Friday Nights IN: Mediterranean Nosh and Soave

Friday Nights IN is a regular feature at GWU$20 that's intended to trim a few dollars from your entertaining budget by replacing a meal out with a meal in. Some suggestions are dinners for four, six, eight, or even ten. Some are for romantic dinners for two. And some suggestions are perfect for when you need time to yourself!

It's been a while since I've posted a Friday Nights IN suggestion, but if your life is like mine the days seem too short to get everything done, the kitchen is too hot to cook, and the idea of yet another something cooked on the grill is not that appealing. So my suggestion is to take a culinary trip to the Adriatic and Mediterranean with a meze platter and a wine from Italy's Veneto region.

First up, the food. Meze is not so much cooked as it is assembled--so it's perfect for single diners, couples, families, or starving masses. Anything goes really, but to get you started you can look at the suggestions in this recent Bon Appetit recipe. I know the hummus doesn't have Tahini in it, but after several goes at it we now prefer this flavorful, easy version. And the cucumber and feta salad is delicious. If you've got people coming for dinner who don't like to eat shrimp, buy a roasted chicken and have at that instead (or in addition). Add and subtract at will until you have just the right mix of flavors and textures to suit your palate.

Then, the all important issue of wine. With this meal you want a wine that is crisp but still has some body to it. It needs to be able to stand up to feta, not overwhelm the shrimp, pair nicely with the vegetables--you get the picture. In short, you want a good Soave, like the 2008 I Stefanini Il Selese Soave (MSRP $12.00; for more information contact the importer, Domenico Selections). This wine smells of summer, with lovely musk-melon aromas accompanied by some white floral and saline notes. This next observation will probably only resonate with those of you reading this from the UK, but the aromas reminded me particularly of elderflower cordial. Flavors of white peach, lemon, and bitter almond provide a nice point-counterpoint with the saline notes and the flowers and the wine has a juicy, lip-smacking aftertaste. This wine is terrific for the price and very distinctive. You'll be surprised Soave can be this good, and deliver such excellent QPR.

Full Disclosure: I received this wine as a sample.

If This is Soave, What Have I Been Drinking?

Soave, the Veneto's most widely-distributed white wine, sits on the shelves of most supermarkets and wine stores. But much of the Soave available in the US is beyond ordinary, made to be drunk very cold on patios under hot summer sunshine. Frankly, I've never been that much of a fan.

This is not all there is to Soave, as I discovered lately.

Properly made, non-industrial Soave is a far cry from the stuff you might have had in the past. Critics like Eric Asimov have recently been struck by the improving character of these Italian whites--although some find that the changes are not to their taste. Smaller producers are returning to the grape and exploring what it can do if its grown carefully and treated with respect through the winemaking process.

I tasted Soave made by a family of winemakers with deep roots in the Veneto--and I'm on Asimov's side in this debate.

I tried two of the wines made by the Tessari family, and I enjoyed both of them. I was absolutely knocked out, however, by the 2006 I Stefanini Soave Classico Monte di Toni (suggested retail $15-$17). This wine had bright, luscious aromas of bitter almond, honeysuckle, and pear. The flavors were an intriguing blend of smoke and honeysuckle, with pears and apples underneath. This wine sees no oak, so the smoke notes come do not come from how the wine was aged. Excellent QPR on one of the best white wines I've had in a long time.

I Stefanini makes an entry level wine, too, and it's proof that even a more basic Soave bottling can be excellent. I tried the 2007 I Stefanini Soave Il Selese (suggested retail $11-$13). Faint, fresh aromas of buttery pear and yield to flavors of creamy pear with bitter almond and honey nuances. This wine is very drinkable with a lush, medium-bodied mouthfeel. I suspect this very good QPR wine would appeal especially to Chardonnay drinkers who are ready to try something different.

Both wines left me thinking, if this is Soave, what have I been drinking? No matter what the answer is to that question, I know I'll be looking for more white wines from the Veneto and paying attention to how they're made and who makes them because this is proof that they can be excellent and affordable.

Full Disclosure: I received these two wines as samples from the importer, Domenico Selections.