Lazio, our destination this month, is located in west-central Italy, home to Rome, and so-named for the original inhabitants of the area, the “Latini.” The Latini language served as the basis for Latin, from which English derives so many words and concepts. One word I want to emphasize right now is palimpsest, which is defined as a document whose original text has been effaced, written over, or otherwise bullied by other text, but remains partially visible. Italy, as you might imagine, possesses a bunch of literal such records. (The Institutes of Gaius, the first textbook on Roman law, discovered in 1816 hiding underneath letters by St. Jerome and Gennadius in the Library of Verona Cathedral, for instance.) Apply the term’s broader, more metaphorical reverb to the country as a whole though, and you arrive at something that feels fundamental to the place, its history and, of course, the wine. Italy-as-palimpsest begins to make legible the Babel of furiously gesticulating narratives - recent, living memory, modern, old, ancient, mythic - jostling for your present attention across the breadth of the Boot. Our two wines this month, like everything else we sample in this club, are both products and participants in this argument, excavations of primeval tipples with multiple names, guises and fantastical origins to explore. Or ignore, as they both translate just fine without all the lore as well. 

Legend has it that after Aeneas escaped the fall of Troy, he sailed around the Apennine Peninsula and landed in modern-day Lazio. Here, he bore a line of descendents that would eventually lead to Romulus and Remus. These two brothers, the story goes, decided to found the allegedly Eternal City on April 23, 753 BC. The more likely and prosaic version is that the city grew from settlements on the Palatine Hill that had sprung up because the area at the base of the hill was ideal for pasture. Either way, Rome has dominated the area and much of the popular imagination; re: Italy ever since, but winemaking in the area actually predates its establishment. The Etruscans introduced the culture of the vines to the Romans, who were largely shepherds and warriors up to this point and more used to labor and conflict than convivial pleasures. Eventually the Romans assimilated not only the Etruscan’s land but also some of their customs and traditions, wine cultivation and appreciation very much among them.

Roman viticulture wasn't built in a day, in other words, but developed over the millenia, primarily in the volcanic hills surrounding the city, an area known as Castelli Romani. Lazio’s overall geography is quite varied, with a wide coastline and sandy beaches extending from Tuscany in the north to Campania in the south, the Apennine mountain range providing protection from cold winds from the north, and several large lakes that constitute their own microclimates. Among Italy’s 20 wine-producing regions, Lazio ranks 8th for output, with 80% of total wine production being white. Two grapes, Malvasia di Candia and Trebbiano, account for 58% of the plantings for white wines; the most famous wine to come from Lazio is Frascati, made primarily from the former. 

Of course our white this month comes from none of these aforementioned varietals. Nor is it grown on continental Lazio. Instead, in what I think is a first for the club, this wine, which is 100% Biancolello (a white grape originating in Campania, just south of Lazio), comes from the island of Ponza, the largest member of the Pontine archipelago, a string of 6 islands in Tyrrean Sea, a little over 110 kms south of Rome. Ponza on its own boasts fascinating and eventful history, starting with its name, which was thought to be derived from Pontius Pilate (his family owned a grotto there), but the actual origins of which are now a matter of dispute.

In any event, Ponza was first colonized by the Estrucian and is reputed to be the inspiration of the island of Aeaea, home of the sorceress Circe in The Odyssey. In most of the years since, it has functioned as a penal colony and exile destination for enemies of everyone from Caligula to Mussolini. (The latter was briefly a prisoner there himself after being overthrown and arrested in 1943.) Today it exists mostly as a tourist destination and picturesque backdrop for films (Fellini’s Satyricon, The Life Aquatic.) There are also 5 hectares of vines currently under cultivation, of which Casale del Gigio, our producer this month, farms 2. Named for the majestic lighthouse that towers over the vineyards, the Faro della Gaurdia bottling is a singular white wine that faithfully reflects its coastal volcanic terroir and can age beautifully. 

The red comes from Casale del Giglio’s mainland vineyards, about 50 km south of Rome and is composed of Syrah and Petit Verdot. It is the estate’s flagship bottling, full-bodied, intense and layered - especially with a few years of age on it, as presented here. 

Salut! 

Alan Hicks - Wine Buyer, Noe Valley 

Bucatini all’Amatriciana

This is a classic Lazio recipe that originated in Amatrice, a town in the northeastern part of the region.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 400g bucatini pasta

• 250g guanciale

• 500g whole peeled tomatoes

• 150g pecorino cheese grated

• 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

• 1 crushed chili pepper

• 2 tbsp. rock salt

Instructions

1. Crush the tomatoes either with your hands or using a knife

2. Slice the guanciale (pork jowl) in long thin slices

3. Heat the oil in a saucepan

4. Add the guanciale and let cook until golden (make sure it doesn’t burn!)

5. Add the chili pepper

6. Lower the flame and add the tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes or until the sauce gets a nice orange/red color

7. Put a pot of cold water on the burner and bring it to boil, add the salt, then the bucatini

8. When the pasta is done, drain, and pour into the saucepan and sauté for a couple of minutes until the sauce has coated all the bucatini

9. Sprinkle the pecorino cheese on top and serve.