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A toast to Carnival
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| Chiacchiere, frittelle and struffoli. Each region of Italy has its own Carnival sweets, of which there are many, but they all have one thing in common; they are all fried. Here are some of the dessert wines most suited to accompany these deliciously crunchy seasonal treats. |
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The connoisseurs' golden rule states that dessert must be accompanied by a sweet wine. In fact, serving them with a dry wine will accentuate sweetness, while the wine will seem sharp and slightly bitter. Brut sparkling wines or champagne are best avoided and one of the numerous wines suited to carnival pastries should be chosen instead. A sweet, sparkling wine is a good choice, as is a 'passito', a wine made from grapes which have been left to dry before pressing. Also perfect are the wines made from grapes which have been affected by so-called 'muffa nobile', or noble mould. This is a fungus which imparts unusual flavours and a particularly high sugar content to the grapes. In certain cases, a liqueur-type wine, such as Sicilian Marsala, is considered a suitable accompaniment. It does however have a much higher alcohol content, due to the addition of alcohol or brandy.
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IN SEARCH OF THE SWEETEST WINES |
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An ideal itinerary in search of the wines most suited to a Carnival toast could begin in Northern Italy, in particular the Piedmont region. One of the most popular sparkling wines - Moscato d'Asti- originates from the hills of this area. Ideal for drinking with 'chiacchiere' and 'tortelli', as well as with apple fritters, this honey, cedar, rose and citrus-scented wine has a very low alcohol content - around 5 degrees. Also from the Piedmont region is Brachetto d'Acqui, a red sparkling wine with a delicate musky aroma and a faint scent of roses and forest fruits.
Moving to the Veneto region, there is a wide variety of wines suitable for ending a meal. Recioto di Soave Classico is an outstanding wine, a deep gold 'passito' with a fruity flavour and a hint of vanilla, almond and white peach. It is perfect at Christmas with 'pandoro' but also goes well with 'chiacchiere', which in Veneto are called 'galani', and all carnival pastries. Another famous 'passito' from the Veneto region is Torcolato di Breganze. This great wine is made from grapes that have been hung up to dry by being wound around ropes; these are then attached to wooden beams. It is a pale golden amber colour and has an intense, full aroma of vanilla, apricots and butter.
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FROM A PICOLIT TO A MUFFATO DELLA SALA |
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Picolit and Ramandolo, on the other hand, are the finest wines from another northern region with a great wine-producing tradition - Friuli Venezia Giulia. Picolit, an aristocratic and refined wine, is a golden 'passito' which is allowed to age in the bottle for many months. It has an aroma reminiscent of acacia blossom, and its warm harmonious flavour is ideal with biscuits and fried pastries. Of a more affordable price but equally pleasant is a Ramandolo, excellent with cheese as well as honey: it is worth trying as an accompaniment to the Umbrian Carnival cake, 'cicerchiata', which consists of balls of fried pastry covered with honey, or Neapolitan 'struffoli'.
The Tuscan 'Vin Santo' undoubtedly deserves a special place amongst the wines of central Italy. This amber coloured 'passito', with the aroma of dried fruit and spices is traditionally drunk with 'cantucci', the classic Tuscan almond biscuits, but is equally good with Carnival sweet pastries. Umbria, on the other hand, offers the excellent Sagrantino di Montefalco Passito, a full-bodied red wine with the scent of blackberries, which is perfect with 'cicerchiata'. Muffato della Sala has a very unusual flavour obtained from the 'muffa nobile' procedure, which imparts an elegant, complex bouquet with the scent of mulberry, peach jam, apricot and honey.
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In the southern regions the warm land of Sicily is the major producer of sweet and 'passito' wines thanks to the sun which warms this island and produces wines of great quality on the archipelagos and the smaller islands, such as Pantelleria and Lipari. Passito di Pantelleria is produced from grapes which have been left to dry on the lava terraces on the island and is well worth a mention, as is Malvasia delle Lipari. Both are a beautiful golden amber colour, and in the case of the Malvasia, can occasionally take on red-gold highlights, and are ideal to drink with custard filled pastries. The undoubted king of Sicilian wines, however, already known to the English table in 1773, is Marsala wine, an amber coloured liqueur-type wine of ancient tradition which is produced in the town of the same name and throughout the province of Trapani. It has a characteristic bouquet of almonds, dried fruit and tobacco, and goes well with 'chiacchiere'; take care not to let children drink it as it has a high alcohol content which can range from 17 to 19 degrees.
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