Food and Wine » Wine and Pairings » Best wines for Italian food This lightened makeover of a heavier classic subs turkey sausage subs for fattier pork, puréed cottage cheese for béchamel, and a splash of olive oil for nearly half a cup of butter. Recipe: Lasagna with Sausage Ragù ReduxLively acidicy in this wine makes for bright, crisp cherry fruit, which plays off the tomatoes in the lasagna (acidic tomatoes can kill a low-acid wine). A hit of pepper in the Carignane echoes the spice in the Italian sausage. Recommended bottle: Poets Row 2010 Carignane (Alexander Valley).Home / Blog / Good Wine From Italy Thirty-something Binny’s Wine Consultants crowded into a room in a basement in one of our suburban Binny’s locations yesterday afternoon. This was part two in a two part series of classes highlighting the wines of Italy, a subject diverse enough to tie up any wine professional for a while. Italy is, after all, infamous for having multiple wines with the same name, multiple names for the same wine, and not listing varietals on wine labels, except for when they do.

Jenni Heim, our resident Italian wine nut (admirably!) led us through a tasting of over thirty wines from central and Southern Italy. Though education was buried in her message, the gist of it was enthusiasm. These are delicious and approachable wines! People need to know about them! Some of her enthusiasm may have rubbed off on me. Somehow, I have always held this cynical idea that inexpensive Italian wine is overly acidic and lacking in charm. This was probably a self-fulfilling prophecy; I managed to avoid the good, cheap stuff for years. But yesterday afternoon I tasted all these wines, not a single one over $30, most half that, and discovered all I’ve been missing. Just a few greats you might want to try: A central theme to our tasting was that generally, the farther South you look in Italy, the less the wine is focused on acidity, meaning better entry points for the American palatte. This is apparent in the 2007 Aia Vecchia Lagone, a Bordeaux-style blend from Tuscany.

Its big nose of cocoa and stewed tomato leads to a fat, modern, ripe red. It’s good, but for under fifteen bucks, this should be a slam dunk for anybody searching for a bargain red along the lines of Californian or South American.good wine bottles gifts The 2008 Quercia Montepulciano d’Abruzzo shows surprising grace for one ten dollar bill. best wines in mdLight and smoky on the nose, the focus of this wine is in its lightly tannic grip, which supports the light fruit beautifully. buy wooden wine boxes onlineAnother graceful wine is the 2009 Colosi Nero d’Avola from Sicily, which features bright, lightly sweet strawberry fruit notes and surprisingly tight tannis. wine and food tourism

The 2008 Costera by Argiolas shows light, easygoing fruit with a distinct note of Black Jack gum in the nose. Moreover, these wines all get a big thumbs-up for their texture, grip and value: 2005 Caparzo Brunello di Montalcino, 2006 Poliziano Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, 2007 Arnaldo Caprai Montefalco Rosso.best organic white wine australia I’m used to tasting the whites of Spain, Portugal, New Zealand, so the Italian whites were refreshingly balanced and refined, even the cheap ones. dry white wine examplesAromatics are key here. The 2008 Botromagno Gravina shows big time lemon creme on the nose with apricot and flowers. The good fruit and herbal cut on the palate are nice, but this is about the nose.  A wine that caused controversy is the 2008 Terredora Fiano di Avelina. What some people described as an off-putting nose of shoe rubber (or even sulfur?)

I found more along the lines of heavily-toasted waffle cone and cream. The Fiano shows tart lemon on the palate, leading into brown sugar and toasted vanilla. Of course, this list is in no way exhaustive. Be sure to ask for recommendations in the Italian asile the next time you’re in the mood for a great value. Don't have an account? Sign up now, it's FREE! Use our Online Store Binny's offers shipping within the state of Illinois for select items. Our web site will not allow orders placed for shipment outside of Illinois. Would you like to have your order shipped or would you like to come pick it up at a Binny's near you? Login or register to use lists. Save your favorite products and share lists with friends. We Appreciate Your FeedbackRed wine and cheese are often served together. But it’s actually quite difficult to pair red wine with cheese, because red wine can easily stifle the flavour of the cheese – or the cheese can make the wine taste off.

But fear not – it is possible. Everyone loves to relax in the evening with some lovely red wine and cheese.  It works every time, right?In fact, pairing red wine and cheese isn’t all that easy. Many red wines either stifle the flavour of the cheese or taste off when served with cheese. One reason for this is the tannins found in red wine, which don’t go well with very many types of cheese. That is why it can be so difficult to pair red wine with your cheese – and why you’ll often have more luck with white wine or beer.It is possible to serve red wine with your cheese platter, as long as you bear in mind the following rules of thumb. So before popping open that expensive bottle of red you bought on holiday in Italy or France, read on. Many of the red wines we drink are dry and heavy. These are wines that generally go well with meat and rare steaks, but not with cheese. Heavy wines can easily overpower lighter cheeses, such as brie. But if you do want to drink your heavy wine with cheese, then go with stronger, aged cheeses, such as a lovely aged gouda or cheddar.

Aged Italian cheeses, like parmesan, pecorino and grana, also go nicely with a heavy red wine. Most red wines contain tannins – or tannic acids – which come from grape skins. The amount of tannins in red wine differs greatly. They are found in high concentrations in young wines, but generally fade with age. In fact, tannins are what make it possible for wines to develop over many years. We see this in the Italian Barolo wines, for instance, which are extremely heavy with tannins when they’re young, but grow softer and more flavourful with age. High-tannin wines go very well with aged cheeses that are full of flavour. The tannins in the wine attach to the proteins and fats in the cheese, effectively rinsing the palate after each bite. However, with younger cheeses, tannins attach too much to the rich flavour, causing the cheese to taste chalky and metallic. If you are serving a selection of light cheeses, such as brie, red smear cheese and other white mould cheeses, it’s a good idea to serve a light and fruity red wine.

Pinot Noir or Gamay are especially lovely – and you rarely go astray with a light Bourgogne or Beaujolais, both of which come from north-eastern France. If you like bubbles, try serving an Italian Lambrusco with your light cheeses. We’re not talking about the overly sweet, low-budget Lambrusco, but rather the higher quality varieties that also come out of the Italian wine district and are often quite reasonably priced. It’s not uncommon to serve grapes, raisins and dried fruit with cheese. And for good reason: cheese loves sweet company, and this also applies to the wine – even when it’s red. Amarone therefore makes an excellent cheese wine, as it’s a red wine made from dried grapes, which tend to be both heavy and sweet. However, it’s still important to remember to serve cheeses that match the heavy, flavourful wine. The disadvantage is that a good Amarone is often quite expensive. You can also go all out and serve a genuinely sweet red wine with your cheese platter.

There are plenty of wonderful red dessert wines – some are even quite acidic, which is another plus – and they generally go quite well with heavy cheeses and blue cheeses, where the sweetness balances out the saltiness. Fortified wines, like port, sherry and Madeira, also go very well with rich cheeses. A classic match is English Stilton and port, but other blue cheeses also taste lovely alongside a glass of sweet, flavourful port. Another good rule of thumb is to match the style of the cheese and the wine. The more unusual a wine is, the more unusual a cheese you can pair it with. If you have a light cheese you’ll want to serve it with a light, natural wine. However, if you have an old, aged red wine – such as a classic old Bordeaux – it should be served with an elegant and firm aged cheese. The two old chaps go hand in hand and suit one another perfectly. Finally, if you have a sweet, fruity wine with heavy berry notes, try serving it with a very ‘cheesy’ cheese.