(NYT) Dining: Montepulciano d’Abruzzo: Highly Popular but Li

[AKR]

Dining: Montepulciano d’Abruzzo: Highly Popular but Little Known
2020-12-07 17:48:01.690 GMT

By Eric Asimov

(New York Times) -- It’s time to dig in. In the Northeast, the cold and dark
of winter are arriving, made even chillier by the unrelenting Covid-19
pandemic. The holidays, at least, will be festive in 2020’s own peculiar way.

I don’t know about you, but I am grateful for the new set of ingredients that
comes with the colder weather, at least for relieving me of the tedium of my
own cooking. I am excited for the possibilities of old favorites that have
been on seasonal hiatus during the warmer months.

For me, that means stews, roasts, pots of beans and hearty pasta dishes. I am
especially looking forward to preparing a big tray of lasagna, in what has
become a New Year’s Eve tradition for my wife and me once we decided that
late-night parties were more burden than joy.

Regina Schrambling’s recipe, published almost 20 years ago, has never steered
me wrong. It’s time-consuming, however. Plan it for a day when several hours
in the kitchen is exactly what you want, preferably with some good music and
maybe a glass of wine.

The lasagna goes beautifully with sangiovese wines like Chianti Classico. It’s
great with Etna Rossos and good barberas. But this year I’m imagining it with
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.

Montepulciano, the grape, is not to be confused with Montepulciano, the wine
region in Tuscany. It is the second most widely planted red grape in Italy
after sangiovese, but it is not nearly as well known outside Italy or as
highly esteemed.

Partly, this is because Abruzzo and the Adriatic coast of Italy are neither as
wealthy nor as widely explored by American tourists as Tuscany. The region
does not have a history of craftsmanlike winemaking, though Abruzzo is the
home of two of Italy’s most gloriously idiosyncratic producers, Valentini and
Emidio Pepe, whose wines are expensive and highly coveted.

But the general level of quality in Abruzzo has risen over the last 20 years,
and I have become an avid fan of both its whites and its reds. So over the
next month we will explore Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. Here are the three wines I
suggest:

Cirelli Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2019 (Zev Rovine Selections/Fruit of the Vine,
Long Island City, N.Y.) $18

Tiberio Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2017 (The Sorting Table, Napa, Calif.) $20

De Fermo Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Concrete 2018 (Grand Cru Selections, New
York) $24

If you can’t find these same vintages, don’t worry. And if you cannot find
these producers, other options include Cantinarte, Marina Cvetic, Cataldi
Madonna, Annona, Praesidium, Atilia, De Angelis Corvi and, if you have the
money, Valentini and Emidio Pepe.

Beyond lasagna, these wines will go well with pizza, pastas with tomato or
meat sauces, braised meats and roast chicken. I’m sure you will find many
other dishes beyond this somewhat limited list.

As always with red wines, please serve slightly cool.

[Claret]

Suprised there is no mention of Masciarelli except for Marina Cvetic.