It Takes Two to Be Tangy

It’s Spring, and for me, that means it’s time to drink a ton of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, still among the two best wines in the world for salads and green vegetables like spring peas and asparagus. And there’s another reason I love Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé: goat cheese. The tangy/creamy/chalky/salty flavor of most goat cheeses can make red wine taste hollow. But Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé are perfect with goat cheeses in part because they are so tangy themselves. In particular, the combination of Sancerre and Crottin de Chavignol, a small disk of goat cheese from the village of Chavignol, is considered to be a classic French marriage. (Crottin, by the way, is French slang for goat turd).

The Piedmont region in Italy’s northwestern corner is renowned for Barolo and Barbaresco, two expensive reds. However, what grape variety is the most widely planted in this famous region?

A. nebbiolo

B. moscato

C. dolcetto

D. barbera

Barbera, an indigenous variety, accounts for a majority of all the vines planted in Piedmont, even though the region is best known as the home of nebbiolo, the grape that makes the famous wines Barolo and Barbaresco. (After barbera, the next most widely planted grape is moscato). Nebbiolo is high in tannin and therefore Barolo and Barbaresco are capable of being cellared for decades. By comparison, barbera is an everynight drinking wine. Because (like pinot noir) it’s relatively high in acidity and low in tannin, it is very food flexible. In northern Italy, barbera is considered perfect for braised meats, grilled sausages, and pasta with tomato sauce. In other words, it’s great right now in the fall.

“Wine for me had always been something larger. Wine to me is passion. It’s family and friends. It’s warmth of heart and generosity of spirit. Wine is art. It’s culture. It’s the essence of civilization and the Art of Living.”

–Robert Mondavi (1913 – 2008)
Harvests of Joy

It Takes Two to Be Tangy

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