| If you are looking for fine Italian wine and food, | | | | Before reviewing the Ligurian-style wine and Italian |
| consider the Liguria region of northern Italy. You may | | | | cheese that we were lucky enough to purchase at a |
| find a bargain, and I hope that you'll have fun on this | | | | local wine store and a local Italian food store, here are |
| fact-filled wine education tour. | | | | a few suggestions of what to eat with indigenous |
| Liguria, also known as the Italian Riviera, is located in | | | | wines when touring this beautiful region. |
| the northwest corner of Italy. It borders France, | | | | Start with Torta Pasqualina; Artichoke Savory Pie. |
| Monaco, and has a 350 kilometer (over 200 mile) | | | | For the second course try Cappon Magor; Ligurian |
| coastline on the Ligurian Sea. The region is hilly and | | | | Seafood Caponata (you may have to order this dish in |
| mountainous, but has been inhabited since prehistoric | | | | advance). |
| times. The Romans captured Liguria in the Second | | | | As dessert indulge yourself with Pandolce; Sweet |
| Century B. C. It was subsequently conquered by | | | | Bread From Genoa. |
| Barbarians, and by the Lombards. In area it is the third | | | | OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY While we have |
| smallest Italian region with a population of about 1.6 | | | | communicated with well over a thousand Italian wine |
| million. | | | | producers and merchants to help prepare these |
| The land in Liguria tends not to be particularly fertile. | | | | articles, our policy is clear. All wines that we taste and |
| Agricultural products include flowers, olive oil, fruits, and | | | | review are purchased at the full retail price. |
| vegetables. Some claim that Liguria introduced pasta | | | | Wine Reviewed |
| to Italy. Most of the pasta is wheat. Pesto is a regional | | | | Rocca di Montemassi Vermentino Maremma Toscana |
| specialty. A wide variety of seafood is available. | | | | IGT 12.5% alcohol about $12.50 |
| Heavy industry is on the decline. Tourism is so | | | | Let's start with the marketing materials. "Vermentino is |
| important that in some areas the July and August | | | | an attractive, aromatic grape variety that is widely |
| population is ten or fifteen times that of the slow | | | | grown in Sardinia and Liguria. Montemassi believed that |
| season. The area is particularly popular with retirees. | | | | the conditions along the coastal Maremma region of |
| Liguria's capital and largest city is Genoa, a city of six | | | | Tuscany would be ideal. Their instincts were correct |
| hundred thousand. Parts of the old city have been | | | | and the result is a pear/peach aroma wine that would |
| placed on the World Heritage list as of 2006. Among | | | | be ideal as a sipping wine or with mildly spiced |
| its many sights are the home in which Christopher | | | | Mediterranean cuisine." |
| Columbus was said to be born, and La Lanterna, the | | | | My first pairing was with chicken thighs slowed-cooked |
| oldest working lighthouse in the world. Another special | | | | in a sweet and sour sauce. The wine was floral, light |
| tourist destination is Cinque Terre, five tiny villages | | | | tasting and refreshingly acidic. It was an excellent |
| along the coast. They are a hiker's paradise, but make | | | | accompaniment to the dessert of thin, dry biscuits |
| sure that you are in good shape before attempting the | | | | containing pistachios and almonds, which brought out |
| complete route of about 13 kilometers (8 miles). This | | | | the wine's subtlety. |
| area is home to two DOC wines, Cinque Terre and | | | | I then tried this wine with poached Tilapia fillets in a red |
| Cinque Terre Sciacchetrà, neither of which is | | | | pepper, onion, and chicken broth sauce accompanied |
| often found in North America. | | | | by potato patties and green peppers in tomato sauce. |
| Liguria devotes slightly under twelve thousand acres to | | | | The fish was delicate and not overwhelmed by the |
| grapevines, it ranks 19th among the 20 Italian regions. | | | | wine, which presented fruit and a bit of pepper. But |
| Its total annual wine production is about 4.4 million | | | | frankly, the wine was too light and too short. |
| gallons, also giving it a 19th place. About 34% of the | | | | The next meal was kube, or kibbe, a Middle-Eastern |
| wine production is red or rosé, leaving 66% for | | | | specialty, balls of ground rice filled with ground meat. |
| white. The region produces 8 DOC wines. DOC | | | | They were cooked overnight with potatoes in a |
| stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata, which | | | | somewhat spicy sauce. The wine was fruity and floral, |
| may be translated as Denomination of Controlled | | | | with just enough acidity to counteract the meat's fat |
| Origin. Almost 14% of Ligurian wine carries the DOC. | | | | and soften the spices. It was a fine companion for a |
| Liguria is home to almost three dozen major and | | | | side of more powerfully spiced Moroccan carrots. Just |
| secondary grape varieties, somewhat more white than | | | | when I was thinking that the wine was a chameleon, |
| red varieties. | | | | changing itself to match the food, I tried it with fresh |
| No international white grape varieties are widely grown | | | | pineapple. The pineapple was excellent, its sweetness |
| in Liguria, whose most important white grapes are | | | | and acidity was a great way to end the meal. But in its |
| Bosco, Pigato, and Vermentino. Given its limited wine | | | | presence, this wine was flat. |
| production, little Ligurian wine is exported to North | | | | The cheese pairings had mixed results. Asiago is a |
| America. In the unfortunate absence of any Ligurian | | | | nutty-flavored cheese from northeastern Italy. The |
| wines, we are reviewing a Vermentino-based wine | | | | wine went well with this cheese and seemed to pick |
| from Tuscany. If I am ever in Liguria, I promise to drink | | | | up fruitiness. On the other hand in the presence of a |
| and review a few local wines. | | | | strong, actually overripe, Pecorino cheese from nearby |
| No international red grape varieties are widely grown in | | | | Tuscany it seemed to lose its flavor. |
| Liguria. The best-known Italian red variety is | | | | Final verdict. I don't plan to buy this wine again. As a |
| Sangiovese, which is grown elsewhere including | | | | Tuscan wine it can't meet the stiff local competition. I |
| California. Other Ligurian red varieties include Rossese, | | | | think I'll wait for a true Ligurian wine. It may be a long |
| Ciliegiolo, and Ormeasco, also known as Dolcetto. | | | | wait. |