I bought a really interesting wine recently: a dry Albana di Romagna, a DOCG from the Emilia Romagna region of Italy. The producer, Fattoria Montincino Rosso, makes this white wine, Codronchio, in the same way as the famous dessert wines, like Sauternes from Bordeaux and Tokaji from Hungary, by harvesting the grapes late and allowing for the ‘noble rot’, aka Botrytis Cinerea (yes, mold!), to develop. This fungus transforms sugar into glycerine, creating a pleasurable, smooth sensation when tasting the wine. What makes Codronchio even more unique is that it is a dry wine with the appealing aspects of a sweet wine, having complex apricot marmalade notes, a pleasant balanced mouth-feel and a long finish, great as an aperitif or with a tasty dish.
I think the best way to really appreciate wine is with food. So, at home today I had a yearning to cook a dish with some fresh ingredients on hand: rabbit cutlets, tomatoes and herbs (thyme, basil, parsley) which I sauteed with some shallots, garlic, olive oil and white wine leaving to simmer for about an hour. Then I cooked gnocchetti sardi pasta, a country-style pasta from Sardegna, and once done I added the pasta to the sauce and grated in pecorino cheese from Tuscany. The result was a delicious, yet simple, lunch which was well paired with this white wine. A fun and delicious way to improvise on a Sunday afternoon!
I’ll leave you with a beautiful scene in the Romagnola hills, not far from where this wine was made. It’s a great place to visit!
Ciao for now
Sheila Donohue
Sheila's Wine Mingle 