Food, Wine & Friends Page 255
It was a cool winter evening in 2014 and Kareasa and Ralph
hosted an Italian-themed evening.
We were looking forward to a grate meal...
...and, sure enough!
Connie took care of pouring the bubbly...
Mark took care of putting the finishing touches on some crostini.
La Ferghettina is a good producer of Franciacorta and we began with a bottle of
their Satèn, a Chardonnay-based sparkler which is slightly less bubbly than the
normal sparklers.
Think of Satèn as an Italian version of Champagne's Cremant.
Ferghettina's is made entirely of Chardonnay, though Pinot Bianco is also
permitted as part of the blend.
Connie took care of opening a second bottle of a Satèn
sparkler, this one having the Enrico Gatti label.
The Enrico Gatti base wine saw a bit of oak for its primary fermentation and was
matured for about 6 months in wood before they turned it into bubbly.
Both wines were of good quality, though I felt they were a bit
expensive at roughly $45 and $60 respectively. This is a typical challenge
for wines from Franciacorta...they are often more costly than good bottles of
Champagne.
Connie and Mark brought a salad for a starter course...
The salad features paper-thin fennel slices with shallots, walnuts, blood orange
sections (and/or grapefruit sections, tangerine or whatever you'd like in
citrus) with a hint of fresh mint.
The white wine is from Italy's Lipari island just north of Sicily. The
wine is made by the Castellaro winery...it's called Bianco Pomice and is made of
Malvasia and Carricante. There's a minerally, stony quality to this wine
with vaguely fruity, floral notes. I thought it might pair handsomely with
the salad and it was a nice accompaniment.
Back in the kitchen, Kareasa had her eye on a pot of
vegetables and Ralph provided a measure of muscle in wrestling with a cauldron
full of Polenta...
Kareasa then flexed her muscles and took a few turns on the
Polenta pot.
Kareasa then drained the pot of "rapini" (or
Broccoli Rabe, if you prefer).
Connie then heard Kareasa say she was "going for a
wok," but Connie beat her to the punch.
The pork had been roasted in the oven...and now was out in its
"resting" phase.
Polenta & Pork...a nice combination!
We opened a couple of lightly chilled reds...
Both these reds are based on the Schiava grape and both are from Italy's Alto
Adige.
The Abbazia di Novacella Schiava is perfectly fine, but it sure was
over-shadowed by the sensational Waldgries Santa Magdalener (maybe 92% Schiava
and 8% Lagrein).
The Walgries had the fragrance of a seriously aromatic Beaujolais, showing a
basket of ripe red fruits. Cherries and berries abound in the glass and
it's a smooth, beautifully dry red of immense charm.
Here's the main plate, nicely assembled:
Kareasa made a Chestnut Sauce to go with the roasted Pork...very good!
Mark went stylish on us...
...Much to the amusement of Mrs. Mark.
We then opened a bottle of Franz Haas Lagrein...quite nice, but the Waldgries
was still the Wine of the Night!
Kareasa was a bit surprised when she found a bottle of some
sort of Korean-styled marinade from her favorite TV Chef, Guy Fieri.
"Where did this come from?" Kareasa demanded to know.
After a good laugh, Kareasa then set about presenting dessert...
Almondo's Brachetto, called Fosso della Rosa, is a nicely fizzy, moderately
aromatic, berryish sweet wine and it was nicely paired with a jammy, fruity pie.
A splendid evening and a major discovery with that wonderful
bottle of Waldgries Santa Magdalener!
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