In the Introductory Sommelier course, the Master Sommeliers offered a brief bit of advice on pairing wines to food, since that is a large part of what we do in our work. It was a very short part of the program and very general in nature, but it fascinated me at the time because I was still more invensted in learning regions and grapes at the time. I had not even ventured into the world that would fascinate me most.
One of the approaches to pairing was pairing "regionally". That is, food from the region will often go well with the wine from the region. For example, Italian food with Italian wine. Or more particularly, the specific region! Montchevre goat cheese which is tangy and acidic with Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc, also high in acid. Mind you, these are just general rules of thumb. Nothing works all the time and you have to just keep experimenting, but it's a good place to start.
I was simply reminded of this the other night and thought I might touch on it briefly. We ordered pizza from a local place called Barone's. Their pizza is very rustic (made in a rectangle shape) and you can tell the crust is made in house. It's a dry style of pizza using very little sauce. So, I always pull out a juicy red wine with plenty of red fruit. We get Pepperoncinis and Pepperoni usually (amongst other things) so a higher acid wine is usually in the line-up, too.
Hence, the Bertille Vino Nobile de Montepulciano. Considered the red-headed step-child of Brunello di Montalcino by some. They seem to model themselves after the wines of Montalcino in some ways, but are often cheaper, as well. I often find it to be a cross between Brunello and Chianti, myself. Their soils are more clay which makes the wines a little more "watered-down" than Brunello due to water retention. Nonetheless, when pairing with pizza, these are the wines I love most.
Ripe red fruits, licorice, a little chalky, plums, cherries, tobacco. It was terrific with the pizza. We plowed through it maybe a little too quickly. But every bite of pizza wanted a sip of wine and vice versa. Nothing profound here, but a good value in Italy at probably about $25-$30 retail. And a small-producer many of your friends may not know.
For an even better value, seek out the Rosso di Montepulciano wines. They're the grapes that don't make it into the Vino Nobile. Even cheaper and usually awesome for fun foods like pizza as well. When I pop a bottle of decent Italian Rosso, I'm always transported back to a piazza in Italy, drinking a delicious wine out of a caraffe and watching the sun set.
Good wines don't have to be mindbending. Just good. And good with food. Which is really what Italy excels at. Viva Italia!
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