SPQR: Modern Italian Food and Wine by Lindgren Shelley & Accarrino Matthew & Leahy Kate

Author:Lindgren, Shelley & Accarrino, Matthew & Leahy, Kate [Lindgren, Shelley]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9781607743842
Publisher: Random House, Inc.
Published: 2012-10-16T07:00:00+00:00

White Grapes

ALBANA

The grape of Albana di Romagna, the first white Italian wine to attain DOCG status, Albana is also Romagna’s most historic white grape. One legend attributes Albana’s popularity to the daughter of Roman Emperor Theodosius II, who declared that it was so good it should only be consumed from gold goblets. For this reason, the story goes, the hills surrounding Albana’s premier growing area are called Bertinoro, which roughly translates to “drunk in gold.”

Here, between the coastal city of Rimini and Bologna, the hills and maritime climate from the Adriatic provide a perfect microclimate for the grape. Classic Albana di Romagna exhibits notes of raw honey, apricot, white flowers, and, on occasion, a hint of evergreen. Some styles are reminiscent of wines made with Veneto’s Garganega grape, to which it might be related. As a dry wine, it is aged in stainless steel tanks for a clean, bright wine or barrique for a rounder, richer style. As a passito wine, Albana di Romagna is a concentrated version of its dry style, making it one of Italy’s most-prized vini dolce.

In addition to straight passito, there are also hybrid styles of Albana. Fattoria Monticino Rosso, a producer in Imola, makes a dry wine with a glycerine richness, as if some of the grapes caught a bit of botrytis before they were harvested. I pair Albana with everything from winter squash and mushrooms to squid ink pasta.

RECOMMENDED PRODUCERS: Baciami, Fattoria Monticino Rosso, Leone Conti, Tre Monti, Umberto Cesari, Zerbina

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