A new beginning
Springtime is just around the corner.
Days are getting longer, temperatures are getting milder
Obviously with the change of season also some sort of change in terms of the foods that make up our tables will be welcome.
Winter recipes loaded with ingredients, and complex in textures and flavors will gradually leave more space to lighter dishes, simple and suitable for less rigid climates.
Therefore, let’s analyze together the best combinations we can approach for this spring period.
Let’s probably start from one of the most iconic foods of Tuscany in Springtime.
Fava beans and Pecorino cheese are probably one of the most appreciated foods during spring time in Tuscany and in Chianti in particular.
Broad beans are a spring vegetable that is well suited in combination with a fresh pecorino cheese.
This kind of food will leave in your mouth a wonderful sensation of freshness, given by broad beans, whereas pecorino will leave a sensation of “light heaviness” because of the fat component of cheese.
The question that arises is how can we eliminate that fatty part we are going to perceive in order to taste this dish at its best?
The answer is – we must find a wine having a good acid shoulder which can clean our mouth.
The possibilities are many.
The most classic matching is probably Vermentino.
The strong acidity of this wine will bring out all the flavors of the dish.
However we also have other alternatives.
An alternative that we find particularly suited could be a Sangiovese Rosé with a good acidity and a good complexity such as our Rosè di Montemaggio.
Let’s now move on to the second suggestion for food and wine matching.
Imagine a trip out of town in springtime – surely one of the most popular destinations in our beloved Tuscany is the city of Viareggio.
What can Viareggio offer you? Well of course you are in one of the most important seaside towns of Tuscany, so the recipes based on fish are a must when visiting this town.
A recipe that we certainly recommend is the mixed fried fish Viareggio.
Also in this house we need a nice sour shoulder and a Vermentino rather than a Rosè di Montemaggio, both thanks to their beautiful acidity they turn out to be extremely functional.
However, it should be said another matching stands out thanks to its beautiful functionality.
A nice sparkling wine, provided with a fine perlage, excellent acidity and beautiful complexity is very suitable for this purpose.
Let’s now go back to Chianti.
Let’s talk about pici all’Aglione.
This recipe is a symbol of Tuscan cooking, a refined dish of excellent complexity and taste.
Whether it is prepared in the “Red” version, therefore with the addition of tomato, or in the “White” version, the answer is only one – Sangiovese Chianti Classico.
A Chianti Classico, not aged for a long time but not an “enfant prodige” either, good complexity, fine and elegant maybe from the area of Radda in Chianti is extremely suitable to be matched with a dish like this.
Let’s talk about an ever green of Tuscan Cooking: gnudi.
First dish of the peasant tradition, typical of the regions of Maremma and Mugello, Gnudo, which in Tuscan parlance literally means “naked”.
In fact, gnudo is basically the stuffing of the Maremma tortello, which has “evolved” into a “substantial gnocco”.
Also in this case the wine we absolutely want to match is a beautiful Chianti Classico vintage.
We hope these suggestions have whetted your appetite.
You just have to try, experiment and fall in love with these foods and wines.
Let us know what you think in the comments section.
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