One evening in New York, some years ago, I asked for a wine recommendation at La Locanda a great Italian restaurant on 9th Avenue. Vincenzo, the Sommelier, asked “do you trust me?” Yes, of course I said.
It was then that my love of Aglianico began. One of the three “Noble Grapes” of Italy along with Nebbiolo and Sangiovese, called the wine of Poets and Kings, it is grown in the wild terrain and climate around the volcano Monte Vulture in the Basilicata region of Italy. La Loconda is gone, but my love of Aglianico remains.
It was a perfect accompaniment to a hardy Italian soup.
The Wine: Serra del Prete Aglianico del Vulture Azienda Agricola Musto Carmelitano $$
The Food: Mushroom Barley Soup, Gray and Rogers Italian Two Easy
The Place: Happy Monday Night at Home
This soup had hale country flavors and so I thought an Aglianico would be perfect. The wine emanates in its deep garnet color a rustic richness with concentrated elegant flavors of dark fruit, plum, chocolate and wood. The tannins are pronounced. It is a beautiful wine that makes a simple one dish meal like this very complete.
I’d also pair this wine with grilled steaks, stews and hearty pasta dishes. It’s a winner.
“Musto Carmelitano is a family winery run by Miss Elisabetta Musto Carmelitano, a passionate and reliable entrepreneur. With the help of all her family she has been able to invest in the quality of their wine.”
“In 2007 thanks to Mister Fortunato Sebastiano, her qualified oenologist and organic viticulture expert, it has been possible to obtain high-class wines, mixing tradition and a more distinctive, terroir based, wine conception.” Winery
Manually harvested from 45 year old vines.
www.mustocarmelitano.it
Azienda Agricola Musto Carmelitano
Via Pietro Nenni, 23 - 85020 Maschito (PZ) - Italy
More on Aglianico
A Wine of Kings and Poets – Aglianico
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