An Aglianico from Molise

Behind this black and iridescent pink exterior is a wine that is quite extraordinary. It has quite a following, too, among merchants, bloggers, and readers. This may have to do with the wine's consistency--vintage to vintage people seem to find it rich and delicious. It certainly doesn't have to do with the Aglianico grapes that go into it, since Aglianico is pretty obscure here in the US. And the Molise region where the wines are grown is relatively untraveled, too, by American wine drinkers.

Maybe this wine is so popular because the unfamiliarity of the grapes and the region make it an unqualified steal when it comes to the price. I bought mine from Garagiste as a future some months back for $11.95. Now it's on the market for between $11 and $17. The 2004 Di Majo Norante Aglianico was a beautiful medium-dark garnet in color, although if you pour yourself a full glass expect it to look plummy purple. There were aromas of cherry and earth when the bottle was first opened, and the taste was a bit astringent and drying when I took the first sip and left an aftertaste like strong black tea. One of the readers here, Pat, suggested that I decant the wine first, and folks on CellarTracker seemed to agree, so I decanted it for a little over an hour and the wine had strikingly different aromas and flavors. Where before there had been cherry and earth, I now smelled blackberries, tea, and a whiff of roses. The flavors, too, had changed and now reminded me of blackberry tending towards blueberry--which is to say it tasted like huckleberries to me. There were also tea and sassafras notes, and a little minty lift in the aftertaste. This was a wine that was complex, easy to drink, and a great value--so I think it represented excellent QPR.

Aglianico is made for drinking with spicy Italian food, so think pepperoni pizza, sausage tossed with your favorite pasta, or something that uses a bit of chili pepper for heat. We had it with a slightly adapted version of Rachael Ray's gnocchi and chicken meatballs that uses lots of basil and fennel seeds, as well as some red pepper flakes, and the moderate spiciness of the food stood in interesting opposition to the clean huckleberry fruit and the herbal and tea notes in the wine. If you love spaghetti and meatballs but are trying to cut back on red meat, you will love these chicken meatballs every bit as much as the beefy originals.

Because this wine changed so much from opening to first sips, and because it was so affordable, I would be tempted to buy a case or half-case of this wine and drink it regularly over the next few years to watch it develop and change. It's lovely now, but I suspect it will continue to improve. I would buy this by the case and drink over the next 4 years. Thanks to Pat, the reader who recommended this wine to me, for suggesting I decant it. This wine is a great value--I highly recommend you try it, too.

Asparagus and Wine: the Spring Dilemma

Asparagus is synonymous with spring. Stores have appealing bundles of the stalks in the produce section this time of year, tightly banded together with their purplish-green tops curving slightly this way and that like they are bending in the breeze. (picture from edining.ca)

Asparagus is also synonymous with "I'll have water, please" because the vegetable's bitter, vegetal qualities can make it a wine pairing nightmare. It doesn't go with oaked whites, nor does it go with tannic reds. Some people swear by Sauvignon Blanc, but if you get one that's too grassy or tart it can be unpleasant.

I was looking through some traditional recipes from Molise, my destination for Italian wines this month, and saw one for an asparagus pasta and wondered if this wasn't a case where "drink local, eat local" might not prove a winning combination. First, I found a slightly easier version of the recipe from Faith Willinger's great book about Italian vegetables Red, White, and Greens, pasta with lemon asparagus sauce. Then I popped open a bottle of Malvasia Bianca from Molise. This solved my annual spring problem of what wine to drink with one of my favorite vegetables.

The 2004 Borgo di Colloredo Malvasia Bianca was bright gold in color, and at first I was slightly worried that it had oxidized since it was so much darker than most white wines. I checked some reference books, however, and it turns out that this true gold hue is a characteristic of the variety. I could smell beeswax--like expensive candles, or the waxy aroma of a honeycomb--along with apple and lemon. When I sipped the wine, it felt on the heavy side, and was a nice counterpoint to the toothiness of the al dente pasta. Flavors of apples and lemon dominated, and the finish turned a bit waxy, reminding me once again of honeycomb especially as I swallowed the last bit and the wine left a slightly honeyed aftertaste. I also noted that as the wine warmed up in the glass, the wine became more floral, but in no way sweet.

This was interesting wine--more heavy and golden than most whites, yet still dry. I purchased my bottle at Chronicle Wine Cellar for a mere $8.95; if you're not in the LA area, you can find this wine online for about $17. At $8.95, this represented very good QPR, but if you spent $17 you may feel that you paid to much for this unusual, but relatively straightforward and simple, white wine.

Once again I'm astonished by the range of Italian whites, and so far haven't had a single one that I wouldn't buy again. Thank you, Molise, for preserving this perfect track record.

Time and History: Molise

Molise is one of Italy's smallest wine-producing regions. Tucked into the shadow of the Appenines, and with a small Adriatic coastline, Molise seems to have been exempt from the passage of time. Steep mountains are painted in mezzotint colors that pop against deep blue skies. Ancient abbeys and monasteries cling to peaks and overlook sweeping valleys where people have lived and grown grapes since before the Romans came. (photo I colori del Molise by catwoman_mol)

This month, I'm going to be focusing on Molise and its wines. Sometimes, people lump the wines of Molise in with the wines that come from their better known neighbor to the north, Abruzzo. Since 1963, however, Molise has been its own province, and it seems only right to consider their wines on their own merits. Located just below the calf of Italy's boot, Molise and its wines have been relatively overlooked by tourists and consumers outside Italy, which is a shame because it is drop dead gorgeous if the pictures are to be believed. If the wines are half as delicious as the scenery, I am in for a treat.

Molise is steeped in history, too, and is a dream come true for people who love the past. Larino, for instance, has a colosseum that predates the one in Rome. Home to the Samnites, the region was invaded by the Romans, the Goths, the Lombards, the Saracens, and the Normans in turn. During the medieval period, grand cathedrals and impressive religious houses were built in Molise, and a love of learning became a hallmark of the region's culture that persists to this day. (photo Molise sacro by Megasoma)

Though Molise's wine history stretches back so far that Pliny the Elder wrote about it in the 1st century, it can be hard to find modern examples of the wines in the US and most of Molise's wines are consumed in Italy. Recently, the wine firm Di Majo Norante has imported more Molise wine into the country, and if you've had wine from Molise you have probably had one of their bottlings. This month I'll be trying a Di Majo Norante red wine, but I'll also be opening up a white wine from the Terre degli Osci IGT. And I still haven't given up hope that I'll get my hands on a dessert wine from the area. While the wines may be hard to find, they can represent excellent value when you do, since the region doesn't conjure up the wine cache of Tuscany or some of Italy's other well-known growing areas.

If you have any particular suggestions or tips about Molise wines that you've enjoyed in the past please let me know. And if you've been to Molise, tell us what you think of the region in the comments below. After seeing this pictures, I'm itching to get on a plane and go exploring. (l'ingresso medievale by pinoperrotta)