Bascilicata is the instep of the Italian boot. This hilly and mountainous region is located in the southwest corner of Italy on the Ionian Sea. Parts of Bascilicata have been settled since the Stone Age. It was conquered by the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, and Normans. When the pirates came, the local inhabitants were forced to flee into the interior. Historically the region is quite poor. Its population is slightly more than 600 thousand.
Agriculture products include barley, citrus fruit, corn, potatoes, oats, olives, and tomatoes. While meat is relatively scarce, more and more sheep, pigs, goats, and cattle are raised. There is some industry including a major FIAT (automobile) factory. Tourism is becoming more popular, in spite of, and perhaps in part because of a lack of infrastructure.
Bascilicata's administrative center is Potenza, a city of about 70 thousand. It is known as the coldest city in Italy and sometimes has snow. The city of Matera has at least two reasons to be proud. In September, 1943 it was the first Italian city to rise up against the German occupation. And Matera contains a prehistoric settlement, caves that have been occupied by people for at least 9 thousand years. In some places, the streets are actually rooftops. Parts of this area are now classified as a World Heritage Site.
Bascilicata devotes about 60 thousand acres to grapevines, it ranks 17th among the 20 Italian regions. Its total annual wine production is less than 13 million gallons, also giving it a 17th place. About 73% of the wine production is red, leaving 27% for white. The region produces two DOC wines, Aglianico del Vulture, reviewed below, and Terre dell Alta Val d'Agri. DOC stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata, which may be translated as Denomination of Controlled Origin, presumably a high-quality wine. Only 2.4% of Bascilicata wine carries the DOC designation. Bascilicata is home to about two dozen major and secondary grape varieties, half red and half white.
Widely grown international white grape varieties include Malvasia and Muscato. The best-known strictly Italian white variety is Malvasia Bianca di Basilicato. Virtually no Bascilicata white wine is exported to North America.
Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are international red grape varieties that compose the Terre dell Alta Val d'Agri DOC wine. The best-known Italian red variety is Aglianico, which may have actually originated in Greece.
Before we reviewing the Bascilicata wine and Italian cheese that we were lucky enough to purchase at a local wine store and a local Italian food store, here are a few suggestions of what to eat with indigenous wines when touring this beautiful region. Start with Acgua e Sale, Soaked Bread with Sweet Onion, Tomato, and Basil. Then try Grano con Rag? de Maiale, Savory Pork Ragout. For dessert indulge yourself with Grano Dolce, Plump Wheat with Pomegranate, Chocolate, and Nuts.
OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY While we have communicated with well over a thousand Italian wine producers and merchants to help prepare these articles, our policy is clear. All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.
Wine Reviewed Cantine di Palma DOC ?Il Nibbio Grigio? Aglianico Vulture 2000 13% alcohol about $14
Let's start with the marketing materials. ?Medium ruby in color with aromas of dried berries, leather, figs, dried flowers and spice. This medium-bodied wine has a rustic style, it's quite assertive on the palate with some dusty tannins. It would be great with lamb chops or braised pork ribs and could reward 2-3 years further cellaring. (August 2005).?
This was a wine that I was rooting for, prior to opening the bottle. It is a hard life for many people in Bascilicata; perhaps that's why the residents live longer than in most other Italian regions. But I didn't have to cheat to like this wine. Interestingly enough, my supplier has dropped the price by $2 a bottle, which may be a first for the wines in this series. I might buy a half case and taste it over the years. And now to my review.
The first pairing was with meat balls and potatoes. The wine had a fine nose. It was quite full-bodied, and tasted of tobacco (I'm not a smoker) and cherries. While the wine was very pleasant it was shorter than I had hoped. It was quite enjoyable on its own.
My reactions were basically the same when tasting this wine with beef ribs, except that the wine was moderately long. It was easy to drink but not light.
Then I drank this wine with a grilled rib steak in my spicy, homemade barbeque sauce that included ketchup, Dijon-style mustard, horseradish, fresh garlic, and black pepper. The accompaniments included potatoes cooked in chicken fat (a specialty of a local supermarket) and a tomato and red pepper salsa. The wine was really excellent. It held up well and tasted of dark fruit and tobacco.
I didn't have any Bascilicata cheese so I had to settle for two other Italian cheeses. Isola is a Sicilian fresh cheese made from sheep's milk. The Isola cheese was powerful, strong smelling and strong tasting, especially when you crunched into a peppercorn. Even though it was getting a bit long in the tooth, the cheese intensified the Aglicano's fruitiness. Montasio is a cooked, full-fat, semi-hard cheese made from cow's milk and aged for several months. It has a pungent smell and a strong, pasty taste. It comes from the Friuli-Venezia Giuli of northeastern Italy. This time the wine and cheese pairing was not as successful, but the combination was still satisfying.
Before giving my verdict, which I believe you can guess, I do have one final comment. In spite of what I have read, this wine is not very tannic. I would not recommend keeping it until 2020, or even 2015, as some others suggest. But I do recommend buying it now, and even storing it for a few years.
Calabria is the toe of the Italian boot. It is located in the southwest corner of Italy, with 500 miles of coastline on the Ionian, Mediterranean, and Tyrrhenian Seas. Its total population is about 2 million. The countryside is mountainous, and prone to earthquakes. For centuries peasants worked very hard to eke out a living from its poor soil. During the last century over a million people left Calabria to seek a better life in Northern or Central Italy or overseas.
Historically, the region's first name was Italia, probably from the Italic tribes that inhabited the area. Over time, Calabria has belonged to the Greeks, the Romans, and the Byzantines. Others who lived in the area include Armenians, Bulgarians, Catalans, Goths, Spaniards, Normans, and Bourbons. Talk about multiculturalism.
While Calabria has been poor, its agricultural production is important. For example, it is the source of about 25% of Italian olive oil. Other agricultural products include vegetables, especially eggplants, peppers, tomatoes, artichokes, asparagus, and mushrooms. Its citrus fruits and figs are special. There is plenty of wheat for pasta, country-style bread, focaccia, and pizza. The main meat is pork, and some Calabrian salami is famous. Other meats include lamb and goat. The seas yield anchovies, cod, sardines, swordfish, and tuna. Cheeses include Caciocavallo Silano and Crotonese, reviewed below. Christmas and Easter are accompanied by traditional desserts. You won't go hungry in Calabria.
Perhaps you haven't heard of Calabria's cities including Cosenza, Reggio di Calabria, and the regional capital, Catanzaro. The largest of the three, Reggio di Calabria, has fewer than 200 thousand people. But big cities are hardly a requirement for good wine. Few would ever claim that Italy's best wines come from Rome, or the surrounding area. Hills and mountains, sunny days and cool nights, maritime breezes, low rainfall, and poor soil are all factors that can lead to excellent wines. Calabria definitely has winemaking potential.
Calabria devotes about sixty thousand acres to grapevines, it ranks 13th among the 20 Italian regions. Its total annual wine production is slightly less than twenty million gallons, giving it a 15th place. About 91% of the wine production is red or ros? (a bit of ros?), leaving 9% for white. The region produces 12 DOC wines. DOC stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata, which may be translated as Denomination of Controlled Origin, presumably a high-quality wine. Only 2.4% of Calabria wine carries the DOC designation. The region is home to almost three dozen major and secondary grape varieties, half white and half red.
Widely grown international white grape varieties include Chardonnay, Trebbiano, and Malvasia. The best known, strictly Italian white variety is Greco Bianco, which makes an excellent sweet wine that is very hard to find outside of the region. In general, Calabrian white wines are difficult to find in North America.
Widely grown international red grape varieties include Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The best known strictly Italian white variety is Gaglioppo, whose flagship wine, Cir? we review below. Keep your eyes open for wines made from the indigenous Magliocco red grape.
Before reviewing the Calabria wine and cheese that we were lucky enough to purchase at a local wine store and a local Italian food store, here are a few suggestions of what to eat with indigenous wines when touring this beautiful region. Start with Pitta Chicculiata, Pizza with Tuna, Tomato, Anchovies, Black Olives, and Capers. Then try La Carne ?Ncantarata dei Fratelli Alia, Pork Loin in Honey-Chili Glaze. For dessert, indulge yourself with Fichi al Cioccolato, Chocolate-Covered Roasted Figs.
OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY While we have communicated with well over a thousand Italian wine producers and merchants to help prepare these articles, our policy is clear. All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.
Wine Reviewed Librandi ?Duce San Felice? Cir? Reserva 2001 13.5% alcohol about $15
Some claim that Cir? is the oldest existing wine. It is said to come from a wine consumed by victorious Calabrian athletes on their return from the Olympics well over 2500 years ago. This DOC wine grows in the low hills near the Ionian Sea in eastern Calabria not far from the Sila Massif plateau. If you ask me, the geographical characteristics worked out quite well for this wine.
Cir? is made from the indigenous Gaglioppo red grape, which has a light-colored pulp and very thick skin. In spite of the grape skins, this wine contains light tannins. Personally I found the tannins excellent, they melted into the food and I say this as someone who is not overly fond of tannins. I tried this Cir? with barbecued boneless beef ribs marinated in a somewhat spicy tomato sauce and loved the way the fruit flavors accompanied the food. Sometime after the meal I reread the wine store's review and agreed with their quote ??This Librandi has tangy texture with complex, juicy red fruit, and overall it's very attractive. It's just great for barbecued meats??
Crotonese is a pure sheep's milk cheese found in Calabria. It is made in 4 pound wheels with a very light rind. Its color ranges from pale yellow to creamy yellow. Crotonese is an excellent grating cheese. Another recommendation is to slice it thinly and drizzle olive oil, especially Calabrian Crotonese olive oil, over it. Its flavor is both salty and sweet, and is mildly sharp. I tried it for lunch with a mixture of humus (ground chickpeas) and processed vegetables, toast, and the Cir? Reserva. The wine and cheese flavors blended well. Another recommended wine for Crotonese cheese is the classic Tuscan Brunello di Montalcino at about three times the cost of this Cir?.
Levi Reiss has sinced written about articles on various topics from Touring Italy, Travel and Leisure and Food and Drink. Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten books on computers and the Internet, but to be honest, he would rather just drink fine Italian or other wine, accompanied by the right foods. He teaches classes in computers at an Ontario French-language communit. Levi Reiss's top article generates over 450000 views. to your Favourites.