lido delle Nazioni and have fond memories of many experiences in that part of the world. Not least, I am a huge fan of some musicians from Emilia Romagna, namely Vasco Rossi and the amazing Luciano Ligabue. Rockers Italian style, I feel like I am 16 when I listen to their music, check out this song from Vasco, Vivere and this one from Liga….
This I know is a wine blog, I’m getting there. On the hunt for a variety of wines from Emilia, I went to San Patrignano, a very famous rehabilitation center that has branched out into food and wine. One of their wines is called Aulente Rosso IGT Rubicone
Sangiovese di Romagna is not the same grape as the Tuscan variety. It is somewhat less acidic and is a bit sweet and more gentle. It’s also less bright and less intense.
This particular wine ages for a short period of time in tonneau but not new oak. It has a relatively high alcohol content, 13.5% and would go very well with a pasta and ragu or lasagna, not ideal for summer but delicious nonetheless. A seasoned parimigiano reggiano or a nice plate of salumi could do the trick for summer though.
Anyway, I liked it and San Patrignano does good works with people in need. They also make, oddly enough, a great Cabernet Franc in Tuscany in Maremma called Il Paratino. Cabernet Franc is one of my favorite red wine grapes so I always try them when I get the chance. This one had a bit too much wood on it but its the first vintage so I’m hoping they will modify the winemaking style a tad. The grapes are grown in Tuscany but the winemaking takes place in Emilia at the cellar of San Patrignano. This is a wine I would like to taste again in a few years.
Filed under Italian recipes, Italian regions, Italian wineries, italy, wines
Vinitaly Tastings: Emilia Romagna – Monte delle Vigne
Thanks to some Italian contacts in New York, I was directed to the Emilia Romagna building at Vinitaly with a specific goal – to taste the wines of Monte delle Vigne, a winery located in Emilia Romagna near the city of Parma. Emilia has never been considered an optimum location for the production of still wines but has been largely well known for its Lambrusco of different denominations and coming from different indigenous clones.
This Vinitaly I was interested in visiting some of the lesser known regions or at least those that I have less of an occasion to taste in the US. I remember quite well my days in Emilia. I lived in the lovely city of Bologna for a year when I was in graduate school at SAIS.
Monte delle Vigne was started in 1973 by Andrea Ferrari who firmly believed that he had a found an authentic terroir in Emilia. In 2004, Ferrari took on a partner, Paolo Pizzarotti. Taken together, the two properties created a winery with 150 acres. A new winery was built in 2007 which uses only gravitational pressing for moving its wines between vessels. The winery is located on the right side of the Taro River is ranges from 600 to 900 feet in altitude, It is just 13 miles outside of Parma and is surrounded by the Taro Natural Park and the Boschi di Carega Park. The soil is a limestone-clay mix with alluvial deposits as well. Ferrari was quite passionate about his wines.
Parma is a beautiful city which I think of as being very feminine both in terms of its colors (pink and white) and its architecture. It also seems somewhat more French than Italian. It’s Duomo and Baptistery are some of the most beautiful I have ever seen in Italy. Parma is also quite well known for its opera house and of course, for its food. Ferrari was frustrated when speaking about how its wines have never gotten the critical acclaim that he feels they should. He has created a number of different lines of wine, using mostly indigenous grape varieties.
The two which are most widely known as the Nabucco and the Callas, named for the opera and the opera singer, obviously. The former is a red wine made from a blend of Barbera and Merlot. It ages for one year in French barriques. The Callas is a white wine made from Malvasia di Candia which ages for six months in tanks.
Monte delle Vigne also makes a delicious Lambrusco IGT using the Lambrusco Maestri grape. Ferrari said that it is a somewhat less aggressive Lambrusco grape than the other more well known clones. This Lambrusco has very small berries with concentrated flavors and aromas. They also make a delicious sparkling wine called Rosso Colli di Parma DOC, using 75% Barbera and 25% Bonarda. The Bonarda brings tannins to the party as well as structure and elegance. Bonarda ripens very late I discovered. This Bonarda was completely different than what I was used to drinking. Ferrari said that is because in other parts of the country, Bonarda is picked too early because they don’t want to run the risk that the harvest will be lost. This means that often the grapes are picked without them ever reaching phenolic ripeness.
Many of the grapes that are planted in the Parma area were brought by the French centuries earlier, Ferrari noted, such as Merlot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Monte delle Vigne isn’t organically certified but they only use copper and sulfur against pests (rame and zolfo) and practice what Ferrari called the “lotta integrata” or integrated pest management systems which are accepted by the EU. They are moving towards becoming completely organic.
The Callas was perhaps the most interesting of the wines with its minerality, sapidity and long finish. It even had a balsamic note which is quite anomalous for a white wine. This minerality was a constant in the wines of Monte delle Vigne and I assume that it is a result of the terroir. Ferrari noted that Malvasia when it is vinified correctly does not have the typical bitter note that many associate with this grape. I had always assumed that Malvasia was somehow related to Moscato but Ferrari dispelled this belief saying that they while similar in that they are both aromatic grapes, they behave quite differently when vinified.
Ferrari also let me taste a 100% Barbera that hasn’t been released yet. It spent two years in oak and one year in the bottle. It was exquisite which rich full flavors and lively acidity.It is a 2006. Ferrari said that 2006 in Emilia was a great year as was 2003 and 2001. 2007 was also a good year but not at the same level, he noted.
Indigenous Italian Grape Varieties: Alionza and Ancellotta
Italy has a never ending supply of indigenous grape varieties. Some have world renown such as Aglianico, Sangiovese, and Nebbiolo while most are little know outside of their own region. This is the case with the next two varietals, Alionza and Ancellotta
Both Alionza and Ancellotta hail from Emilia Romagna, a region in the center of the country well known for its fabulous food, charcuterie, cheeses and the like. Its’ wines are not quite as well known although Lambrusco was for many years the best selling wine in America.
Lambrusco has made a comeback in this millennium as well. There are a number of types of Lambrusco but the most famous are from the province of Modena. They are the Lambrusco di Sorbara, Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro, and the Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce. These sparkling wines accompany the traditional foods very well and have made serious inroads into the United States.
Ancellotta is a red grape that grows in Emilia Romagna, near the city of Modena. It is one of the grapes that go into making Lambrusco, specifically Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce.
To continue reading about these varieties, please check out my latest article on Altacucina Society’s website.
Filed under Italian regions, italy, wines
Italian Indigenous Varities: Albana di Romagna – Passito Version Is Worth A Try
This article orginally appeared on Altacucina Society’s website.
On my recent trip to Italy, I focused on tasting a maximum number of dessert wines, I found the passito version of Albana di Romagna to be interesting and unknown, at least to me. What I discovered with pleasure is that Albana is renowned for its honey, apricot, spice and magnolia flavors. It ages very gracefully and can keep for anywhere between six to 10 years.
Albana hails from Emilia Romagna, a region in Northern Italy, that is home to a significant number of indigenous grape varieties, many of which are largely unknown to the American public. Albana di Romagna was the first Italian white wine to achieve DOCG status. Many disagreed with this choice, stating that it was not up to the task but nonetheless, it was given the denomination in 1987.
I lived in Bologna, an amazing and beatiful city when I went to graduate school at SAIS but I have no recollection of drinking Albana di Romagna passito. Bland white wine, ostensibly made from Albana, yes but not a delicious passito. Bologna is a fabulous place to live and has much to recommend it including the food, the stores, the museums, the streets, the “portici”, the cafes, the market, the opera and the University. Insomma, it is a gem of a city. You can also find Albana more easily in that neck of the woods.
Albana di Romagna has a very long history and is often said to have been the favorite wine of Galla Placidia, Theodosius II’s daughter who is supposed to have tasted it in 435 A.D. Her mausoleum in Ravenna is one of the gems of Roman architecture. While there is no way to verify that she actually tried Albana di Romagna, it was mentioned in an Agricultural treatise in 1300 A.D by Pier de Crescenzi of Bologna.
The grape is grown all over the region from Bologna to Rimini but plantings are concentrated near the cities of Forli-Cesena, Ravenna, Bertinoro and Bologna. There are a number of different clones of Albana.
Generally it is grown on hills where it is subject to winds from the Adriatic Sea, rain from the Appenines and humidity from nearby rivers. It grows well on limestone soils with marine organic materials.
Albana is made into a variety of styles including secco, amabile, dolce, and passito. Albana can also be a made into a sparkling wine but it can use only the DOC denomination for the sparkling version. Albana is a relatively light bodied grape variety with good acidity. It also can contain considerable residual sugar and therefore is well suited to the sweeter styles of wine made from it. While the dry, off-dry versions of this wine are not considered to be that worthy of note, the passito is another story.
Producers have a lot of leeway in the way that they produce Albana di Romagna passito which is not usually the case. Generally production rules, especially for DOCG wines are very strict and meticulous. Instead for Albana di Romagna, producers can choose their method to dry the grapes. It can be done either on the vine, in small boxes, on wooden grates, or indoors using air. The wine can be vinified in wooden barriques or in stainless steel. The length of time for vinification is also not specified. The one rigid piece of the legislation governing the production of Albana di Romagna wine is the date that it is sold on the market. It must be on the market by September 1 of the year following the harvest for the entry level passito and on December 1 of the year following the harvest for the Riserva passito.
Some of the most famous producers of these wines include Umberto Cesari (Colle del Re), Fattoria Monticino Rosso, Leone Conti, Zerbina, and Baciami. The wines are imported by Opici Wine Co., Martin Scott Wines, JK Imports, Michael Skurnick Wines, and John Given Wines, respectively. Many of the most famous Italian brands are not currently available in the U.S.
