O hushed October morning mild,
Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;
Tomorrow’s wind, if it be wild,
Should waste them all.
The crows above the forest call;
Tomorrow they may form and go.— Robert Frost, October
Our autumn journey with nebbiolo continues, and a couple weekends ago we had a Piedmont-themed party to help Alexandra and me make our way through several tasting bottles. In the spirit of the occasion, we hosted the dinner in upstate New York, where the autumn foliage was electric and the weekend rain contributed an atmospheric fog.
Although the wine tasting was at the center of the evening, food was critical to keep everyone from tipping over into the shrubbery. We came up with a meal inspired by this time of the year in Piedmont, with mushroom toasts, meat agnolotti in an herby sauce, Maison della Nocciola hazelnuts with a mix of Piedmont cheese, and finally a chocolate-hazelnut-pear cake. The menu combined with the rainy mist and our jaunty country outfits set the tone for a fabulous night.
The great thing about this menu is that it’s low-lift for the hosts. Originally I had wanted to make the agnolotti from scratch but a chaotic work-week meant that Eataly made the pasta instead. With the agnolotti and veal jus outsourced to professionals, all we had to do was sauté a mix of mushrooms and herbs for the toasts, set out cheese and hazelnuts after the pasta, and then make dessert.
If you do want to make your agnolotti, here are two recipes to get you started:
Mimi Thorisson has a recipe for Anolini with Ricotta and Hazelnuts which also looks great, especially if you’d like a vegetarian option
In terms of the sauce, you could throw together a simple beef or veal jus OR give Meredith Erickson's venison version a try. With venison bones, bunches of herbs, and cranberries I’m dying to make it! But of course, if the sauce is too much to do at home, your local butcher should be able to make it for you.
For dessert, I winged a chocolate, hazelnut, and pear cake recipe. It was fine but not memorable. Next time, I’ll make Cuisine Helvetica’s chestnut chocolate brownies with ice cream on the side.
And now for Alexandra’s Nebbiolo tasting notes!
2020 Ar Pe Pe Rosso di Valtellina
As the lightest expression of nebbiolo we’ve encountered thus far, the Rosso di Valtellina from nearby Lombardy was reminiscent of our Alpine standby, schiava / trollinger, although not as savory. For this isn’t a wine to be savored, and instead its appeal lies in the immediacy of sensation: a bite of red cherry, a jolt of acidity followed by a rush of alcohol, all unimpeded by some unusually deferential nebbiolo tannins. What you get is a little firecracker of a wine, with a short finish to boot. This might be our new favorite pizza pairing - if there’s one red that can cut through molten cheese, it’s this one.
Mountain wines can be bracing and wild, or sturdy and timeless - the Chiussuma Carema is the latter. It’s wonderful to find such an elegant nebbiolo that still seems rooted in its own sense of place, in this case the southern end of the Valle d’Aosta. Deeper in color and more aromatic than the Valtellina, the Carema touches upon licorice, a signature nebbiolo flavor, but combines it with a mineral core that’s both energetic and refined. The alcohol is there to provide body but blends quietly into the wine; the tannins are just grippy enough to wrap it in a bow.
Gattinara may be Alto Piemonte, but for me this wine gets into what I’ve come to expect from Piedmont proper. The cranberry and cherry flavors are deeply embedded in the wine, and at 14% ABV, the alcohol becomes quite discernble. On the mouth, the wine seems broken down into pieces, with the tannins and alcohol emerging at separate points, an active process I wouldn’t confuse with a long finish. But I liked this wine quite a bit, and understood it as a serious contender to the Langhe nebbiolos and Nebbiolo d’Alba found further south. And in true Piedmont fashion, the wine is built to go the distance, as I enjoyed it even more the second day.
2012 Cantina del Glicine Barbaresco Marcorino
Julia brought this one back from Italy, and let’s give credit where credit’s due - this wine was a scene stealer. It was everything you want Barberesco to be: rich, aromatic and lively, the kind of wine that makes novice drinkers stop and realize they’re sipping something that they don’t get every day. I will say, when Barbaresco starts to get into aged territory it often gains a chemical flavor that doesn’t really sit well with me. It’s by no means a flaw - it’s just a matter of taste, as many things with wine are.
ALPINE INTERLUDES
💸 “Climate change in Italy has come for one of the world’s most sought-after delicacies. Foodies will probably see the impact when the check comes.” — The NYTimes
🧳 “A perfect wine road trip in Italy’s Piedmont region during harvest season” — The Independent
🍾 “A growing number of producers are fermenting grapes, apples and other fruits together, or blending wine and ciders, to make fascinating beverages.” — The NYTimes
🎿 The Best Ski Resorts for Every Type of Skier: 2023 WSJ Ski Awards — The WSJ
As a long time Piedmont resident and Nebbiolo lover, these are stellar bottles! Wish I could have joined in!