The desire for a glass of white wine seems to drop with the temperatures outside.
Hearty reds are on everyone's minds this time of year. I'm one of those people who can enjoy a glass of white wine anytime. Italian white wines will always have a special place in my heart. Most of us have heard of Pecorino cheese. Not many have heard of the white grape by the same name from the Abruzzo region of Italy.
I sampled a $14.99 bottle of Torre Zambra's Pecorino with Raphael Vaccaro at his Italian Trattoria. Vaccaro's enthusiasm was off the charts. "This is a complex wine that comes across like a French burgundy," he said. "Much more complex than a pinot grigio," he added.
Vaccaro kept bringing out food from the kitchen to pair with the wine. Not that I was complaining. An order of his calamari with basil aoli was fab!
This is why Vaccaro was so excited about this wine. It's clean, crisp, and unoaked, but can stand up to heavier dishes. An order of mozzarella sticks with red sauce was delicious with this white wine, however the pizza nostra had me singing. "It's a Sicilian pizza my mom (Angelina "Linda" Vaccaro) used to make," he said. It has fresh crushed tomatoes, Pecorino Romano cheese, EVOO and fresh basil.
I'm sure this will be a great wine to serve with Tom Turkey and all the fixings, too.
