Food and wine pairing is like love; it multiplies

The food-wine pairing technique introduces us to a whole fascinating world, made up of rules, of course, but also of intuition, the desire to experiment and the knowledge of a region’s culture.  

Traditional pairings

Not surprisingly, these pairings are often defined as harmonious, because the rural culture’s wisdom selected and created typical dishes over the centuries that pair perfectly with the local wine. This is the case of Lambrusco paired with Lasagne, a lively wine that cleanses the palate well after that explosion of succulence we enjoy so much and that is typical of Bolognese ragout or like with the classic Trofie al pesto and Pigato Riviera Ligure di Ponente, a wine that conquers for the aromaticity on the nose and intensity on the palate.

Valentine’s Day challenge

The true game of love, the ultimate enjoyment for the perfect gourmand, lies in going beyond, in pursuing extreme, different, sometimes impossible combinations with great curiosity. So, when the going gets tough, the tough get going to the point of opting for recipes with good taste-olfactory complexity, like the one we propose for Valentine’s Day, the magnificent (and aphrodisiac?) Risotto with chocolate chips, apple mustard and orange powder. A richly aromatic dish, marked by a certain sweet hint given by the rice, masterfully rebalanced by the spiciness of the apple mustard and the slight bitterness of the chocolate, that needs a wine of equal character, intensity and taste-olfactory persistence.

Our tips

White wine lovers could opt for an aromatic wine that is never disappointing, the Gewürztraminer, like the Kolbenhof of Hofstätter with its golden, deep and brilliant, warm and tropical colour aged on lees in steel for 8 months, born in the vineyard bearing the same name. Red wine lovers can play with wines made by drying the grapes, complex on the nose, soft in the mouth, like an Amarone della Valpolicella Classico from the Quintarelli winery in Negrar, or a Reboro from Rebo, a re-discovered grape variety in the Valle dei Laghi in Trentino, where one can go for a beautiful walk among the vineyards and learn about these indomitable vine growers. The braver can choose an Orange Wine, a white wine obtained from a long maceration, like the Ribolla Gialla of Radikon, in Friuli, a cornucopia of dehydrated fruit, spices and citrus notes, with an excellent body in the mouth and a long persistence.

The choice is yours for a Valentine’s Day inviting you to play with the love of wine. Cheers!