There is something so delightful about leaving work and heading off to a wine tasting event in the middle of a work week. It is a combination of a sense of anticipation, enjoyment in seeing people who enjoy food and wine as much as we do, and just the thrill of feeling like you are having a bit of “weekend fun” when it’s a “school night”! (Of course, for anyone reading this who is retired, try to remember what it was like when you were working!)

We attended the “Wines of the Adriatic” tasting at Amici Miei, and once again Chef Davide and Siema Wines’ Nick did a great job of pairing wines with little bites. Per the title, all the wines were from the coast of Italy that is on the Adriatic (or east) side - with two surprise guest appearance.

A number of the usual attendees showed up, along with new people who had not been to one of the wine tasting events. It's always fun to meet the new folks, as well as catch up with the "regulars" that we haven't seen in a while.

The first (bonus!) wine was a 2010 Pallio di San Floriano Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore from Le Marche. This had a lovely golden appearance with a hint of green, which is very characteristic of the wine. The scent was grassy with a bit of apple fruit. The wine tasted rich in the mouth, carrying the grassiness but also a wonderful fruit flavor. This was definitely a great way to start the evening.

Next was our first pairing - a 2012 Cantine Cipressi Falanghina Terre Degli Osci from the province of Molise, which is tucked below Le Marche and above Puglia (the heel of Italy). The small bite was sautéed shrimp. Just a delightful pairing - the sweet shrimp with its light seasonings and lovely sauce alongside the bright, mineral fruit of the wine. The Falanghina had a great floral aroma, and the apple and vanilla fruit of the taste had a pop of acidity. The Falanghina is the classic grape of the province of Campania, as the vines are grown in the tufo in the area that came from the old volcanoes. As I said, this wine is from Molise. Nick told us that two brothers started the winery, and they wanted to find just the right grapes to grow in their soil, which was tufo. So they brought the Falanghina vines over from Campania, and they have created a wonderful wine.

The next wine was a surprise entry, as the wine listed did not get shipped in time. And the surprise was that the wine was from Croatia, which is the country immediately to the east of Italy on the northeast border. This wine was called Adriatico, which is a Malvasia Bianco made by Bastianich. Yes, Bastianich of the fame of the cook on television - this is her son, Joe Bastianich, who wrote one of the definitive books on Italian wines. The Croatians are definitely making progress in their wines. This wine had a hint on oakiness as well as a honeysuckle scent, and that carried into the rich taste with some acidity and a hint of residual sugar. The wine was almost “juicy”, which is a great word to describe what we were tasting. That was paired with a trout mousse crostino with almonds.

Now, around this time, the world is looking pretty good; problems from the day have faded, and everyone is definitely enjoying the banter with Nick and also the conversations with the other folks at the tasting. A pretty good way to spend a Wednesday evening!

And now we switched to reds, with a definite favorite of ours. We were presented with a Chiarli Lambrusco, which is the frizzante red wine from Emilia-Romagna. Lambruscos are native to Emilia-Romagna, and they come in very different styles, from fairly sweet (which many people do not like) to very dry. And all with the very classic frizzante sparkle. This particular wine is made for Siema wines with grapes coming from vines that are 30-70 years old. The wine is very clear violet, with a somewhat earthy and cranberry scent. The taste was slightly sweet, dried cranberries. And with the fizziness, it went absolutely perfectly with the small bite, a piece of mortadella with pistachios, which is also very characteristic of the Emilia-Romagna region around Bologna. In fact, we have a particularly fond memory of trying several different Lambruscos while we stayed in the town of Modena, and we had a very memorable lunch in Bologna served by a delightful waiter who brought us tons of food, once he realized we weren’t going to stick to the “American-Italian” menu. “Everything is O-K!” was his theme. And yes, mortadella and Lambrusco is most definitely ok!

Thinking of Bologna - I had to put in a photo! This is the Fontana del Nettuno, or Fountain of Neptune, in the main piazza.

Next up was a completely new wine for us. This was a 2008 Cantine Cipressi Macchiarossa made from the Tintilia grape. Remember those two brothers from Molise? They also decided that it was very important to try to save the native Italian vines, and the Tintilia is one of the most important grapes for the Molise area. The deeply dark, black grapes may have some type of Spanish heritage; however they were almost extinct. The two brothers have now saved them and created an amazing wine. This dark purple wine was very similar in style to a Tempranillo, with lots of tannins, dark fruit, spicy nutmeg, and an almost “beefy” taste. Chef Davide paired this with a lamb stew - an amazing combination! Our friend, Carol, expressed it exactly right: “Yummy!”

Our favorite - the Tintilia. We definitely have to have more of this wine.

And then the last pairing. Once again, we had a surprise entry, since another wine didn’t make its flight. We had a 2012 Odoardi Savuto, which is a Calabrian wine (the toe of Italy, not on the Adriatic) made from native grapes such as Gaglioppo and Greco Nero. The pairing was a skirt steak roll that had pancetta and pecorino cheese, braised in tomato. The wine was similar to a Malbec, with a dark fruit flavor and leathery undertone. It went really well with the salty pancetta and pecorino cheese and the tomato sauce accompanying the meat. The wine was a particularly young vintage - it should be able to age quite well.

It is here that the group got into a lively discussion, as people started thinking about what to have for dinner after the tasting. Two sides were created - those who wanted the sautéed shrimp (note - NOT shrimp scampi!), and the lamb stew crowd (counting me among its members). Ernie, being the consummate diplomat, knew that he would have the eggplant parmesan and another glass of Lambrusco and let the opposing sides debate over the other dishes. In the end, everyone won, as full tummies were happy, and tastebuds tingling with joy. We all look forward to one more tasting before summer!