Cheese for Valpolicella and Montepulciano | Blog - Di Bruno Sartori di Verona And while Pecorino di Grotto and Pecorino di Pienza tasted worthy with the Montepulciano, Abbaye du Belloc offered the most rewarding flavors. Many of the regular Valpolicella and Valpolicella Classico Superiore wines are now labeled Ripasso. Recioto is an absolute success with tiramisu, chocolate, and cakes.. Truffle Tremor paired well with the wine for very different reasons. The complications of the Valpolicella family, unfortunately, defy simple explanation. Wine and cheese pairing possibilities are endless. Go to Italian Cheeses A to M Fortified/Dessert wines: Sauternes (Semillon), RAGUSANO White wines: Sauvignon Blanc, White Bordeaux (Sauvignon Blanc Blend), Red wines: Chianti (Sangiovese grape), Barbera d'Alba, Barolo and Barbaresco (all from Nebbiolo grape) Since Valpolicella is incredibly food-friendly and light, it wont get in the way of most toppings. Milder blue cheeses like Cambozola share the same potential matches as bloomy cheeses. Pairing based on Type of Wine. Wine and charcuterie pairing: Expert advice - Decanter 16 Stylish Wines For Upscale Breakfasts | Wine Folly Valpolicella Superiore is Valpolicella Classico that has been aged at least one year in wood, and is a minimum of 12% alcohol. Also from Lombardy, creamy, buttery, and sweeter Mascarpone has a slightly lemon-like quality, making it popular in cheesecake and tiramisu recipes. As a relatively light and appealing The valley also produces white wines - both dry and sweet - under the various Soave titles. The Simple Guide to Wine & Cheese Pairing - Wine Enthusiast Hard: The product of aging, these are quite firm and break into crumbles or shards. Try it with a wine from the southern Campania region, where the cheese likely originated. How to Pair Wine and Cheese Like an Expert - Food & Wine The resulting wines are concentrated, full-bodied, and pack a serious punch. The best food matches for Amarone | Matching Food & Wine House of Cheese, Our Favorite Products & Producers, Random Fun! Required fields are marked *. This light-bodied wine pairs well with the exotic spices you might find in Indian or Thai dishes. To avoid this, cut it in half (and hide the other half somewhere out of view). Its full, viscous texture, and opulent flavors of candied fruit, honey, ginger, and baking spice make it a delight with desserts of any kind, but especially those that feature red fruits in the recipe. Kind of, but not really. Fontina is produced from cows milk in the far northwestern corner of Italy called Valle dAosta. A nice, fresh Valpolicella with some good friends is a great way to start an evening, and a slightly chilled glass of Recioto is the perfect way to finish it off. We've received your email address, and soon you will start getting exclusive offers and news from Wine Enthusiast. On the nose, youll find lots of red and black cherry, along with herbs that complement the tomato sauce spread across your pizza. Additional Sauvignon Blanc food pairing ideas: Green vegetables Chicken Goat and sheep cheeses Riesling and Pad Thai Rieslings feature fresh floral aromas and fruity notes of apple, peach and pear. Young Sauvignon Blanc from Loire or a newly released Provence ros will work beautifully. After a few slices of cheese and sips of wine, the flavors melted into each other to become fruity, sweet, dry, and nutty, all at once. Tannin and Tomato sauce do not mix, as the sauce makes the tannin taste like tin. amarone, the full name of which is amarone della valpolicella, is made from late-harvested, dried red wine grapes, half of which must be corvina corvinone, rounded out with rondinella and other local varieties. Marble and Solid Acacia Wood All-In-One Lazy Susan Cheese Board (14 Piece Set), Welcome to winemag.com! However, Valpolicella can stand up to quite a bit of acid, so it will take some doing to find a dish that ruins this wine. For amarone, grab some aged Parmigiano cheese and get the post-dinner course started, or simply light up a cigar to sip with the wine. These wines are fuller than those mentioned previously, with darker color, medium body, and a broader set of flavors. Valpolicella is a famous wine region in Verona, Italy, home to a renowned red wine that is also called Valpolicella. But the two sets of flavors coexist in a remarkably respectful way. Theyre rich and creamy, and they can be soft or semi-soft in texture. Valpolicella Classico & Food Pairings Valpolicella Classico is an everyday drinking red wine from Italy that pairs best with everyday food such as pepperoni pizza, red-sauce pasta, risotto, roasted chicken, pork chops in a red sauce, and barbecued foods. Go one level . Think of lighter-bodied expressions of valpolicella (not ripasso) like your favorite pinot noirs or gamays, and pair them with poultry, charcuterie, or a variety of appetizers. The delicate and creamy cheese known as Ricotta is produced by adding milk to the whey that remains after making harder cheeses. A salty, dry pecorino seemed like the most obvious choice and Pecorino di Grotto worked admirably. Rondinella must comprise from 5% up to 30% of the blend, offering lush floral notes. This site participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Cantina Valpolicella Negrar Saluti! Amarone and Recioto, because they come from semi-dried grapes and are usually older, have more of the latter group. They pair nicely with burgers, grilled steaks,pasta with tomato sauce, or pizza. The more you pursue your cheese sampling - the more you will learn about the versatility of both cheese and wine. It is not labelled Classico, as when you move outside the original region, the growing conditions change (soil, climate, temperature), which can change the wine profile. Wine with beef with mushroom and onion gravy, Wine with ground turkey or turkey burgers. White wines: Sicilian Chardonnay, RICOTTA SALATA Its soft structure and rich fruit also make it pleasant to drink on its own. and cheese pairings you will feel more comfortable in your next A glass of fresh, easy drinking Pinot Grigio makes for an absolutely wonderful pairing. Red wines: California Pinot Noir Ripasso wines will show fuller-bodied, velvety textures, with possible added notes of baking spice, vanilla, and/or chocolate due to their time in oak. Assorted Italian Cheeses An assortment of four cheeses that are typical of four distinct regions of Italy: Provolone Piccante, Grana Padano Stravecchio, Mountain Gorgonzola and Pecorino Toscano. Valpolicella is low in tannin and high in acidity so that it wont clash with the tomato sauce. Valpolicella Classico is an everyday drinking red wine from Italy that pairs best with everyday food such as pepperoni pizza, red-sauce pasta, risotto, roasted chicken, pork chops in a red sauce, and barbecued foods. One of the small joys in life is purchasing a simple, tasty bottle of wine for under twenty dollars. If the dish is rich, gamey, earthy, or tomato sauce-based, Ripasso is an incredibly food-friendly wine to pair up with it. Pasqua Vigneti e Cantine Below, you will find a description not only of Valpolicella and Amarone, but their variations, too. Being low in alcohol, a glass of Valpolicella Classico wont get you drunk at lunchtime either. Your email address will not be published. Its soft texture and freshness make elegant white wines an ideal match. The Italian Cheese and Wine Pairing Guide Mozzarella, provolone, ricotta, pecorino, parmesan, and even mascarpone, are all from the sunny southern regions, beginning in Emilia Romagna and moving down. As the wine became popular, the borders of what could be Valpolicella expanded. Today, this blue- or green-veined cheese comes in two main styles. They tend to have nutty and complex savory notes. Serve it on chilly nights with your favorite comfort foods. Valpolicella: 10 essential facts about the region and its wine - Vincarta Young Valpolicella pairs well with salads and seafood, pastas like gnocchi, beef-filled tortellini di Valeggio, or pizza. Pastisade de caval (horsemeat stew) Tripe. You can learn about the region and the winemaking process in our second post. White wines: Chardonnay, Gewrztraminer, Riesling Red wines: Chianti, PARMIGIANO-REGGIANO Valpolicella: What to Know and 5 Bottles to Try - Liquor.com Close in style to Parmigiano-Reggiano and also originating from northern Italy, Grana Padano is an unpasteurized cows milk cheese. Regardless of style or designation, these wines are generally always best enjoyed slightly chilled. Made by Benedictine monks, Abbaye de Belloc is a semi-hard cheese with a full, sheepy flavor and sweet undertones. Try it with. We recommend a stone fruit- and honey-scented Fiano di Avellino. Roquefort and Sauternes. Valpolicella and Amarone: Styles & Food Pairings - From The Vine "Cheese tends to bring out . Crostini, calamari, grilled vegetables and bacon-wrapped dates are all excellent choices. Contrasting pairings. Santi Go to Italian Cheeses N to Z Perfect for last-minute entertaining that needs to look like you planned for weeks! The Montepulciano and Montgomerys Cheddar paired well together only to our fellow taster Zeke, whose favorite cheese happens to be Montgomerys Cheddar. Its vineyards are farmed all organically and biodynamically, and each site-specific cuve is produced from a particular vineyard site. you agree to our use of cookies and the terms of our. Regular plain Valpolicella generally lacks enough flavor to stand up to Parmigiano, but better examples of Valpolicella Classico Superiore work (and some good Valpolicella comes from outside the Classico area). Amarone and Recioto della Valpolicella are decidedly different, while wines such as Valpolicella Ripasso (which is a regular red wine with the addition of leftover dried grapes) can be paired with similar flavours and slightly denser meats. Risotto all'amarone (a favourite of the River Caf) Beef braised in amarone. Over time, the young wines flavors of cherry and dark berries give way to cooked fruit, including plums and various jams, as well as prunes, hints of sweet spice, chocolate, tobacco, leather, toffee. Produced using the pressed skins of the regions famed amarone wine, this rich and complex expression of valpolicella provides an extra punch of a flavor with every sip. Sparkling wines: Prosecco, ROBIOLA DI ROCCAVERANO A regular Valpolicella can be overwhelmed by heavy, flavourful cuts of meat, like beef or game. Go to Pairing French Cheeses and Wine Fortified/Dessert wines: Port, Dry Sherry Valpolicella Blend (Classico/Amarone/Ripasso) Parmigiano Reggiano (Cow)