Chicken and Shrimp Pasta Alfredo Paired with Nunzio Ghiraldi Lugana DOC

This week spring hits here in New England.  I’m looking forward to plenty of sunshine, which got me thinking about what white wines I had in my stash to try.  It was a tough decision between opening a bottle of Lugana or Soave as they are both whites I enjoy very much.  I decided to go with a bottle of 2018 Nunzio Ghiraldi Il Gruccione Lugana DOC that had snuck by me and I felt had probably overstayed it’s welcome.  Typically, I recommend drinking white wine in their youth up to 3-5 years upon release depending on the wine, but there are plenty of great white wines that can also surprisingly age well as well. 

About Nunzio Ghiraldi 

The Nunzio Ghiraldi winery all started back in the 1950’s when the current owner’s grandfather, Nunzio Ghiraldi, had purchased Podere Sant’Onorata that sat in the Lugana di Sirmione countryside of the Lombardy region of northern Italy.  The winery sits outside the southern borders of the picturesque Lake Garda that moderates the climate of this area along with the alpine breezes that travel down from the north. 

Pictures sourced from Nunzio Ghiraldi

The vines of Nunzio Ghiralid’s vineyards are completely planted with the Trebbiano di Lugana grape, also known as Turbiana.  The vines there can age anywhere between 15 years to their older 60 year plus vines which you can experience with their “Sant’Onorato 1953” wine.   

Trebbiano di Lugana/Turbiana grapes - sourced from Nunzio Ghiraldi

The Lugana wine region is unique not only for its microclimate, but also for the composition of the land.  The soils of this area, and specifically within Nunzio Ghiraldi’s vineyards, are rich in clay that originate from glacial deposits that contain calcarous and mineral salts.  This is due to the last Alpine glacial period that existed in this area known as Wurm.  About 50 acres of vines are made of pure clay soils on their territory that lend concentration to their Turbiana wines.   

Clay soils of Lugana - sourced from Consorzio Tutela Lugana

The 1700’s farmhouse located on the estate where the winery is located has always remained within the Ghiraldi family, but the family recently adding another farmhouse in 1995 that houses the winemaking facilities for the winery with an additional 37 acres of vineyards.  

Today the winery is run by the grandson, also Nunzio, whom followed in the family’s footsteps to live and work his family’s land and to continue to build upon the quality and reputation that the Ghiraldi family had established. 

The Wine 

The 2018 Nunzio Ghiraldi Il Gruccione Lugana DOC is made from 100% Turbiana.  The wine’s name, Il Gruccione, is named after the local, rare bird.  These low yielded grapes are hand harvested and whole bunch pressed with free run juice, known as mosto fiore.  It is fermented in stainless steel. 

This Lugana wine was brilliant straw colored with a floral bouquet of stone fruit, in particular apricots stood out.  Medium bodied with a round texture and mostly stone fruit flavors on the palate.  A touch of acidity and a tinge of salinity near the finish.  13% ABV, SRP $18-20 

Wine Pairing with Lugana 

In this house it’s hard to prepare a dish to go with my wine pairings that please all the various palates, especially since I have small boys.  I decided to go with a combination of a shrimp and chicken pasta dish in a light cream sauce to pair with this Lugana wine. Usually any cream based dish will pair well with a wine backed with some good acidity.  This wine from Lugana provided just the right amount of acidity to go well with this dish.  You could also try grilling the chicken or shrimp to provide an added layer of complexity to the pairing. 

You can shop on Wine.com in support of Vino Travels and find a variety of Lugana wines to try for yourself.

Don't miss an Italian wine blog ~ Subscribe

 

*This wine was provided as a sample, but opinions are always my own.

 

Lugana: The White Jewel of Lake Garda

If you’ve traveled across northern Italy and visited many of its great lakes you may have stumbled upon Lake Garda that straddles the region of the Veneto and Lombardy.  With such charm and beauty as well as great proximity to so many wonderful surrounding towns, it’s not a surprise that one finds themself falling in love with the area.  In addition, this area is home to so many great known wines of Italy to include Valpolicella, Amarone, Bardolino and the Lugana white wines we are talking about today. 

Lugana wine region 

It's a challenge to pick Italy’s great white wines with so many to choose from.  Time and time again when I have tried a bottle of Lugana I’m reminded how great these wines can be.  Lugana wines are produced in the southern part of Lake Garda split between the Lombardy and Veneto region. You will find these wines produced in the town of Peschiera del Garda on the Veneto side and in Lombardy Lugana is produced in Desenzano, Pozzolengo, Sirmione and Lonato. 

Lake Garda is the ideal climate for growing these grapes.  It helps moderate the temperatures creating a rather mild climate with cool winters and breezes that help cool down the hot summers.  

Lugana is made from the native Turbiana grape.  Many of the wineries that produce Lugana will use 100% of the Turbiana grape, but there is an allowance of up to 10% non-aromatic white grapes.  

Turbiana grapes - copyright of the Consorzio Tutela Lugana DOC

Lugana wines are produced in a variety of styles: your standard still white, Superiore, Riserva, late harvest (known as vendemmia tardiva) and a sparkling spumante.  About 90% of the Lugana production is made in the standard still white wine version, but there is something for everyone with this one wine and it’s interesting to see it in its various styles. 

The wine I am sharing today is a Lugana DOC still white wine.  These wines are typically enjoyed young.  Beautiful floral aromatics with a possible hint of almond.  They’re fresh and bright on the palate showing citrus notes.  As you approach the Riserva and Superiore versions the wines will change in structure, texture and intensity of flavors.  

The Wine 

Monte Zovo’s Lugana vineyards are situated in the Lombardy region split between the Pozzolengo and Desenzano comunes set at the base of San Martino della Battiglia tower at about 100 meters above sea level.  

San Martino della Battiglia - copyright of Wikipedia

The 2022 Monte Zovo Le Civaie Terralbe Lugana DOC is made of 100% Turbiana grapes. The soil of this area is morainic white calcareous clay that is rich in minerals. The grapes are hand harvested and chilled on the spot. The grapes macerate for 8-10 hours and are fermented at low temperatures for 15-20 days. The wine spends 5 months on the lees and 2 months in the bottle. 

The wine was straw colored with pretty aromatics of stone fruit with a touch of honey and petrol and some citrus. Light to medium-bodied, this wine was crisp with refreshing acidity and bright, tangy citrus. A nicely balanced wine with some saltiness on the finish. SRP $25

Have you tried the wines of Lugana?  What about a visit to Lake Garda?  What are your favorite sites?  I love to hear from my readers so drop a comment.

You can shop on Wine.com in support of Vino Travels and find a variety of Lugana wines to try for yourself.

Don't miss an Italian wine blog ~ Subscribe

 

*This wine was provided as a sample, but opinions are always my own.  

Digging into the Wines of Lugana

The month of June I attended weekly virtual tastings with the #WineStudio program run by Tina Morey along with the Brand Ambassador, Susannah Gold, of the wine region of Lugana in northern Italy.  I’ve featured the wines of Lugana a number of times on Vino Travels and today we’ll do a deeper dive into what these wines are all about. 

The wine region of Lugana sits on both the Lombardy and Veneto regions of Italy right around the southern portion of Lake Garda.  It includes 5 communes within the 2 provinces of Brescia (Lombardy) and Verona (Veneto): Peschiera del Garda (the only one in the Veneto), Sirmione, Pozzolengo, Desenzano and Lonato.  The area is not too large at only about 7 miles wide and 13 miles long, but their annual production is about 22 million bottles.  Lake Garda itself is the largest lake in Italy and the deepest in the world.  Within Europe it ranks as the 2nd largest lake.  It has a huge influence over the grapes produced in the area providing a long ripening season by moderating the climate. 

Vines have been grown in the area since the Bronze Age.  Proof was found in vitis silvestris seeds that were discovered at Peschiera del Garda.  It was the first DOC wine of Lombardy in 1967 and one of the first DOC’s introduced throughout all of Italy.  The name Lugana stems from the Middle Ages and the word lucus, translating to woods.  The Selva Lucana was a dense forest that once covered this area.  

This area was covered by glaciers hundreds of thousands of years ago.  When the glaciers disappeared it left behind an enormous amount of rocks in the soil as you can imagine.  The morainic soils in which these turbiana grapes grow are primarily mineral rich clay that are hard and difficult to work.  In particular years the producers are allowed to irrigate.   

Clay soil in Lugana (copyright of Consorzio Tutela Lugana)

The wines of Lugana are made primarily from the Turbiana grape, also known as Trebbiano di Lugana which has been stated to be related to Verdicchio and Trebbiano di Soave.  These grapes are medium-sized and compacted together that grow in long, pyramidal shape bunches.  These grape show characteristics of good acidity and salinity with notes of citrus, almond, white peaches and flowers.  With age, other characteristics develop including ginger, spice and dried fruit. 

Turbiana grapes (Copyright of Consorzio Tutela Lugana)

 

What’s truly interesting is that out of this 1 grape comes 5 different styles of Lugana wines produced: vintage Lugana, Lugana Superiore, Lugana Riserva, Lugana Late Harvest and Lugana Spumante.   The “vintage Lugana”  is your standard wine and actually accounts for 90% of the production.  The Lugana Superiore, introduced in 1998, carries a year of aging with a deeper color and more complexities.  For those that are aged in wood, producers have moved away from newer oak to larger barriques.  Susannah mentioned a current trend for these to be “increasingly vinified in stainless steel with sur lie maturation and a mixed maturation of stainless steel and wood”.  With the Lugana Riserva you may see more pronounced minerality. 

The sparkling Lugana, Lugana Spumante, can be made in either the Charmat/Martinotti method or traditional method and had been introduced legally in 1975.  With the traditional method, the bubbles are refined versus those made with the Charmat method that are more crisp.  The Late Harvest Lugana is the least produced and the grapes stay on the vines longer periods through October and November for extra ripening. 

According to the Director of the Consorzio Tutela Lugana DOC, Andrea Bottarel, “vineyards closer to [Lake Garda] will tend to produce slightly sharper wines with a more distinctive salinity, and the ones closer to the lower and sandier hillside, will tend to produce slightly bolder whites, sometimes with bolder fruit. 

The Lugana Wines

Here are the wines I recently sampled and although very different I appreciated each style and flavor profiles that they shared. 

2017 Marangona Tre Campane Lugana DOC – Grown in Pozzolengo, Sirmione and Peschiera del Garda.  Pale straw colored and floral with white peach on the nose.  Crisp and clean with more of a citrus profile compared to the next wine.  Well balanced.  ABV 13.5% SRP $21 

2018 Ca’Maiol  Lugana Trebbiano di Lugana DOP - This wine is named after the Cascina Maiolo farm established in 1710.  A brilliant straw color.  Very floral on the nose showing peach, almond and apple.  Interestingly lending toward a sweeter profile with ripe fruits.  Medium in body and smooth with nice acidity on the finish.  13% ABV SRP $16 

Azienda Agricola Pilandro NV Brut Patricia Lugana Vino Spumante DOC – Grown near Desenzano right off the southern tip of Lake Garda in clay rich soil.  Produced in the Charmat method.  This wine was pale in color with a tinge of green.  On the nose green apple and citrus present itself.  Dry, Light and crisp with nice minerality and finesse on the bubbles.  For someone whom isn’t a lover of sparkling wines this one caught my attention.  ABV 12.5% SRP 

You should be able to find these bottles online or in some of your local wine shops. About 70% of the production is exported.  These wines are ageable as well.  Your standard Lugana is recommended to drink within a few years, but the rest can be aged for 10 years or so.

Don't miss an Italian wine blog ~ Subscribe  

*These wines were provided as samples, but opinions are all my own.