A Food Fun Travel Guest Post
Italy has many things to offer to both tourists coming to the country, and locals as well, considering its impressive architecture, beautiful museums and art galleries, or tourist attractions of various sorts.
Nevertheless, one thing that Italy also can provide you with is the fantastic Italian cuisine and its excellent wines. It is most certainly a privilege to visit a country that has premium wines and some tasty food to accompany them.
Of course, if you can’t spend your whole life in Italy, you may want to try some food and wine pairings at home! If you are living in Canada, browse WineOnline.ca to discover an exquisite collection of Italian wines.
Below we will see some exciting pairings you can try in order to feel the Italian qualities at the highest level.
Lasagna and Barbera d’Alba Superiore
As you probably know, Lasagna is one of the oldest types of pasta globally, created from wide and flat sheets. In essence, it’s made of stacked layers alternating with fillings like tomato sauce and ground meat, cheeses, vegetables, basil, oregano, and garlic can also be included. Furthermore, it can be topped with grated cheese.
And, even though there is a little bit of a mystery about the history of Lasagna, it still is considered an Italian food in general. And this tasty dish pairs well with fruity and acidic red wines such as Dolcetto, Chianti, Pinot, Noir, among others, and one other perfect choice is, of course, Barbera. The layers it has require a red wine with a flavour that can hold up to this Italian dish.
Therefore, we recommend pairing it with Bovio Regia Veja Barbera d’Alba Superiore 2018, an Italian wine made from Barbera grapes coming directly from the famous Piedmont wine region. The Bovio winery journey began back in 1977 when Gianfranco decided to revive his father’s estate of only three hectares. Today, the Bovio winery is run by the 3rd generation, which has around ten hectares of high-quality vineyards.
This vibrant Barbera wine is fermented in stainless steel tanks followed by 15 days of maceration on the skins. Afterwards, this beautiful red is aged in 500-litre barrels for six months and another eight months in Slavonian casks.
Ribollita and Chianti Classico
Yet another impressive Italian dish is the tasty Ribollita. It is a bread-based and vegetable soup, one that is considered the true food treasure of the Tuscany region. Like many of the Italian recipes, Ribollita was a dish of the peasants who created it to have a one-dish meal with herbs, beans, vegetables, and bread. Of course, every family has its own local and special recipe, but these are the essential ingredients. Ribollita is usually served warm but never hot, and it is a dish you will enjoy and is also easy to make.
As for wine to use to accompany this tasty dish, you should use the Fontodi Chianti Classico 2019, a red wine that also comes from the Tuscany wine region. This Tuscan type of wine will complement the Ribollita soup without overpowering its herbal notes.
The Fontodi winery is known as one of the best and has great vineyards which are cared for with a lot of attention to detail. The same-named family has owned Fontodi since 1968, and today’s owner is Manetti. It has ninety hectares of vines that produce some elegant and also powerful wines.
The Fontodi Chianti Classico 2019 is made with minimal interventionist principles in both the winery and the vineyard, and the grapes are fermented in stainless steel tanks. After that, the young wine is set in French oak barrels for a year and a half of maturation before it is ready for bottling.
Cioppino with Lafoa Sauvignon
Cioppino is also one of the dishes that represent Italy in the best possible way. It is made with mussels, shrimp, clams, and other delicacies that come from the beautiful sea, and it’s often cooked during the summer days. It’s important to mention that you should use fresh fish in order to gain maximum flavour.
The wine that suits best for Cioppino is white wine, and you can try to accompany this recipe with the impressive Colterenzio Lafoa Sauvignon 2018. This white wine is made from Sauvignon Blanc grapes, and it comes from the Trentino-Alto Adige wine region in Italy. Twenty-six local grape growers founded the Colterenzio winery, and today it has grown with members contributing grapes from thirty hectares.
This extraordinary Sauvignon Blanc is made from exclusively sourced fruit, and the grapes are usually harvested in early September at optimal ripeness. Half of the must is fermented in oak, and the other in stainless tanks. Then, the wine is aged for eight months on the lees before it is ready to be bottled.
So, the next time you visit Italy don’t forget to try these beautiful wines with these Italian dishes. You will enjoy some wonderful tastes while relaxing in one of the most exciting countries in the entire world.
