Food & wine pairing

Learn about Food & Wine pairings

Red Wine Pairings

We will be tasting 3 red wines:
Etna Rosso
Nero D’Avola
Cerasuolo Di Vittoria

Made from 3 grapes or blends:
Nerello Mascalese
Nero D’Avola
Frappato

Etna Rosso

Etna Rosso is frequently a blend of Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio. However the wine in our tasting is a little different. It is made from 100% Nerello Mascalese which has low tannin, light body, medium color, noticeable minerality, bright red fruit and aromas of spice including anise. It pairs well with roasted red peppers, oily fish, and meat loaf.

Sicilian Meatloaf: Sicilian Meatloaf
Make the version with veal and/or sweet Italian sausage. (The spice in sweet Italian sausage is fennel which has the same chemical as anise)
More Sicilian Meatloaf: Another Sicilian Meatloaf (Go easy on the sauce)

Swordfish: Grilled Swordfish and Herbs
Grilled Sword with Salmoriglio sauce
Classical Sicilian Swordfish (Video)

Nero d’Avola

Nero d’Avola is the most widely planted grape in Sicily. In Sicily the grape has three variations; all are full bodied with medium tannins and acid. All pair well with rich salty food, earthy mushrooms, meaty dishes – especially one with some fat which complements the tannins in the wine. Meatballs, short ribs, grilled lamb chops, cheese plates and charcuterie plates are good candidates. Other pairings are dishes with pungent spices such as anise or sage.

Meatballs: Sicilian Style Meatballs
Slow cooked ribs: Slow Cooked Ribs Note: 160ºC = 325ºF
Grilled lamb chops: Grilled Lamb Chops with Salmoriglio Sauce
After cooking, the meat can be cut into bite sized cubes for serving.
Plate with Sicilian cheeses: Pecorino, Salted ricotta, and Aged Provolone.
Plate with dry cured meats: Italian Salami and Prosciutto

Cerasuolo di Vittoria

Cerasuolo di Vittoria is a blend of 70% Nero d’Avola and 30% Frapatto.
Each grape adds a major flavor component to the wine. In the blend,
Nero d’Avola provides strong dark fruit, full body and tannins while Frapatto contributes a freshness and light aromas.

The Frapatto grape makes a very fragrant, light colored wine with thin body. It has low soft tannins with medium acidity. The grape in Sicily has two variations. One is lighter with aromatics of roses, violets, strawberry. The other has black fruit -wild berries, black cherry.
It pairs with lighter versions of items that pair well with Nero d’Avola, such as spicy meat dishes, ricotta filled ravioli, grilled fish, or fennel sausage.

Roast pork tenderloin: Sicilian Roast Pork Loin
Grilled pork tenderloin: Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Apples and Sage

Ricotta filled ravioli: Ricotta Filled Ravioli (Video)
Grilled swordfish: Swordfish Sicilian Recipe

Any tasting in general will be more enjoyable when the wines are accompanied with food that enhances them.
First have wine and food of equal weight and second combine similar aromas or contrasting flavors.