I attended the last day of the Summer Fancy Food Show this week. I was invited to follow a short wine tasting offered by Coldiretti. Coldiretti is an enormous organization of farmers, growers, producers, small and large cooperatives, small and large food purveyors and basically everyone involved in producing, promoting, and providing food products from Carne (meat) to Cereali e foraggi (cereals and grains),Latte e formaggi (milk and cheeses), Olio e olive (olives and olive oil), Ortofrutta (fruit and vegetables), Vino (wine), Vivaismo (nursery and gardening), and Pesca e acquacolture. The group has 1.6 million members and is located in all 20 regions of Italy and in many municipalities throughout the country. hey have 20 regional federations, 95 interprovincial and provincial federations, 869 Area Offices and 3,576 municipal sections. In practice. It is led by president Ettore Prandini and general secretary Vincenzo Gesmundo

They are usually present at the Fancy Food Show and always have interesting events taking place. Last year I did an olive oil tasting which I loved and this year a wine tasting. We tried four wines. The most memorable for me was an Offida DOC Passerina called Notturno from the Tenute Recchi Franceschini. The family hails from Le Marche and has a long storied past but their wine making adventures are more recent, meaning the bottling of wine under their own labels rather than supplying grapes for the local cooperative.

The wine was made from Passerina, an indigenous grape from Le Marche that can made into wines in many different styles from charmat method sparklers to more structured whites like the one I tasted. The name is also fun on this wine and recalls the Nocturnes of the artist Chopin which I so love.

The wine was golden yellow in color with complex aromas of hay, lanolin, herbal notes, and some citrus. It spent 10 months on its lees. It was super interesting and it showcases

I found it super interesting and a complex version of Passerina which was unexpected. I had always thought of Passerina as fruity, friendly, with a hint of sweetness. This one took me by surprise with its complexity. A great Wine Wednesday choice.