Category:Italian wine

Wine and food pairings 16: Couscous mushroom sort of risotto

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

mushroom risotto
This is what mushroom risotto looks like with arborio rice. Churro, the blog’s associate editor, forgot to take the picture for the post.

The Wine Curmudgeon pairs wine with some of his favorite recipes in this occasional feature. This edition: three wines with a mushroom risotto, but made with pearl couscous

The Wine Curmudgeon loves couscous. It’s cheap, it’s easy to make, it’s versatile, and it tastes good. I like it so much, in fact, that a friend who comes to dinner once asked: “What’s wrong? We’re not having couscous?”

I don’t do as much with the larger, pearl or Israeli-style couscous. For one thing, it’s not always easy to find in Dallas. For another, it’s not as versatile. But I did notice that, after it’s cooked, the larger couscous resembles short-grain and arborio rice. So why not try something risotto-like? (And not actual risotto, since that can only be made with arborio rice).

Hence, this recipe. I used button mushrooms, but adding dried mushrooms (and their soaking liquid) would work, too. It takes about one-quarter of the time of traditional risotto, and there isn’t any stock spooning or continual stirring. It’s not as creamy as the real thing, but it’s creamy in its own way.

Click here to download or print a copy of the recipe. What wines to pair? Pasta-friendly reds, of course, since the mushrooms make this almost beefy:

• Frescobaldi Rèmole Toscana 2019 ($10, purchased, 12.5%): Classic cheap Italian Chianti-style wine — lots of sour cherry fruit, tannins pushed to the back, and an almost interesting finish. Needs food like the couscous. Imported by Shaw-Ross International

• CVNE Cune Crianza 2017 ($12, purchased, 14.5%): This Spanish tempranillo isn’t as well rounded as some others, but still professional, varietally correct, and a fine value. It’s a little oaky and the cherry fruit is more ripe, but neither is a problem. Imported by Arano LLC

• Banfi Col di Sasso 2019 ($10, purchased, 13.5%): Softer and fruitier (red berries and cherries), with more relaxed tannins than Banfi’s Centine, but still a fine value and still very Italian. Imported by Banfi Vintners

Blog associate editor Churro contributed to this post.

More about wine and food pairings:
• Wine and food pairings 15: Southwestern-style stew with guacamole and pico de gallo
• Wine and food pairings 14: Mom’s chicken parmigiana
• Wine and food pairings 13: Crawfish etouffee

Slider photo: “Rome Elite Event: wine, food and nice people” by Yelp.com is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Mini-reviews 157: Even more rose reviews 2022

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

People toasting rose
Six more roses to try? Time for a celebration.

Reviews of wines that don’t need their own post, but are worth noting for one reason or another. Look for it on the fourth Friday of each month. This month, six rose reviews as part of the blog’s 15th annual rose fest.

• The 15th annual Memorial Day and rose 2022 post

• Inazio Urruzola Rosado 2020 ($20, sample, 10.5%): A tremendously interesting pink from the Basque region in Spain made with almost unknown grapes. It’s sort of a cross between pink vinho verde and a more traditional rose. Maybe a bit sweet, maybe not. Maybe a bit fizzy, maybe a bit not. Berry and orange fruit, very bright. Imported by Winesellers Ltd

• Chateau Minuty M 2021 ($25, sample, 13%): It’s easy to write nice things about the $20 Inazio because it’s weird; it ‘s almost painful to admit that the $25 M is worth every penny. It’s a Provencal rose that hits all the notes — garrigue, barely ripe strawberry fruit, minerality, pale color, and all the rest. Highly recommended. Imported by Vintus

• Funckenhausen Dry Rose 2021 ($13/1-liter, sample, 13.5%): Solid, cherry-ish Argentine rose that offers fine value in larger bottle. Imported by Global Vineyard Importers

• Liquid Geography Rose 2021 ($12, sample, 12%): That mencia, a little known Spanish grape, can produce wine of this quality speaks to how wonderful wine is. Almost savory and orange, with tart strawberry fruit, and very bright and refreshing. Highly recommended . Imported by Ole & Obrigado

• Le Paradou Rose 2021 ($11, purchased, 12.5%): Simple, light and not too fruity (berries) French pink. It’s not as well done as the La Vielle, but perfectly fine for the back porch in the heat of summer. Imported by European Cellars

• Santi Infinito Rose 2021 ($11, purchased, 12%): Another top-notch Italian rose, with a little dark fruit hidden between the strawberries and red cherries. Long and almost savory. Highly recommended; Hall of Fame quality wine. Imported by Frederick Wildman and Sons

Photo: Melike Benli from Pexels

Wine of the week: Masciarelli Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2018

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Masciarelli Montepulciano d'Abruzzo
Masciarelli Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2018/$8-$12

Once more, Italy’s Montepulciano d’Abruzzo region yields quality and value – this time from Masciarelli

Count ’em – red wines from Italy’s Montepulciano d’Abruzzo region have been been the wine of the week 10 times and several have made the hall of Fame. What does that say about the quality and value these wines deliver?

A lot, of course, as the Masciarelli Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2018 ($11, purchased, 13.5%) demonstrates. These wines, made in a less known region with a less known grape, are textbook examples of how to find quality cheap wine, because lesser known tends to equal value.

The Masciarelli is simple and straightforward – a trattoria wine, says the marketing blurb, and that’s spot on. Look for tart cherry fruit and maybe some berries, and even a little smokiness stuck down in the middle somewhere. It’s also more full in the mouth than many similar wines, though there is the same longish finish.

And a tip of the WC’s fedora to my old pal Carmen Castorina for reminding me about this one.

Pair this with sausages and peppers on the grill as the weather warms up, or even bratwurst and sauerkraut. I’m also thinking about chicken braised in red wine, using this as the braising liquid.

Imported by Vintus

Mini-reviews 155: Two Sicilian grillos and two sweet wines

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

pop culture winesReviews of wines that don’t need their own post, but are worth noting for one reason or another. This month, two grillos from Sicily and two sweet wines

• Stemmari Grillo 2020 ($8, purchased, 13%): Simple, not stupid, and professionally made Sicilian white. There’s some citrus (not too tart) and very refreshing. It just doesn’t taste like an Italian wine or like grillo. Imported by Prestige Wine Group

• Corvo Irmana 2020 ($18, sample, 12.5%): Fresh and fruity Sicilian white that doesn’t especially taste like grillo, either, and costs $6 more than it should. Imported by Disaronno International

• Villa Wolf Dry Riesling 2020 ($15, purchased, 11%): Overpriced and not especially dry German white. Some stone fruit; the sweetness hangs around as if the producer couldn’t decide whether to make a focus group wine or a German wine. Imported by Loosen Bros.

• Viticoltori Acquesi Brachetto d’Acqui NV ($18, sample, 65%): This fizzy Italian red is very sweet and almost creamy. Whether you want to pay $18 for this style of wine is up to you. Imported by Mack & Schuhle

Wine of the week: Falesco Vitiano Rosso 2018

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

One of the world’s all-time great cheap wines returns, which means there’s dancing in the streets

Singing In The Rain Don Lockwood GIFfrom Singing In The Rain GIFs

Do you need to know anything else? Falesco Vitiano 2018 ($12, purchased, 14%). Imported by Trinchero Family Estates

GIF via Tenor

Wine of the week: Farnese Fantini Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2018

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Farnese Fantini Montepulciano d'Abruzzo
Farnese Fantini Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2018/$7-$19

This Italian red is an especially good example of the value and quality available from the Montepulciano d’Abruzzo region

Chianti and its sangiovese-based compadres get most of the attention, and the Wine Curmudgeon has noted how often these wines offer quality and value.

But the red wines from Montepulciano d’Abruzzo in central Italy are, in their own way, just as compelling for those of us who want quality cheap wine and are willing to look past reputation. The Farnese Fantini is just such a wine.

This vintage of the Fantini ($10, purchased, 13.5%) isn’t quite as refined as past ones, or as some others from d’Abruzzo. Call it little more rustic, which is wine geek for old-fashioned but in a good way. But there is quality cherry fruit (not thin, not too ripe), just like so many other fine, cheap Italian red wines, and it’s balanced by a tartness common again to so many of these wines.

This is an older vintage, but the Fantini is wonderfully consistent across vintages — newer ones may not be quite as rustic, but should still be enjoyable. Serve this with almost any braised meat as winter winds down.

Imported by Empson USA

Wine to drink when you’re waiting for an ice storm

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

ice storm
If Dallas still had street cars, this is probably what today would look like.

Because that’s what we do in Dallas every February

Feb. 4 update: So far, so good. We got through Thursday with a surprisingly few number of power outages reported in the Dallas area. If we can make it through today, the forecast is favorable for the weekend and early next week.

The Wine Curmudgeon is writing this on Monday, since I don’t expect to have electricity on Thursday and Friday. That’s because we’re expecting our annual February ice storm.

If nothing else, the company that distributes power told us not to worry. And we know what comes after that, don’t we, Gov. Abbott?

So the WC has filled the car up with gas, charged all the battery packs, phones, and laptops, baked bread, and laid in the requite supplies. That means lots of batteries; an extra hoodie for Churro, the blog’s associate editor; a couple of battery-powered lanterns; and, of course, cheap wine. Hopefully, I won’t regret not buying a generator.

Interestingly, I’m not the only one who has pondered cheap wine during an ice storm and blackout. Lauren Daniels, the food editor at the Dallas Observer (for whom I write an occasional wine piece) emailed me yesterday asking for a suggestion to run on the weekly’s website.

So here are three wines I stocked up on that I didn’t tell Lauren about:

• Umani Ronchi Podere 2020 ($11, purchased, 13%): This Italian red, from the Montepulciano d’Abruzzo region, is a long-time WC favorite. This vintage is a touch more tart than usual, but still has what it should – cherry fruit, some earth, and spice on the finish. Needs food, but that’s not a problem during a power failure. Imported by Vineyard Brands

• Domaine de Pajot Les Quatre Cépages 2020 ($12, purchased, 11.5%): What would a crisis at WC World Headquarters be without a Gascon white wine to fall back on? This one uses all four gapes – sauvignon blanc, ugni blanc, colombard, and gros manseng – in the blend. There’s lots of citrus fruit, though not as much white grapiness as I like, and it’s fresh through and through. So simple but not stupid. Imported by Polaner Selections

• Marqués de Cáceres Rosado 2020 ($9, purchased, 13.5%): This supermarket Spanish rose is almost always a fine value. It’s a little softer and more fruity than I would have thought, with what almost seems like a dollop of strawberry in the middle. But that’s hardly a problem – crisp, fresh and ready to drink. And yes, rose in in the middle of an ice storm – I won’t have to chill it ahead of time, will I? Imported by Vineyard Brands

Photo: “Abandoned streetcars after ice storm in December, 1942.” by Ross Dunn

More wine for bad weather:
• Wine to drink during rolling power blackouts
• Wine to drink when the power goes out, 2014 edition
• Jerry Jones, wine, and bad weather