This month, we return to northern Italy, with a red from the Alto Adige/Sudtirol, and a white from Piemonte.  Vietti Arneis and Lechtaler Teroldego

Vietti Arneis I love Vietti's wines, we carry a lot of them here at Farmstead, and their Arneis is the Platonic ideal of the grape.  This is natural because it was current owner Luca Currado's father** who single-handedly rescued the grape from extinction.

My first formal introduction to Roero Arneis was at Cantina Vietti in the September 2010, when I torued the winery with Currado and some colleagues.  We toured the winery, and tasted through all of the wines, in bottle, barrel and large cask. 

We started with the Arneis and I was struck by its crisp acidity and rich bouquet of grapefruit, melon, exotic fruit and floral notes. All the wines we tried that day were beyond amazing, but it was Vietti’s Roero Arneis really stayed with me.

Roero Arneis is a white wine from Piedmont made from 100% Arneis grapes. Cultivated since the 15th century, this native fruit had nearly disappeared from the region until Cantina Vietti began experimenting with it in the late 1960s, leading to a revival that culminated a few years back when Roero Arneis was given a DOCG appellation.

Due to its relative novelty and the sheer quantity of great wines that come from its corner of Piedmonte—Barolo, Barbaresco, 3 Barberas, 7 Dolcettos, Gavi, Asti Spumante, Moscato d’Asti, the list goes on and on—this stellar white seems to get lost in the shuffle and is not as widely known as it should be considering its quality, versatility, and complexity.

Its medium body, balance and acidity makes it rather versatile for pairings. Pair Arneis with vitello tonnato (chilled veal in tuna sauce), salumi, steak tartar, tajarin al burro e salvia (homemade pasta in butter and sage sauce), and soft cheeses.  Arneis would also complement fish or poultry and pastas with a butter or oil condiment.

The grapes are selected from vineyards located in the middle of the Roero area, in Santo Stefano Roero. The vineyards are planted with 4.500-5.000 plants per hectare. Beginning in mid-September, grapes from 25-year-old vines in Santo Stefano Roero are harvested, pressed and clarified. The grapes are crushed, pressed and clarified. Alcoholic fermentation occurs in stainless steel autoclave at lower temperature (10-12°C) to preserve some natural CO2 from the fermentation..

Aging: There is no malolactic fermentation which preserves acidity and freshness. The wine is held in stainless steel tanks until bottling.

Description: Pale sunshine yellow color with fresh floral, citrus and melon aromas with hints of almonds. An unoaked, dry, medium bodied white wine with crisp acidity, the Arneis is well-balanced, elegant wine with good complexity and a lingering finish.

**Luca's father, Alfredo was called the “father of Arneis” as in 1967 he invested a lot of time to rediscover and understand this nearly-lost variety. Today Arneis is the most famous white wine from Roero area, north of Barolo. Setting such a fine example with Arneis, even fellow vintners as far away those on the west coast of the United States now are cultivating and producing Arneis!

Lechtaler Teroldego Rotaliano. A few months ago, the New York Times ran an article about Teroldego, a varietal grown in NE Italy.  I read the article with fascination. I've tasted well over 200 different cultivars, but here was one I'd never heard of! 

The article described wines that were "dark garnet, almost purple but not inky, with the aroma of dark fruit layered with smoke and earth. On the palate, fresh and lively, with just the right amount of cleansing bitterness to leave the mouth refreshed." 

I was intrigued.   I ordered up as many samples as I could, and decided that Lechtaler's offering offered up the right combination of fruit, balance and price. 

Lechtaler Teroldego Rotaliano shows, ripe black cherry, distinct sweet earth and tobacco on the nose. In the mouth, you get more cherries — black and red — as well as black raspberry, earth, and a touch of spice, all  wrapped with ample acidity and medium tannins. A smooth texture carries the wine with polish. The finish leans
toward the acidity and tannins, and the fruit mellows to a pleasantly bitter flavor mixed with black fruit. Pairs ideally with  beef, fish, vegetarian dishes, poultry and pork.

The origin of the Lechthaler family traces to Lechtal in Austria (Lech Valley). From Austria, the first generation of the Lechthaler family arrived in Piana Rotaliana (then Austria, the Trentino region is now Italy) toward the end of the 1800’s. With confidence in the quality of the South Tirolo Wines, the family immediately began producing and selling their traditional practices to the Rotaliana region. The wines popularity quickly spread throughout the region and Austria. At the beginning of the past century, in 1905, Roman Lechthaler, a true entrepreneur was equipped with a strong business sense, leading to the establishment of the Lechthaler wine cellar. With Roman’s vision and the family’s hard work, their products soon became familiar to the entire hospitality industry in the region, including the best restaurants and hotels. The most famous of wines was the Sudtirolo (South Tirolo) which was available in 750 liter bottles. In this period, wines were typically transferred to restaurant owners and inn-keepers in large barrels and then sold to the public in smaller barrels of wood ranging in sizes from 20-30 liters, much different than today’s manufacturing standards. Instead, the Lechthaler cellar uniquely followed the practice of bottling and corking the wine, which was considered an innovative step of this era.

After almost 70 years of production the Togn Family joined the Lechthaler Family and over time the Togn Family assumed complete ownership of the estate. The current Lechthaler production is approximately 400,000 bottles, sold throughout the world, including the United States and Germany. In Italy the Lechthaler wine production is facilitated by Gaierhof, a main line of wine production continued in the name of the Togn Family.

RECIPES

For the Arneis:   Tagliatelle with Baby Artichokes and Braised Chicken Legs Serves 4

This dish takes on a wonderful woodsy flavor from the dried porcini mushrooms.

• Juice of 1 lemon
• 15 baby artichokes (about 2 lbs.)
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 2 dried mushrooms, such as porcini, chopped 1 small carrot, finely chopped
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 3 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1" chunks
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1⁄4 cup white wine vinegar
• 4 tablespoons chopped tarragon leaves
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1 pound dried fettuccine
• 3⁄4 cup grated parmesan

Stir lemon juice into a medium bowl filled with water. Trim away tough outer leaves of the artichokes to expose their tender, pale green interior.Heat the oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, mushrooms, and carrots and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 8 minutes. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Increase heat to high and add the chicken and tomato paste; cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Add the vinegar and cook, stirring constantly, until liquid has evaporated, about 1 minute. Drain the artichokes and add them, along with 2 tbsp. tarragon and the chicken broth, to the pot. Bring broth to a boil and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until chicken and artichokes are very tender and the broth has reduced by half, about 40 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and set sauce aside.

3. Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add pasta and cook until al dente, about 7 minutes. Reserve 1 cup pasta water. Drain pasta and transfer to pot with artichoke and chicken sauce; set over high heat. Bring sauce to a boil, stir in 1⁄2 cup parmesan and cook, tossing occasionally with tongs, until sauce thickens and clings to pasta, about 2 minutes. (If sauce is too dry, pour in a little pasta water.) Add remaining tarragon and season with salt and pepper. Transfer pasta to 4 bowls and sprinkle with remaining parmesan.

For the Teroldego:  Sausage and Broccoli Rabe Burgers Serves 6

Marc Vetri, the chef and owner of Vetri in Philadelphia, created these fun burgers from some of his favorite Italian ingredients.

• 1/2 pound thinly sliced pancetta
• 1 pound ground pork
• 1/2 pound ground veal
• 1/2 pound ground beef chuck
• Kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• Two large bunches of broccoli rabe (about 2 1/2-pounds), large stems trimmed
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 teaspoon crushed red peppe
• Freshly ground pepper
• 6 ounces Italian Fontina cheese, cut into 6 slices
• 6 kaiser rolls, split and lightly toasted

Lay the pancetta on a baking sheet lined with plastic wrap and freeze until firm. Finely chop the pancetta, then transfer it to a food processor and pulse until minced.

In a large bowl, combine the ground pork, veal and beef with the minced pancetta. In a small bowl, combine 1 teaspoon of salt with the cinnamon, allspice, cloves and nutmeg. Sprinkle the spices over the meat and mix thoroughly but gently with your hands. Pat the meat into 6 burgers and refrigerate.

Light a grill. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the broccoli rabe until just tender, about 2 minutes. Drain, lightly squeeze out any excess water and coarsely chop.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper and cook over moderate heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the broccoli rabe and cook, stirring, until heated through. Season with salt and pepper.

Season the burgers with pepper and grill over a hot fire until just cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. Melt the Fontina on the burgers about 1 minute before they are done. Spoon the broccoli rabe onto the bottom buns, then set the burgers on top. Close the sandwiches and serve at once.

• < Prev
• Next >