Ep. 1797 Nuragus, Osoleta & Pecorino By Stephanie Guth | Italian Grape Geek

The Italian wine podcast is the community driven platform for Italian winegeeks around the world. Support the show by donating at italian wine podcast dot com. Donate five or more Euros, and we'll send you a copy of our latest book, my Italian Great Geek journal. Absolutely free. To get your free copy of my Italian GreatGeek journal, click support us at italian wine podcast dot com, or wherever you get your pods. Welcome to the Italian GreatGeek Podcast. Join us as we explore personal stories of travel and tasting with Italy's must know grape varietals. Chart your own course with my Italian GreatGeek journal, your personal tasting companion to accompany the series available now on Amazon. With thanks to Colangelo and partners for their generous support with this project. Hi there. My name is Stephanie Guth, and I live in Toronto. I work as the portfolio manager for the Living Buying wine agency, and we specialize in organic biodynamic and natural lines. I am a certified CMS Sommelier, be ambassador. I hold an MBA in wine marketing, and the w set diploma in wine and spirits. I'm a w set educator, as well as teach wine courses at George Brown College in Toronto. The first of five grapes I'll be talking about today is Nurogoose. So Nurogoose is a white grape, which finds its home on the island of Sardinia. One of the oldest varieties of the island, its name Mike come from the Phoenician word for fire, which was newer, or was named after ancient volcanic towers built around the island called Nurigae. In terms of some key information about the grape, neurogoose is a high cropping, relatively disease resistant variety. It's well adapted to the warm Mediterranean climate of Sardinia. The berries white. It's medium, sub oval, with waxy, golden, yellow skin, and its bunches are tight and medium to large conical in shape. Medium to late maturing, the production is abundant and regular. So it makes it a relatively easy grape variety to cultivate. Produced in both still in sparkling styles, dry and sweet. We mostly see it as single varietal examples. Often enjoyed young to appreciate its vibrant and fruity character. So when talking about the dry still examples, they're usually delicate, straw color, light bodied with moderate acidity, and exhibit flavors of citrus fruits, green apples, and white floral notes. So super pleasantly fresh on the palette. Most are aged in steel to preserve the grapes freshness and fruity characters. In terms of my personal connection to the grape, I'm always keen to learn about more obscure native rivals and seek them out during my travels. So haven't had the opportunity to taste much, but have tasted it once before. And it was on a via trip to Sicily at the Taramina Gourmet food festival. I remember it being bright fresh, really pretty. And what struck me was how delicate it was despite coming from such a warm climate. So what interested me most about learning about this grape variety are that the plantings are in decline, and it's actually largely implanted outside the hills and plains of central and southern Sardinia. The more people know about this grape, learn about it, buy it, we hopefully can sort of help to save the obscure variety from extinction. In Toronto, where I'm based, unfortunately, this variety, I have never seen on the market. I think we get a lot of great Italian wines in Ontario, but wines of Sardinia, we don't see much, and Nuregoose in particular I have actually never seen. Some benchmark producers that I know are worth trying Cantene argiolis, palla, and Cantini, D'olio Nova. In terms of food pairing recommendations, this wine is super fresh and has a crisp profile. So it actually pairs well with a lot of different foods. In particular seafood dishes, some salads, light appetizers. So what comes to mind is insulata di mari, free to misto, or linguini Alavongeli. Coming back to America, Van Italy International Academy, the ultimate Italian wine qualification will be held in New York City from four to six March twenty twenty four. Have you got what it takes to become the next Italian wine in passenger, find out at benitely dot com. Hi there. It's Stephanie again. So the second grape that I'll be talking about is Oceleta. So Oceleta is a red grape variety. Primary cultivated in the Benito region of northeastern Italy. It's, an ancient variety actually rediscovered by Massey in the nineteen eighties. So its cultivation had been abandoned due to extremely low yields. So an interesting history in terms of making a bit of a resurgence. Ocelette is known for its unusually small grape bunches and berries. So it offers really deep color, high acidity, and intense flavors. This variety has relatively limited production even still today, so it's often used in blends rather than being been identified as a single varietal line. Often blended with other indigenous grape varieties in the venator regions such as Corvina, Corvinoan, and Rondinella. It helps to enhance the complexity and structure of the final wine by contributing very intense color, full bodied, and definitely notable tannins. It's particularly associated with the production of amronian valpolicella wines, and that makes perfect sense with Massey having such a big role in its resurgence. In terms of my personal connection to the grape, I actually had the opportunity to visit Massey some years ago and learn all about their role in reviving the grape. They were super proud of their part in resurrecting it and sort of keeping it top of mind for other producers in the Veneto region, and it was a really, really cool experience to hear sort of their passion and dedication behind it. So this trip was actually a Via trip. It was in April twenty seventeen. And we went on a a group tour of the winery, which was actually really cool to see. And we had the opportunity to try a single varietal, ossuletta wine. So it was definitely an experience. I think personally a little bit too intense of a profile on its own. So it does, in my opinion, play or shine, let's say, when used in smaller proportions in a blend, but you really do get that strong, you know, strong tannin full bodied sort of rustic character was quite apparent when the wine was made as a single varietal wine. What interested me most about learning about this variety is the renewed interest in Oceleta as part of our broader movement in the Venatua region to sort of preserve and promote indigenous varieties. I think it's very important to have these grapes be studied and learned more about really. So they can be used where best use sort of thing. Again, being in Ontario, it's a monopoly market. It's a little bit harder to find sort of a broad diversity of native and indigenous varietals So I've never seen a single varietal also led on the market, but I do know we get a lot of Amoroni and Balprolicella on the market as they are probably two of the most popular Italian wine styles that come into the province of Ontario. So I can only imagine that somebody is using it as part of their blend, and we definitely see Massey wines in this market, and it must be part of a blend though I can't confirm for sure because unless they stated on the back label, not a hundred percent sure. It's part of a blend, but hopefully it is. So some benchmark producers worth trying, definitely a Massey Tadeshi as well, as, Xime. Some personal food recommendations. I mean, due to its full bodied and sort of drying tannins, these deep red wines would pair really well with rich and roasted meats. So something like roasted lamb, boar, venison, or ossabooko. So the third grape I'll be talking about is pecorino. Pecorino is a white wine grape, primarily grown in the regions of Marque, Abruzzo, andumbria. The name is most likely derived from the Italian word Pecora, meaning sheep, as the grape clusters are said to resemble a sheep's head. So a little bit about key information about the grape, the origins of pecorino are not well documented, but it's believed to be an ancient grape variety indigenous decentralized. So like many other indigenous varieties, Peccarino fell out of favor for a period, but it's actually experienced a great resurgence in the last couple of years. It's known for its adaptability to various terriers and climates, and it thrives in hilly and coastal areas benefiting from their well draining soils. The grape is capable of producing high quality wines with good acidity and distinct aromatic characteristics. It's wines are often praised for their aromatic complexity with citrus notes like lemon and grapefruit, as well as white flour and just a touch of herbal aromas. Sometimes in a warm vintage and depending on the microclimate of a particular vineyard, it could even have hints of tropical fruit, but always display nice minerality. So pecorino's used to produce a range of wine styles, including still, sparkling, and even dessert wines. The most common expression though is the dry white wine, which is appreciated for its lively acidity and versatility with food pairings. In terms of a personal connection to the grape, we actually work with some amazing Appruzazy producers like a Medio Pepe and Agricola Chirelli who are making single varietal pecorino wines. And it's interesting to see sort of the range of prices that pecorino can come in. Right? So there are some in our Ontario market, pecorino, can range from mid twenty dollars a bottle upwards to eighty dollars. So really depending on the producer and sort of the age at which the wine is released, there's a broad span in terms of pricing. So this is actually a grape that I've had many, many times in many, many different places, which shows you the popularity of the grape. I've definitely had it in Italy many times, but it's readily available in Toronto. I used to work in New Zealand, and Pecarina was available in that market as well. So it's really nice to see this indigenous varietals. Maybe not being the most common great variety from Central Italy, but definitely having a good place within other grape varieties. So let's say what interested me most about learning about this grape is sort of the different expressions of it. So we can go from something quite simple and citrusy, so easy drinking and delicate to a wine that's a little bit more serious showing more complexity and more minerality and real age worthy wines. As well as having, wines with some sweetness to it. So just showing the range that a grape like pecorino can have. So it's definitely experienced a revival in recent years. With winemakers recognizing its potential to produce high quality, distinctive white wines. And this resurgence in indigenous varietals is definitely part of a broader trend in Italy and that should be celebrated. So like I mentioned in the Ontario market, Peccarino is widely available, and some benchmark producers being Chirelli, Christina Tiberio, Grifone, Omani Ronki, Emil Pepe, Valentini. So the fact that so many winemakers are considered benchmark producers for this grape is really helping to keep this grape forefront in people's minds have it offered at a variety of prices. So having it be accessible to anyone really who wants to experience this varietal. In terms of food pairings, so again, coming in so many different styles, it can pair with so many different kinds of foods. So in terms of its freshness, bright acidity, and aromatic profile, we could be talking about seafood dishes and salads or seafood in general. So something like grilled shrimp in the summer on the barbecue. Also some grilled stone fruit to have a bit of a fresh seafood salad in the summer or a pesto pasta. Porketta would be great. A parmesan crusted pork tenderloin as well in the cooler months, it would pair well with salads, with acidic dressings, which are often very difficult to to pair with, and even sort of take you to the finish of a meal with soft or salty nutty cheeses, like pecorino. Listen to the Italian wine podcast wherever you get your podcast. We're on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, HimalIFM, and more. Don't forget to subscribe and rate the show. If you enjoy listening, please consider donating through Italian wine podcast dot com. Any amount helps cover equipment, product and publication costs. Until next time.