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| Wining and dining |
| Alok Chandra / New Delhi May 16, 2009, 00:21 IST |
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Last week Bangalore was host to a unique promotion: the European Art of Taste (EAT), a campaign financed by the EU and Italy for a consortium of companies producing pasta, olive oil, cheese and wines. It was a week-long programme showcasing selected brands of member-companies.
Italian food and wines go together in a way that brings out the best of both when consumed together — the acidity in Italian cuisine is offset by matching high acidity levels in Italian wines. This was brilliantly, if irreverently, demonstrated by Italian chef Andrea Golino who cooked four dishes and then paired them with Italian wines, as well as by chef Manu Chandra of Olive Beach restaurant with a more eclectic menu.
The wines themselves were from three of the 17 companies that constitute the Instituto del Vino Italiano di Qualita-Grandi Marchi (Institute of Fine Italian Wines-Premium Brands), a consortium of family-owned wineries from all over Italy, including well-known names like Pio Cesare, Masi, Antinori, Folonari and Donnafugata.
Italy is unique in that wine is produced in every one of its 20 districts; since the Italian “boot” has a backbone of hills (the Apennines) running down into Sicily, the terrain is mostly undulating, with lots of rain, and with the northern plains fed by snowmelt from the Italian Alps.
And what of the wines tasted? We started with a Michele Chiarlo Gavi DOC 2007 from the Piedmonte — made from the Cortese grape, this dry white smelt of citrus fruit and lime and had a fresh, mineral taste. The other white was the Mastroberardino Greco di Tufo 2005 (Greco — 88 points) from Campania (south of Rome) — very dry, with aromas of peach and apricot and crisp acidity.
Of course, Italy is better-known for its red wines — so on to the Michele Chiarlo Barbera d’Asti ‘Le Orme’ 2005 (86 points) with a rich, ripe fruit aroma and pleasant taste that kept one coming back for more. Then there was the Lungarotti Giubilante Rosso dell Umbria IGT 2004 (Sangiovese, Merlot and Syrah — 90 points) from Umbria (near Tuscany) with an intense fruity nose, soft and supple tannins and a persistent finish, as well as the Lungarotti Rubesco Rosso di Torgiano DOC 2003 (Sangiovese and Canaiolo; 86 points) — fruity, elegant, very drinkable.
Undoubtedly, the best wine on offer was the Michele Chiarlo Barolo DOCG 2003 (87 points) with a complex bouquet giving notes of juniper, anise, tobacco and spice, a full-bodied balanced taste and a long finish. Yum!
Last (but not least) was an unusual wine: Masi Recioto de Valpolicella 2006, where the grapes are allowed to “wither” in the shade for up to three months before being processed into wine. This red dessert wine (88 points from Wine Spectator) has a perfumed nose with touches of cinnamon and cloves and a full-bodied palate of cherries and plums with the sweetness in the wine hovering all around.
Good stuff all, which left the members of the Bangalore Wine Club and Wine Society of India attending the events smacking their lips and asking for more.
One looks forward to more such promotions from other wine-making countries — the best way to get more people to taste and appreciate good wines.
Cin Cin!
(al.chandra@gmail.com)
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