84 APRIL 2019
FATTORIA MONDO ANTICO,
LOMBAR DY
This agriturismo and winery is situated in
low-lying hills an hour and a half from Milan.
There, Diego Tiraboschi and his father, Dario,
focus their energies on the traditional grapes
and wines of the region: Pinot Nero, Barbera,
Croatina, and Moradella. The night of our visit,
Diego’s mother made us dinner, preparing
casoncelli alla Bergamasca, a dumpling-like
pasta from the area that was stuffed with
breadcrumbs, eggs, and bits of their salumi.
We drank a proper amount of Moradella,
full-bodied, earthy, and feral, made from a
thick-skinned, inky grape that is all but gone
from Lombardy. The meal drove home what’s
so wonderful about natural wines: how they
taste of the soil in which they were grown and
how they make food better—and how food in
turn makes them better still. (agriturismo-
mondoantico.it)
DRINK:Made from 100 percent Pinot Nero
(aka Pinot Noir), the 2013 Fattoria Mondo
Antico Pernione ($26) is a crisp, full-bodied
Lombardian red, delivering ripe raspberry
fruit, hints of chalk, and a clean, full finish.
Croatina stars in the 2012 Fattoria Mondo
Antico Agenore ($19), a single-varietal
bottling. Stony but aromatic, it offers notes of
cranberry, red cherry, and salt.
AL PODERE DI ROSA,
TUSCANY
Paolo Giuli took us on a hike up and down the
slopes of his hillside vineyard outside the
town of Lucca, showing us the 75-year-old
Trebbiano vines that had been planted in
concentric semicircles. His theory for the
pattern is it offers protection against rot—
that is, the rot won’t travel down and across
an entire straight line of vines, but will stop at
whatever level of the circle it began. Giuli’s
Chiesino Bianco is a slightly orange-hued
blend of Trebbiano and Vermentino that’s a
favorite of my wife, Jori, and Lila, our wine
director at Fish & Game. It was a perfect
complement to a dish of rabbit that had been
slowly cooked with white wine and olives at
Osteria La Brocca in the nearby village of
Pietrasanta, where we had lunch on the way
to our next stop. (alpoderedirosa.it)
DRINK: For an accessible orange wine, try
the 2017 Al Podere di Rosa Chiesino Bianco
($24), a blend of Trebbiano and Vermentino,
tasting of orange flowers, quince, lemon,
ginger, and walnut. A blend of Sangiovese,
Canaiolo, and Merlot, the 2016 Al Podere di
Rosa Chiesino Rosso ($24), a light-bodied
red, is redolent with ripe red and black fruit.
MAKE: Stewed Chicken Legs and Thighs
with Fresh Herbs and Olives (p. 89)
CANTINE RICCARDI REALE,
LAZIO
At Piero Riccardi and Lorella Reale’s cantina
perched on a cliff in the small town of
Bellegra, we drank in the soft breeze and the
landscape of steep green hills. We also drank
in Malvasia and Cesanese, wines made from
two indigenous grapes. These are food wines,
and our hosts treated us to snacks of crostini
with fresh sheep’s milk cheese topped with
olive oil, anchovy, and rosemary; ricotta made
from local raw milk; figs that had been picked
that morning; and a gorgeous pear crostata.
Riccardi is a bit of a forager, and among the
vines he’d found a variety of wild herbs and
chicories, which made their way into the
evening’s dinner: the bitter greens dressed in
oil and salt, served with lamb braised with red
wine and tomato. Both dishes paired
brilliantly with some older, brooding vintages
of Cesanese. (cantinericcardireale.it)
DRINK: Ripe plum and hints of smoke
characterize the 2015 Cantine Riccardi
Reale Collepazzo ($25), a single-varietal
bottling featuring the Cesanese grape. The
2017 Cantine Riccardi Reale Tucuca Rosato
($19) is an aromatic organic rosé perfect for
spring: all rhubarb and strawberry.
MAKE: Sautéed Chicories with Chile Oil
(p. 90); Braised Lamb with Garlic, Wine, and
Lovage (p. 90); Pear Crostata (p. 89)
CANTINA DEL BARONE,
CAMPANIA
When we arrived at Cantina del Barone in
Campania, we were welcomed with a platter
of fried zucchini blossoms stuffed with
prosciutto and mozzarella. They were delight-
ful with a cold glass of the crisp, slightly
smoky Fiano di Avellino made by our host,
Luigi Sarno, using native yeasts from some of
the older vines in the region. It was a great
example of how a wine can taste of a place.
Ages ago, following the last great eruption of
Mount Vesuvius, the ground was piled high
with ash. That ash was eventually covered by
soil, but it still influences the region’s wines:
According to Sarno, this layer of packed
volcanic ash is found throughout Avellino no
more than 2 meters below the surface. Local
lore says it gives that hint of smoke to the
wines made from Fiano. (cantinadelbarone.it)
DRINK: Fiano, a white grape that’s been
cultivated in Campania for millennia, brings
sage and lemon cream flavors and a hint of
smoke to the 2017 Cantina del Barone Paóne
($20). Sarno planted vines from north to
south to maximize sunlight on the plot that
yielded the 2017 Cantina del Barone
Particella 928 ($30), a 100 percent Fiano
bottling. The result: a captivating wine with
flavors of fennel, lemon, sage, and marjoram.
IL CANCELLIERE, CAMPANIA
The Romano family runs a winery in the heart
of Campania that specializes in the black
grape Aglianico, the noble grape of the region.
For our visit, they set a table under a cluster of
hazelnut trees, where we noshed on olives
and homemade salumi while tasting verticals
of their Taurasi. Taurasi is made from
Aglianico, but to call it Taurasi, the wine must
be aged for at least three years, with at least
one year in barrels. When young, Taurasis are
big, bold wines that explode fruit and earth
and have a lumberjack’s grip. As they age,
they soften in a way that lets you know all is
right with the world. As the day went on, we
were joined by the family’s nonna, who hand-
rolled and cut tagliatelle that her grand-
daughters then boiled in a copper pot heated
over a wood fire and tossed with fresh porcini.
This was soon joined by ring-shaped pasta
with tuna and green pepper. (ilcancelliere.it)
DRINK: Crisp acidity and a gentle finish
make the 2016 Il Cancelliere Vendemmia
($17) an easy-drinking bottle. The 2012 Il
Cancelliere Nero Né Taurasi ($56), on the
other hand, demands more attention, offering
dark cherry, smoke, and leather, with deep
fruit leading to gentle raspberries, then a soft,
tannic finish.
MAKE: Calamarata with Swordfish and
Shishitos (p. 101); Hand-Cut Tagliatelle with
Porcini and Herbs (p. 100)
THE BOOT
BY THE BOTTLE
Our trip was a tour de force of Italy’s natural
winemakers, those eschewing synthetic chemicals in
their vineyards and bottles. We’ve gathered the best
wine discoveries and recipes from our trip.
—ZAKARY PELACCIO AND ROSS BINGHAM
FOOD STYLING: CHELSEA ZIMMER; PROP STYLING: CHRISTINE KEELY. ILLUSTRATION: EMILY ROBERTSON
