Wine for Tomato Season: Grechetto

If the tomatoes aren't yet bursting on the vines where you are, it's only a matter of time. Tomatoes are an interesting wine pairing challenge. The acidity and sweet edge of fresh tomatoes can fight with some wines, and be overwhelmed by others.

Enter Grechetto. Grechetto has been grown in Umbria for centuries (I was corrected on this point when I drank an earlier vintage of this wine!). And it goes great with fresh tomato dishes, like caprese salad or this fantastic roasted cherry tomato pasta dish which uses barely blistered tomatoes to make a delicious sauce for spaghetti.

The 2008 Arnaldo-Caprai Grechetto Grecante (available for $16-$20) tasted quite different to me than the one that I drank in October 2008. That might be because that one had been in the bottle a bit longer, and was deeper in color and richer in taste as a result. This bottling--at least at this time--was much paler in color. The aromas reminded me of preserved lemons--the Moroccan kind, with salt. This aroma is echoed in the flavors, which take on savory herbal notes as well which will draw out the flavor of any herbs you use with your fresh tomatoes. Deliciously complex, dry, and not your ordinary summer white. Excellent QPR.

Full disclosure: I received this wine as a sample.

Umbria's Distinctive Grechetto

This month's trip through the wines of Umbria ends on a high note with a very good QPR white wine made with a distinctive grape called Grechetto.

Grechetto is not, strictly speaking, an indigenous Italian grape. Its origins can be found in Greece (hence the name) and has been used extensively as a blending grape. In Lazio, for instance, the Antinori family blends Grechetto with Chardonnay to make their famous white wine, Cervaro. In Umbria, however, the grape is increasing in popularity and being used to craft rich, full-bodied white wines with a distinctive flavor profile. And the good news is that an Umbrian Grechetto is affordable, too.

I tried an Umbrian Grechetto in the 2005 Arnaldo-Caprai Grecante from the Colli Martani DOC. ($17.99 in my local Bristol Farms store; available elsewhere for $9-$24). This yummy, distinctive wine was truly golden in color, with plentiful autumnal aromas of pears, herbs, and honeycomb. It was slightly spritzy upon first opening, which dissipated quickly. The wine's flavors also developed in the direction of late summer and fall orchard fruits, such as pears and white peaches. There was a zingy flash of lemon pith in the aftertase, which kept it from feeling too sweet or cloying.

This well-made wine went as well with a Thai chicken stirfry (which brought out its peachy character) as it did with an Umbrian-style cacciatore with lemon, capers, and anchovies (which brought out its lemony side). Grechetto turns out to be a versatile, food-friendly grape, as well as a great bargain.

Have you tried Grechetto? If you have any particular labels that you like, let me know in the comments below, because I'd love to sample some more wines made with this grape.

October in Umbria

In the eastern shadows of the better-known region of Tuscany there is a land of slanting sunlight, protected by hills and mountains, called Umbria. (photo of the Chiesa di Sant'Angelo by seier+seier+seier)

There you will find Assisi, where the troubadour-warrior-theologian St. Francis had his miraculous vision which led him to found the Franciscan order. Here too is Perugia, home to the Renaissance artist Perugino who somehow managed to capture the soft light of the region in every canvas he ever painted. And of course there's the fortress-city of Orvieto, where Pope Clement VII tried to escape the clutches of Charles V after Rome was sacked in 1527.

You will also find wonderful wine. (photo of a vineyard in Montone by rdesai) This month, I'll be exploring the wine of the region, and finding out more about how the magic of Umbria works its way into the soil and the grapes to produce great bottlings made with both native and international grapes. Umbria has some big producers (most notably Falesco, who has a base of operations here as well as in Lazio), but the tradition of small, family-owned wineries and vineyards has also been preserved. Today, many of these smaller wineries specialize in cultivating the region's traditional grapes like Grechetto, Sagrantino, and Canaiolo Bianco.

Just as the region is known for its love of traditional wines, Umbria is also known for its traditional approch to food. It's one of the few regions of Italy that is completely landlocked, which means that the food of the region runs heavily towards meat, cheeses, and fresh-water fish such as trout. A special breed of cattle, Chianina, is raised outside Perugia which makes beef from this area out of this world in terms of flavor and texture. Wild boar sausage is a specialtyof Umbria, too, and the area abounds in fresh game, truffles, and a distinctively-flavored prosciutto. All of this hearty, flavorful food goes beautifully with the region's simple, pure wines. (photo of an Umbrian salumeria by rdesai)

Can you tell I love Umbria? I do. It's one of the most beautiful places on earth in my opinion.

I'm looking forward to highlighting some of their excellent, affordable wines this month. I've got a bottle from Falesco, something from Assisi, and a traditional white, too. Do you have any recommendations for can't-miss wines from Umbria? If so, leave them in the comments below. And if you can find a wine from Umbria, why not join in and let us know how you liked it? (photo Perugia: arca tra le ombre by gaspa)