VENETO

Last month I discovered, by accident and to my great surprise, that in seven years exploring the wine regions of Italy, this club has somehow never made it to Veneto. Which is weird; its capital, Venice, is after all one of the most famous places on the planet, endlessly mythologized, celebrated, depicted - via art, literature, photos, film - even simulated (the fake version in Vegas) and, above all, visited, by some twenty million tourists each year.

Hard to ignore on any grand tour, but there are good reasons to skip this stop, especially if you don’t like crowds. On the busiest of visiting days, 120,000 out-of-towners throng this city of just 55,000, most of them headed to the same handful of places, overwhelming the local infrastructure, occluding regular life, and making everyone irritable and eager to head elsewhere. Only half the annual influx even stays a night in the city - the rest are day-trippers and cruise-shippers - but that’s still enough to drive up the cost of living to the point where the gloomiest demographic forecasts envision no permanent residents by 2030. Meaning the actual city risks becoming the theme park to which its Nevada epigone aspires. (Welcome to the desert of the Rialto, amiright?) Seems like an outcome to avoid, even if it condemns you to seven years wandering Italy without encountering any gondoliers. 

Fortunately, there’s a lot more to Veneto than its capital. Verona, for instance, where Romeo met Juliet, the ancient city of Padua, where Giotti’s epochal frescoes canopy the Cappella degli Scrovegni, and Lake Garda and the Dolomites Alps, if its stunning natural beauty you’re after. There’s also the local wine situation, which suffers reputationally from a little bit of the Venice complaint. Though 4th largest in population, and only 8th by size, Veneto produces more vino by volume per annum than any other place in Italy - some 8.8 million hectolitres each year, good for 18% of Italy’s and 3% of the entire world’s annual total. White wine constitutes 80% of the output - sparkling Prosecco and still Soave (made from the Garganega grape) mostly, and most of it decent but not terribly memorable. 

One notable exception is the Fasoli Gino Pieve Vecchia IGT 2018, our white selection this month. Though 100% Gargenega, it is way too singular and complex a bottling to be subsumed by the Soave label. A combination of three different harvests, at three different stations in the life-cycle of the varietal, its specific labor intensive production process is a kind of white wine equivalent to that which produces Veneto’s famous red Valpolicella wines (see below for more details.) The first passage yields young grapes that provide freshness to the wine; the second takes place when the grapes are perfectly matured, and the third is left until the sugar and flavors are most concentrated in the grapes. The blend is then aged for 12-15 months in French oak, and another six months in the bottle before release, resulting in a full-bodied, rich (15.5% ABV!), aromatic and densely flavored wine that isn’t like much else I’ve ever had. This one benefits from decanting, and can age for 7-10 years as well.

The red comes from 240 square kilometers of indigenous grapes and bespoke production methods in the foothills of the Alps, that gather under the aforementioned letters ‘Valpolicella.’The word itself dates back to the 12th century, is thought to be a mix of ancient Latin and Greek and means “valley of many cellars,” which remains accurate given that the Valpolicella DOC ranks just behind Chianti in terms of red wine production in Italy. There are five different tiers/styles of Valpolicella: Classico, Classico Superiore, Ripasso, Amarone, and Recioto. All are blends of the same four local varietals - Corvina,  Rondinella, Corvinone, and Molinara - which are grown throughout the region (and almost nowhere else); collectively they cover every station of your traditional repast, from aperitivo (Classico) to dolce (Recioto). 

Amarone is the most famous and expensive of the tiers, and its production process is the starting point for every other level of Valpolicella juice. First, the grapes are selected cluster by cluster over a span of time. Multiple passes are made in the vineyard, during which substandard berries are plucked away one at a time. Healthy clusters are laid to rest on wicker shelves in special drying chambers for the next four or five months. During the drying time, or appassimento, each grape shrinks as its water mass evaporates, the sugars concentrate, and the ratio between skins, seed, and pulp is dramatically altered. Only after the drying process is completed are the grapes destemmed, pressed, and fermented into wine. The result is a full-bodied, bold, and age-worthy wine characterized by smoke and clove aromas, dried fruit notes, firm tannins and high alcohol (15-16%). The dried out grapes that don’t go into Amarone are used in the desert wine Recioto (where fermentation stops before all the sugars are converted into alcohol); the skins and seeds left over from Amarone and Recioto vinification is then added to regular Valpolicella Classico for an extended maceration that results in

Valpolicella Ripasso (“repassed” in Italian), which functions like a slightly softer Amarone. Classico Superiore, requires at least one year of aging, often in oak, and is fuller than regular Classico, sometimes with hints of the vanilla, smoke clove aromas of Amarone and Ripasso. Valpolicella Classico comes from the finest terroir in the DOC, just northwest of Verona, and consisting of three vertically-running valleys - Fumane, Marano and Negrar. It is light, fruit forward, and does well with a slight chill.

Our red this month is a Ripasso Classico Superiore from Thomas Bussola, whom the legendary Guiseppe Quintarelli (arguably the most iconic winemaker in the history of Veneto) once identified as the brightest young star in the region. It really over-delivers for the price point, with opulent fruit and spice, fine-grained tannins and a long finish. 

Salud,

Alan Hicks

Wine Buyer PlumpJack 

Wine & Spirits Noe Valley

Risotto with Asparagus and Peas

Risotto is a Northern Italian staple and Asparagus is notoriously tricky to pair with wine so when you have one that will work like the Fasoli Gino, its a great excuse to make a dish like this.

Ingredients

• 6 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 1 bunch asparagus, preferably thin, trimmed and cut into 1-in pieces
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1½ cups Arborio rice
• ½ cup dry white wine
• ½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
• Instructions 

• In a medium pot, bring the broth to a simmer. 
• Meanwhile, in a large pot or Dutch oven, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium-low heat. Add the asparagus, salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until the asparagus is tender-crisp, 2 to 4 minutes, depending on the thickness of the asparagus. Add the peas and continue cooking until the peas are defrosted, about 1 minute. Transfer the vegetables to a plate and set aside.
• In the same pot over medium-low heat, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Do not brown. Add the rice and cook, stirring constantly, until glossy and translucent around the edges, about 2 minutes. Add the wine and cook until completely absorbed, about 1 minute. Ladle about 1 cup of the simmering broth into the rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until absorbed. Continue adding the broth, 1 cup at a time and stirring frequently until it is absorbed, until the rice is al dente and creamy, about 25 minutes. 
• Stir in the reserved vegetables, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and remaining tablespoon of butter into the risotto. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, if necessary. If the risotto is too thick, thin it with a bit of milk. Spoon the risotto into bowls and serve. Pass the Parmigiano-Reggiano at the table.