Velenosi Roggio del Filare Rosso Piceno Superiore is hit of spring wine dinner

As the wine teacher for the South Orange-Maplewood Adult School, it's been my pleasure to host a number of local wine pairing dinners in northern New Jersey. The spring 2017 dinner took place at Millburn's elegant La Pergola. The theme was Northern Italian, and there was clear winner of the night when it came to the wines:

Velenosi Roggio del Filare Rosso Piceno Superiore .

As the evening began, the attendees were welcomed with a fresh sparkling wine from Franciacorta in northern Italy. It was a Saten - in other words, made from all white grapes and created in the traditional Champagne method. 

We moved on to white wine, and here attendees had the chance to try something new to all of them - Cesare Cento Filari 2015 Lugana.  It comes from Italy's northern region near Verona from a little known grape called Turbiana.  With notes of white stone fruit countered by a touch of bitter almond - it's a unique and delicious medium-bodied white.  This was enjoyed with fried calamari and zucchini. 

Moving on to the main course, the class was wowed by the Velenosi Roggio del Filare Rosso Piceno Superiore 2010.  Hailing from Italy's Marche region, which lies in the east bordered by the Adriatic Sea, this wine had already developed nicely but could age further.  A blend of Sangiovese and Montepulciano grapes, the wine was intensely colored, concentrated with red and black fruits.  The lush fruit was balanced by good acidity and refined tannins. I discussed the idea of a wine's length with the class, in other words how long the flavor persisted after swallowing, and this was a good example of a wine with great length.  Served with La Pergola's succulent short ribs, the wine was a stunning match which impressed everyone at the table.  It's available in New Jersey at Laurenti Wines. 

We ended the lovely evening with something special - the Velenosi Querciantica Visciole.  It has juice of the anicient Marche Visciole cherry; therefore, it is not called wine but an aromatized drink. The cherry and cinammon notes made it an absolutely perfect match to the cinammon-dusted Tiramisu that was served for dessert. The Velenosi Querciantica Visciol is available in New Jersey at Jerry's Gourmet in Englewood. 

For news on future wine dinners, contact the South Orange-Maplewood Adult School. 

Crunch & fizz - fried chicken and Cava

 

Recently I received inspiration - not quite divine, but close - to cook homemade fried chicken in my very own West Orange kitchen.  Now, this lady has barely deep fried in her life, so it was all or nothing tonight at home on my range.

I got ready for a messy (five prep bowls and lots of scattered flour) night of cooking, and I carefully followed the recipe for buttermilk-brined fried chicken.  A dozen organic chicken legs were battered and coated in seasoned flour.   A couple inches of oil was heating up in my dutch oven.  And a just-bought bottle of Cava was cooling down in my freezer.

It occurred to me recently that Cava, with its delicious fizz and lovely acidity, was a great beverage to wash down the crunchy goodness of fried chicken. I was drinking solo tonight, so frugality pressed me to discover the best, least expensive Cava I could find.  I'm fortunate to have a well-stocked wine shop right down the road, and I found the inexpensive yet quite satisfying Conde de Caralt, a traditional method bubbly for under $10 - now there's a feat that's hard to match, as most cheap bubbles have CO2 added to the tank.  Fried chicken is one of the least pretentious foods, and this good quality Cava is a great match, both on the palate and in the pocketbook.  

As it turns out, frying is messy but it's not that hard.  Bake a pan of cornbread, steam some asparagus, and you've got a dinner to look forward to.  My dining companion declared it "marvelous."  At 14, she was a bit young for the Cava, so she would have to wait to learn how delicious it all was washed down with some of Catalonia's magic bubbles.