A Classic Tuscan Pairing: Castello di Brolio Chianti Classico Riserva with Ribollita

Le Mie Cose Preferite, "my favorite things", is the theme of this month's Italian Food, Wine & Tasting group hosted by Camilla.  The focus this month is to highlight our favorite Italian wines, along with a pairing or travel tale.  Picking a favorite Italian wine is not an easy task for someone like myself.  I honestly have so many favorites!  When my hand is twisted, though, I must turn to one of my favorite grapes, Sangiovese.  This is a grape produced throughout many of Italy's wine regions, mostly central Italy, but it finds its true home in the region of Tuscany.   

 

Sangiovese throughout Italy 

 

With that, Tuscany holds a special place in my heart as it's where I first came to fall in love with the country many moons ago when studying abroad in college.  It was a life-changing experience for me, and although I didn't enjoy wine at that time, I have truly come to appreciate the Sangiovese grape and its many expressions.  Whether it's produced in the heart of Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, southern Tuscany in the Maremma, Umbria or in the Emilia Romagna region.  These are just a few of the many ways I have enjoyed the expressions of this grape. 

 

The Ricasoli Brolio estate 

 

You may recall that I featured this renowned winery, Barone Ricasoli, some years ago, and an earlier vintage of this wine that I’m sharing today.  The Ricasoli family is one of the most historic throughout Italy and the world.  According to wine.com, they are “the fourth oldest family business in the world” and the “oldest winery in Italy” with over 880 years of ownership.  Now that’s some history!   

 

The Ricasoli family is made up of a two-time Prime Minister, Baron Bettino Ricasoli, who also developed the recipe for Chianti back in 1872.  The family also contributed to the unification of Italy and helped defend Florence against Siena.  The family acquired the Brolio estate in Gaiole in 1141 and operates 580 acres of sustainable vineyards.  Today the winery is led by Baron Francesco Ricasoli since 1993.  He is the 32nd owner and president of the winery from within the family. 

 

Wine selection 

 

Although if I had to pick my favorite expression of Sangiovese it would be in Brunello di Montalcino.  I wasn't quite ready to sit and thoroughly enjoy a bottle of Brunello this week in preparation for this blog, so I chose a 2016 Barone Ricasoli Brolio Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG.    The 2016 vintage is made of 80% Sangiovese, 15% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.  This wine was rather transparent in color with ruby to garnet coloring on the edges.  There were herbal aromas combined with dried cherries and dried roses.  On the palate, this wine was beautifully well-balanced.  Medium-bodied, with well-integrated tannins and nice cherry flavors on the palate. The elegance of this wine makes it so lovely to drink.  ABV 14%.  

A Tuscan pairing of Ribolitta with Chianti Classico 

 

Since time has been quite short lately and I feel I've been just getting by most days feeding the family, I decided to make the time to pair this wine with a Tuscan classic soup, ribollita.  There is nothing like a good soup when the cold weather hits.  Ribollita is a hearty Tuscan soup with a rather thicker consistency than most.   

 

The name comes from the word rebollire, meaning reboiled.  Ribollita was considered a peasant cuisine during the Middle Ages when reheating leftover vegetable soup with stale bread was a tasty meal.  It's just one of the examples of cucina povera, translating to poor kitchen, that was an inexpensive but easy meal to enjoy for peasant families that utilized simple ingredients. That's one of the things I have always appreciated about the Tuscan cuisine I have experienced from my travels throughout the region. Simple ingredients, but full of flavor.   

 

It was an easy preparation of this dish by sautéing onions, carrots, and celery in extra virgin olive oil until softened.  I added some garlic along with a cup of white wine, a can of whole peeled tomatoes, and 4 cups of vegetable broth.  I let these cook over medium for a bit, breaking up the whole tomatoes.  I then added two cans of cannellini beans, fresh kale, along with some spices to include Italian seasonings, kosher salt, a bay leaf and some parmesan rind.  I let this simmer for at least 30 minutes.  Upon serving a slice of toasty bread and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil will add a nice touch to enjoy.   

 

Enjoy your piece of Tuscany from your own kitchen! 

Join the rest of our Italian food and wine loving friends as they share some of their favorite Italian wines and pairings.

• Deanna of Wineivore talks about Alta Langa: Italy's Sparkling Wine from Piedmont 
• Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm asks A Favorite Italian Wine? How do I begin to choose? 
• Linda My Full Wine Glass suggests we Follow the orange thread: Biodynamic Pecorino from Abruzzo 
• Camilla of Culinary Cam writes about Two of My Favorite Things: Cucina Povera and a Bottle with My Name on It

You can find a more recent vintage of this wine for $32 on Wine.com to try.  I may receive compensation for any wines purchased through the affiliate link in support of Vino Travels. 

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From Gorgo's Vineyards: Uncovering the Veneto's Overlooked White Wine Appellation

While many winelovers and visitors to the Veneto are attracted to the wines of Valpolicella, Amarone, Bardolino and even Soave, when visiting that part of the region there is another DOC of this area that doesn’t share the same spotlight that deserves the attention, the Custoza DOC.  Nestled between Verona and Lake Garda, this white wine dominated appellation shows the uniqueness of it’s mineral driven soils and Azienda Agricola Gorgo’s Custoza DOC that I’m sharing today is a great bottle to experience what this area is all about.  

map of Custoza DOC territory - copyright of Consorzio Custoza

The Gorgo Winery

This family owned estates was Founded in 1973 by Roberto and Alberta Bricolo, the Gorgo winery is located in Sommacampagna, nearby to the village of Custoza in the southeastern part of Lake Garda within the Veneto region.  Today Roberto and Alberta’s daughter, Roberta, leads the operations of the winery to carry on her parents dream.  What started as about a 54 acres winery has grown to around 130 acres producing all certified organic wines.

Roberta and Roberto Bricolo - copyright of Az. Agr. Gorgo

The Custoza wine appellation

Gorgo was established two years after the Custoza DOC was established in 1971, which is the appellation that the wine I’m sharing today is from.  This is a white wine dedicated DOC.  The wine must contain a minimum of at least 70% of Bianca Fernanda, the local name for Cortese, Friulano, Garganega and/or Trebbiano Toscano without one of those grapes making up more than 45% of the blend.  

The Custoza DOC territory forms an amphitheater made of morainic soils formed from glacial deposits from the glaciers during the Quarternary Period.  This DOC covers 9 towns across 4,360 acres.  Due to the soils and the Mediterranean climate that is moderated by Lake Garda, these wines are fresh and tend to have floral aromatics with a fruit profile of pears, apples, citrus and tropical fruits that are fresh with a touch of minerality and salinity.

The Wine

The 2021 Gorgo Custoza DOC is part of Gorgo’s Classic line.  It is made certified organic from the Garganega, Trebbiano Toscano and Bianca Fernanda grapes (which is a native clone of the Cortese grape). The grapes are cryomacerated and softly pressed and fermented in stainless steel with the wine on the lees in stainless for 3-4 months until bottled.  The wine was a brilliant straw color with golden highlights.  Fragrant with heavier armor as of petrol and tropical notes. Medium-bodied on the palate with a slight unctuous texture with tropical (pineapple) notes. 12.5% ABV $16 SRP (newer vintages on Wine.com)

Best ways to visit Sommacampagna and the Custoza area

The area of Lake Garda is such a marvelous place to explore and Sommacampagna is an easy jaunt outside of Verona.  It’s even closer than Verona to the closest airport, Valerio Catullo Airport. It’s just an easy 3 miles!  If you’re visiting Verona and looking to venture out from the city you can reach Sommacampagna by car, which is about a 10 miles drive.  If you will not have a vehicle it is also easily accessible from Verona Porta Nuova station via bus, which should take about 30 minutes.  With this close proximity to so many great sights there is no reason not to visit!

Map copyright of Consorzio Custoza

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I may receive compensation for any wines purchased through the affiliate link in support of Vino Travels.

Importer: Ideal Wine & Spirits

 

 

The Silver Lining of Bolgheri: The Wines of Tenuta Argentiera

In the heart of southern Tuscany is one of one of Italy and Tuscany’s prestigious wine regions, Bolgheri.  Wine lovers may be most familiar with this territory for the innovate “Super Tuscan” reds that hit the scene in the late 20th century. I was introduced to these wines via a virtual tasting hosted by Argentiera and Studio Cru and led by Argentiera’s winemaker, Nicoló Carrara, whom has been their winemaker wince 2009. 

Nicoló Carrara 

In this article I feature the wines of Argentiera, a winery that takes pride in its distinctive reds made from Bordeaux grapes such as Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot.   

Where is Bolgheri? 

Bolgheri sits in the southwestern part of Tuscany covering over 3,700 acres of land.  The area is in the shape of an amphitheater that hugs the Tuscan coastline for 8 miles.  The vineyards slowly slope downwards towards the Tyrrhenian Sea while being backed by hills and surrounded with the biodiversity of the Tuscan forest.  

Argentiera has some of Bolgheri’s highest elevated vineyards in the area reaching up to 650 feet above sea level overlooking the Tuscan Archipelago and Tyrrhenian Sea.  It is here that the grapes receive frequent sea breezes helping with ventilation for the grapes along with reflection off the sea further exposing the grapes to the warmth from the sun.  The diurnal swings in temperature help with the freshness and high acidity in the wines.   

The wines obtain minerality from the stony, mineral rich soils.  In the lower parts it is more sandy and red due to the sea.  In the higher sections the soils consist of more limestone and clay. 

About Argentiera 

The history of Bolgheri is known for its silver mining during the time of the Etruscans, silver translating to argento in Italian, hence the name of the winery, Argentiera. The estate was founded in 1999 in the town of Castagneto Carducci by Florentine entrepreneurs, the Fratinis.  Originally it was part of the Donoratico estate that belonged to the Florence family, Serristori, whom acquired it in 1512.  

The Argentinera estate consists of 100 acres that is only about one mile from the Tyrrhenian Sea amongst the hills of Donoratico. 

 

Argentiera’s mission is to create wines in the vineyard that demonstrate elegance and freshness and to maintain those expressions throughout the winemaking process.  In 2016 when Stanilaus Turnauer, an Austrian entrepreneur, took over Argentiera, his aim was to respect the heritage and provide an innovative approach to winemaking while giving these wines the international attention they deserve.  It came to life under known Marchese Piero Antinori, one of the Bolgheri DOC’s founders joined with the expertise of agronomist now CEO, Federico Zileri Dal Verme. 

The wines of Argentiera 

These wines I sampled show both power and elegance with a distinct expression of the territory while representing a land and winery backed by a rich history. 

2022 Argentiera Donoratico Bolgheri Rosso DOC is named after the hills of Donoratico nearby and the original villa from the 18th century.  These vineyards are 90% made up of clay.  The wine is polished and an approachable style in comparison to the Bolgheri Superiore.  This wine is made up of 46% Merlot, 43% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11% Cabernet Franc and is refined in 500 liter oak tonneaux. 

Villa Donoratico

Deep ruby in color with aromas of forest berries with some spice and a hint of licorice.  Full-bodied and dry on the palate with rich, plush darker fruit, but still showing freshness and elegance.  I personally preferred this wine over the Poggio Ai Ginepri for it’s fruit profile and character.  ABV 14.5%, SRP $55. 

The 2022 Argentiera Poggio Ai Ginepri Toscana IGT  is made of 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Petit Verdot that are all separately vinified.  These grapes are grown on 30 hectares that are located closest to the ancient coastal round, Aurelia.  There the soils are full of red sands.   

The wine comes from younger vines.  It’s bright ruby in color with aromas of cherries and blackberries.  Medium to full bodied, dry with notes of black currants and blackberries.  ABV 14.5%, SRP $30 

The 2023 Argentiera Scenario Bolgheri Bianco DOC Vermentino is made from 100% Vermentino grown in small vineyards that were planted 6 years ago at the top of the Donoratico hills.  It’s a smaller production for Argentiera with only 3,000 bottles produced annually.  Brilliant straw color in the glass.  Medium bodied that is fresh, displaying citrus and stone fruits along with some nice minerality showing on the palate.  ABV 12.5%  

The flagship wines of Argentinera are the Argentiera Bolgheri Superiore DOC wines.  I was lucky to do a side by side comparison of the 2021 Argentiera Bolgheri Superiore and the 2022 vintage.  Similar in style with my personal preference leaning towards the 2022 vintage, although winemaker Nicolo said that the 2021 vintage was the one of the best for its weather.

With a slight difference on the blends, the 2022 Argentiera Bolgheri Rosso Superiore DOC is made up of 46% Merlot, 435 Cabernet Sauvignon and 11% Cabernet Franc.  This wine receives no more than 14 months aging in wood including French barrique, tonneaux and 3000 liter big casks.  It spends 6 months in concrete before the final blend and less than a year in the bottle.  Deep ruby in color with intense fruit aromas of plum, raspberry, blackberry and currant along with some sweet tobacco and spice.  Full-bodied with concentrated black fruits on the palate, nice structure and freshness.  ABV 14%, SRP $150. 

The 2021 Argentiera Bolgheri Rosso Superiore DOC is a blend of 48% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon jand 7% Cabernet Franc.  Also deep ruby in color with similar aromas to the 2022.  Full-bodied with rich black fruits and a solid tannic backbone and good acidity. A silkiness on the finish along with touch of cedar.  ABV 14.5%, SRP $150 

You can find the wines from Argentiera on Wine.com to try.  I may receive compensation for any wines purchased through the affiliate link in support of Vino Travels.

Importer: Volio Imports 

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