|
|
 |
Cirò Bianco
|
Classification: DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata- Controlled Denomination of Origin)
Colour: more or less intense straw yellow
Region of production: Calabria (area of Cirò and Cirò Marina, in the province of Crotone)
Minimum alcohol content: 11%
Grape varieties used: White Greco (90%), Tuscan Trebbiano (10% maximum) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
AN ANCIENT AND FAMOUS WINE |
|
|
Cirò is one of the most well-known Calabrian wines, originating in the hilly area around Cirò, Cirò Marina, Melissa and Crucoli, towns on the Ionian coast in the province of Crotone. An area that even in ancient times was already famous for producing fine wines: we need only think that Cirò Marina is located near the ancient Greek colony of Cremissa, where a temple to Bacchus stood at the time.
According to legend, Cirò has been cultivated in Calabria since Phoenician times, and is the great-grandson of the ancient Cremissa wine which the Greeks offered as a prize to athletes returning to Greece after winning at the Olympics. With the arrival of the Romans, this Calabrian wine continued to be esteemed, but later disappeared for centuries until the Sixteenth century, when Calabrian wines came back under the spotlight, conquering important segments of the Mediterranean and North European markets.
The Cirò produced then was a very different wine to its present day form: it was a rustic country wine, used as a cutting wine to fortify weaker wines. And it remained thus until the Sixties when the producers began to refine the processing techniques, in the process managing to make Cirò into the wine we know today.
With its winy and pleasant nose, white Cirò has a dry, harmonious, lively and delicate flavour that goes well with vegetable dishes, such as Parma-style aubergines, and with the regional fish-based recipes such as swordfish rolls, boiled tuna and crab soup. It should be served fresh, at a temperature of 10-12°C in the characteristic white wine flutes.
As well as the white type, Cirò is also produced in ther and rosé varieties. The first is a fine aged wine with a pleasant and intensely winy bouquet, suitable for accompanying flavoursome first courses and red or white meat second course dishes. If aged, it goes particularly well with flavoursome and spicy cured meats such as capocollo and soppressata, in addition to mature cheeses. It should be served at 14-16°C in red wine flutes. The Rosé type, on the other hand, is perfect for white meats and soft and semi-hard cheeses.
|
|
|
|
|
