Snippets from the Italian Scene Vermentino: A White to Look Out
For
Winding down, a couple of years I wrote about
Vermentino, a white grape that appears to
have traveled from Spain to Sardegna and Corsica, from whence it reached the
French and Ligurian coasts via sailors who brought home cuttings to plant. It's
a fascinating varietal capable of producing wines of great finesse and
elegance, and though those from Sardegna are widely known. However, Vermentini
of Tuscany and Liguria were much more difficult to come by, to the point that
one almost had to visit the area to find them (a trip well worth making,
especially in the summer months; there are both the
Valle di Luni and the
Tuscan coast to enjoy.). This will likely
change, however, now that the Vermentino vineyards Antinori has planted in
Bolgheri are entering fully into production, and the company is exporting the
wine. You should be able to find the Antinori Vermentino DOC Bolgheri 2000 both
in Northern Europe and in the US (the 99 was released only in Italy), and if
the new wine captures the attention I hope it will, other importers should
begin importing other Vermentini as well. Sea breezes do marvelous things to
Vermentino grapes, and the wine works very well with fish, vegetable-based
pasta sauces and stuffed pastas, and white meats. If you like whites, seek out
a bottle and try it.
A presto, Kyle Phillips Webweaver, About Italian Cuisine
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