TOM BLACK Italian Wine WINE It’s hard to historically suggest when wine and food were actually linked together as a pairing. Different types of wine were served at meals 300 years ago (I recently saw the original table settings and glassware in St. Petersburg, Russia in several re-created dining rooms). However, a planned pairing to enhance both food and wine has gained full steam in the 20th century. Brillat Savarin, a philosopher, connoisseur, and contemporary of Napoleon, never mentions wine and food pairing in all of his writ- ings. It would have made no sense before the 19th century because before that food wasn’t served in sequence as “courses”. So, a great wine and a great dish were often served before the 1800’s, but they just weren’t paired. So what are we doing trying to match this with that and that with this? Well, there’s a little bit of Jack Sprat and his wife in all of us and we want to have it all. We want to make both the wine and the food better for having been joined in matrimony. A marriage made in Heaven (sorry folks, only in the wine world). Last month, Billy Ray Hearn, Doug Gallagher, Jim Clendenen and I went to Italy. We tasted 355 different wines in 10 days. That’s a lot of juice. I thought we could talk about Italian marriages this month. Mama Mia! (Yes, they actually say this). Italian whites are very popular these days. The most famous white is Pinot Grigio (also known as Pinot Gris) is a light to medium bodied white wine. The flavors are crisp citrus and honey. You won’t notice any oak flavors and the acidity will be very high. Most have some sweetness and the best would be described as “fat”. So what do you serve with your new favorite summer wine? Did I mention this is a great summer wine, especially good cold? Well, cold dishes go great with this wine - vegetables, seafood, anything with good acidity. Don Napier and I had it recently with some tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella basil and olive oil. Wow! What a pairing (if you could just find ripe tomatoes in Nashville). This wine is also good with spicy dishes (not tacos). It’s a starter wine and designed to go with first course appetizers or maybe a citrus salad. If your dish has juniper in it, serve Pinot Grigio. As a main wine, it goes great with cream and pasta (surprise). Try mushroom ravioli, linguine with cream and parme- san or shrimp and angel hair pasta. Splash some of the wine in the pasta (it’s cheap) and you improve your match. Italian reds are all the rage. We focused on two regions. First, Piedmont. The North has the richest dishes - meat and dairy based. Because of the robust weather, the foods have developed to match and so have the wines. By the way, the order of the Italian meal is antipasto, minestra pasta; main course of meat, poultry, fish or game; cheese; fresh fruit; and dessert (pudding, cake, etc.). By the time you’re done, you’re full, but “Cést La Vie”. Back to the pairings (do you notice I interrupt myself?). With Piedmont comes Barbera, Barbasesco, and Barolo. All are rich, red wines. Here are some pairings I’d recommend. Barbera is medium bodied and firm. It’s both the name of the grape and the wine and most have a mineral finish with sour cherries and smoke. It stands up best to parma ham, tomatoes, spaghetti Bolognese, and it is the only red that can stand up to smoked salmon. Barolos are muscular, tannic, reds. They take a minimum of five years in the bottle for the marvelous flavors of tar, violets, prunes, bitter chocolate, and roses to emerge. Eventually, this wine becomes velvety. This wine cries out for rich game, game stews or rich beef. Don’t waste your time with anything else. Finally, Barbaresco (Barolo’s neighbor) made with the same grape, nebiolo (named for the fog that covers the Pied- mont Hills). This wine is a slightly lighter wine than Barolo, more perfumed, and more floral. It’s excellent with rare roast beef, steak, liver and kidneys, and lighter game. All three are great Italians reds. Finally, we went to Tuscany. The food was fantastic. Lighter, more delicate, more creative. This was the home of sangiovese. It is unmistakable with its tobaccoey and cherry skins on the attack and its tealeaf finish. It makes up Chianti, Chianti Reservas and Bunello di Montalcino. In addition, it is blended in every super-Tuscan wine made. The Chianti’s go well with spinach and ricotta cannelloni, cold meats, simple light cheese dishes, pizza and barbeques (minus the K.C. sauce). They are known for never giving a hangover (I wouldn’t know). The Bunello di Montalcino’s are richer. Try them with oxtail, game casseroles, and pies (not Swanson’s), mushroom stews and hard cheeses. Well, “that’s a spicy meatball” and more than you need to know. As usual, figure out what you like and serve that. Liver and kidneys were never my favorite, but the Italians seemed to love it. Sir Alexander Fleming in about 1940 said, “If Penicillin can cure those who are ill, Italian wine can bring the dead back to life.” .