Sunday Betsy played matinee and then picked up a ham at Fairway, while
it baked she prepared the salads and sides, and we enjoyed a sip of
leftover F. Cotat Mont Damnes, which I thought showed better than day
1. Dave is joining us for a couple of days (he's living in Brooklyn,
but spending a couple nights a week here), I opened a liter bottle to
go with the ham, the 2008 Gysler Silvaner Halbtrocken. OK, this isn't
profound wine, but it's easy to drink, and for my tastes about a good
a ham match as you'll ever find. Lighter body, just a hint of
sweetness, floral -more flowers than fruit. Tasty, easy, good match. B

Monday she used some leftover ham, fried some eggs, made pasta, and
created a bit of a hommage to carbonara (with some brocolli on side).
Seemed like a good time to use up a summer leftover, the NV Cleto
Chiarli "Pruno*Nero" *Lambrusco*Grasparossa di Castelvestro. Dave says
"is this bubbly red" - well kind of. Light petillance, light sugar,
light tannins. Blackberries, red plum jam, good length for what it is.
Decent value at undr $10. B/B-

Today we had some frantic end of day stuff, she had a rehearsal, I had
a speech, but we worked out a plan where she would do salad, and I
would pick up pizza while picking up a Sprinter van from service in
Yonkers. But not just any pizza- Pepe's from New Haven just opened a
Yonkers branch. I ended up getting a clam pie plus a tomato pie with
bacon, mushrooms, and mozzarella. I was thinking what would go with
clam pie, and suddenly realized I had a bottle of skin-fermented white
I had been holding for a perfect match, maybe this was it! I called
Betsy to put a little chill on the 2003 Radikon Ribolla Gialla
(Venezia Giulia), She actually didn't just do a simple salad, but
roasted some yellow beets, tossed with greens, apples,and almonds.
Pizza was great, salad was great, and hey I finally found what to do
with orange wine. Very good match! Wine had orange zest, honey, apple
skins, watermelon rind. Good acidity, gets brighter as night goes on,
has that oxidative thing at first, but that lessens with air (I know
that's a bit of a paradox, but what I thought). Nice length,
interesting on intellectual level but tasty as hell as well. Fine
match with clam pie, ok with other pizza. Cool and interesting wine. B
+/A-

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an
excellent*wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I
wouldn't*drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I
offer no*promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of
consistency.**

DaleW wrote:

> Monday she used some leftover ham, fried some eggs, made pasta, and
> created a bit of a hommage to carbonara (with some brocolli on side).
> Seemed like a good time to use up a summer leftover, the NV Cleto
> Chiarli "Pruno Nero" Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvestro. Dave says
> "is this bubbly red" - well kind of. Light petillance, light sugar,
> light tannins. Blackberries, red plum jam, good length for what it is.
> Decent value at undr $10. B/B-

Dale,
I just recently picked up my first "serious" Lambrusco (also a
Grasparossa though producer's name is different IIRC). What is a good
food pairing for such wines?

Mark Lipton
--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

On Nov 18, 11:26*am, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> DaleW wrote:
> > Monday she used some leftover ham, fried some eggs, made pasta, and
> > created a bit of a hommage to carbonara (with some brocolli on side).
> > Seemed like a good time to use up a summer leftover, the NV Cleto
> > Chiarli "Pruno Nero" *Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvestro. Dave says
> > "is this bubbly red" - well kind of. Light petillance, light sugar,
> > light tannins. Blackberries, red plum jam, good length for what it is.
> > Decent value at undr $10. B/B-
>
> Dale,
> * I just recently picked up my first "serious" Lambrusco (also a
> Grasparossa though producer's name is different IIRC). *What is a good
> food pairing for such wines?
>
> Mark Lipton
> --
> alt.food.wine FAQ: *http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

Charcuterie is the classic. Besides cured meats, I've had good luck
with things like pasta with a Bolognese ragu.
The great thing about serious Lambrusco is of course that it's not all
that serious!
Where's Mike T and Vilco with the real lowdown?

DaleW wrote:

>> I just recently picked up my first "serious" Lambrusco (also a
>> Grasparossa though producer's name is different IIRC). What is a good
>> food pairing for such wines?

> Charcuterie is the classic. Besides cured meats, I've had good luck
> with things like pasta with a Bolognese ragu.
> The great thing about serious Lambrusco is of course that it's not all
> that serious!
> Where's Mike T and Vilco with the real lowdown?

Here I am
Great pairings are charcuterie, true, and since this wine is acidic,
sparkling and tannic at one time, the fattier cold-cuts are the best:
pancetta (unsmoked dry aged bacon), guanciale (pork-cheek pancetta) and
salami.
The usual pairing in the area of Grasparossa is charcuterie and
"crescentine", a simple flour + water + salt dough which gets fried in
pigs's lard and which usually accompanies charcuterie and "battuto di lardo"
(minced aged lard). They look like this:
http://www.lospicchiodaglio.it/index...a&elemento=334

Another usual pairing is with charcuterie and "tigelle", more bread like and
bakled instead of fried, used almost in the same way as crescentine but
obviously less fat, so they match well with the fattier charcuterie:
http://www.pubblicitaitalia.com/cgi-...=Img&id=644 7

These two are usually served as an entree before going on with first and
second courses. The usual pairing with Grasparossa are "tortelli verdi", a
stuffed egg-dough filled with a bery enriched spinach/beet mix, with or
without ricotta. They are served with melted butter, usually flavored with
some sage, and a good sprinkling of grated parmigiano reggiano cheese:
http://mammachebuono.altervista.org/...li%20verdi.JPG

They also do very well with lasagne bolognese and passatelli in a rich
cured-chicken broth as with almost any fatty first course like eggnoodles
with ragu' bolognese, gramigna con salsiccia, etc
A picture of "Gramigna con salsiccia" (the pasta format is named after the
infesting grass):
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3069/...d78bd24d3f.jpg

Grasparossa matches perfectly with the typical second courses of the area, I
could make a very long list but let's name the best in the pairing:
cotechino, zampone, any kind of fried meatballs, pork sausages (grilled or
boiled in wine or baked wiah a reduction of the same wine), pork chops...
Think hearthy, rich and fatty dishes, but with not too much spices in them,
and you'll find Grasparossa a very good pairing. The local kitchen here in
Emilia ROmagna tends to use few spices, in particular white and black ground
pepper, or bland/sweet spices such as the nutmeg, always present in lasagne
and many baked pasta first courses.
--
Vilco
Think pink, drink rosè

ViLco wrote:
> DaleW wrote:
>
>>> I just recently picked up my first "serious" Lambrusco (also a
>>> Grasparossa though producer's name is different IIRC). What is a good
>>> food pairing for such wines?
>
>> Charcuterie is the classic. Besides cured meats, I've had good luck
>> with things like pasta with a Bolognese ragu.
>> The great thing about serious Lambrusco is of course that it's not all
>> that serious!
>> Where's Mike T and Vilco with the real lowdown?
>
> Here I am
<SNIP great list>

Thanks a lot, Dale and Vilco! I get the idea now. Vilco, just reading
some of your descriptions inspired me, so maybe I'll wait until after I
submit this proposal that's consuming my time right now and then make a
few of those dishes.

Mark Lipton
--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

On Nov 19, 10:06�am, "ViLco" > wrote:
> DaleW wrote:
> >> I just recently picked up my first "serious" Lambrusco (also a
> >> Grasparossa though producer's name is different IIRC). What is a good
> >> food pairing for such wines?
> > Charcuterie is the classic. Besides cured meats, I've had good luck
> > with things like pasta with a Bolognese ragu.
> > The great thing about serious Lambrusco is of course that it's not all
> > that serious!
> > Where's Mike T and Vilco with the real lowdown?
>
> Here I am
> Great pairings are charcuterie, true, and since this wine is acidic,
> sparkling and tannic at one time, the fattier cold-cuts are the best:
> pancetta (unsmoked dry aged bacon), guanciale (pork-cheek pancetta) and
> salami.
> The usual pairing in the area of Grasparossa is charcuterie and
> "crescentine", a simple flour + water + salt dough which gets fried in
> pigs's lard and which usually accompanies charcuterie and "battuto di lardo"
> (minced aged lard). They look like this:http://www.lospicchiodaglio.it/index...ione=scheda&el...
>
> Another usual pairing is with charcuterie and "tigelle", more bread like and
> bakled instead of fried, used almost in the same way as crescentine but
> obviously less fat, so they match well with the fattier charcuterie:http://www.pubblicitaitalia.com/cgi-...bella=Immagini...
>
> These two are usually served as an entree before going on with first and
> second courses. The usual pairing with Grasparossa are "tortelli verdi", a
> stuffed egg-dough filled with a bery enriched spinach/beet mix, with or
> without ricotta. They are served with melted butter, usually flavored with
> some sage, and a good sprinkling of grated parmigiano reggiano cheese:http://mammachebuono.altervista.org/...li%20verdi.JPG
>
> They also do very well with lasagne bolognese and passatelli in a rich
> cured-chicken broth as with almost any fatty first course like eggnoodles
> with ragu' bolognese, gramigna con salsiccia, etc
> A picture of "Gramigna con salsiccia" (the pasta format is named after the
> infesting grass):http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3069/...d78bd24d3f.jpg
>
> Grasparossa matches perfectly with the typical second courses of the area, I
> could make a very long list but let's name the best in the pairing:
> cotechino, zampone, any kind of fried meatballs, pork sausages (grilled or
> boiled in wine or baked wiah a reduction of the same wine), pork chops...
> Think hearthy, rich and fatty dishes, but with not too much spices in them,
> and you'll find Grasparossa a very good pairing. The local kitchen here in
> Emilia ROmagna tends to use few spices, in particular white and black ground
> pepper, or bland/sweet spices such as the nutmeg, always present in lasagne
> and many baked pasta first courses.
> --
> � Vilco
> Think pink, drink ros�

OK, that did it. I'm booking a flight to Italy asap! Great response
and one of the reasons that I keep reading this NG. Thanks Vilco!

On Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:10:32 +0100, Mike Tommasi >
wrote:


> Since the summer work brings me to this area twice a month, and I can
> testify that this is definitely the center of food-gravity of Italy.
> Nothing is "diet" around here, just as alcohol transports aroma in wine,
> fat does the same job for food, and therefore acidity is key (in the
> wine, in the balamics...). The ragù alone is worth a trip here. Gnocco
> fritto is definitely addictive. Culatello when properly aged and cut is
> the most delicate charcuterie in the world. The local wines have gone
> through dramatic improvements over the last 10 years, some are very
> interesting. On vilco's recommendation I have tried Medici's high end
> but extremely affordable wine. Even the simple trattorie are good here.


May I ask where "here" is?

--
Ken Blake
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

On Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:58:58 +0100, Mike Tommasi >
wrote:

> Ken Blake wrote:
> > On Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:10:32 +0100, Mike Tommasi >
> > wrote:
> >
> >
> >> Since the summer work brings me to this area twice a month, and I can
> >> testify that this is definitely the center of food-gravity of Italy.
> >> Nothing is "diet" around here, just as alcohol transports aroma in wine,
> >> fat does the same job for food, and therefore acidity is key (in the
> >> wine, in the balamics...). The ragù alone is worth a trip here. Gnocco
> >> fritto is definitely addictive. Culatello when properly aged and cut is
> >> the most delicate charcuterie in the world. The local wines have gone
> >> through dramatic improvements over the last 10 years, some are very
> >> interesting. On vilco's recommendation I have tried Medici's high end
> >> but extremely affordable wine. Even the simple trattorie are good here.
> >
> >
> > May I ask where "here" is?
>
> We are talking about the general area of Lambrusco, basically Modena and
> Reggio Emilia.


OK, thanks. I guess I had missed that.

--
Ken Blake
Please Reply to the Newsgroup