Valdinera Langhe Favorita Bricco della Quaglia 2008
Posted By Joel on November 10, 2009
Valdinera Langhe Favorita Bricco della Quaglia 2008, DOC
On Saturdays, I like to disappear. I fade from my weekly routine and travel vicariously to destinations that, at least for the moment, capture my culinary imagination: I head for the food markets.
I wear eye glasses and am accustomed to lenses. So, what I am about to tell you is of no inconvenience to me: on these excursions I tend to view the world through the lens of Italian wine.
There’s more to vision than meets eye.
French bread, an “epine” loaf, bought early that morning. And then, incredible red potatos. Of course, there was the bacon. And the small greens were too wonderful to pass by.
By 1pm, sunlight poured in through the big window and across the potted chickens & hens we bought on Martha’s Vineyard, warmed the terracotta container keeping Tuscan Blue Rosemary, and spilled onto the table where waited a simple lunch of red potato salad with crumbled bacon, crusty French bread, and small greens salad.
It was the Valdinera Favorita Bricco di Quaglia that transformed it all into something special.
So, we ate. Who was I in that moment, Where was I? Disappeared. Home. Italy. France. Everywhere. A nobleman, a peasant.
A typical Saturday.
The Valdinera estate is located in Italy’s Piedmont, at Corneliano d’Alba. The estate is owned by the Careglio family which notes four generations in the wine business. Approximately 11 hectares of the estate’s land property is under vine. The Careglio family, in addition to Favorita, also produces Barbera, Arneis, and Nebbiolo.
The literature ranges between telling us that Favorita is a synonym for Vermentino, is a bio-type of Vermentino, or actually is Vermentino, originated in Spain, and moved into Piedmont by way of Ligurian merchant traders who gave the vine as gifts to commercial associates.
Via the importer’s web site site (www.jgwines.com) the producer states that they “…do not use artificial fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides”.
Valdinera’s Favorita is made from 100% Favorita varietal sourced from the Bricco Quaglia vineyard. Soil composition is sandy; altitude of Valdinera’s south facing vineyards is 330m – 380m. The wine is vinified and matured in stainless steel.
Tasting Notes / Impressions:
A pale straw color, fragrant and elegant, with fruity notes of fresh peaches, floral tones, fresh cut grass, and zesty scents of grapefruit. The palate has a vitality (read: acidity) and fullness that I found refreshingly good. Dry, with delicate suggestions of almond and herb on the finish.
Food Pairing Suggestions:
ELEGANT APPETIZERS / SIDES: warm Frisee salad; stuffed zucchini blossoms; red potato salad with crumbled bacon; baked pepper stuffed with olives, tuna, herbs, oil / mayonnaise; roasted peppers with anchovy dressing; FISH / SEAFOOD: trout cooked in butter, sage, thyme or perhaps simmered with broth, onion, bay leaf; cold crabmeat, lox, or chicken salad with good mayonnaise and capers; PASTA: delicate angel hair pasta with lobster or crabmeat in a light cream sauce; RISOTTO: mildy flavored vegetable risotto; WHITE MEATS: mildly flavored white meat dishes
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