I'm feeling the scholastic vibe this week. Upon completion of this column, I'll be off to a high-school reunion. It will be my first time back at No Girls High since blessed graduation day all those embarrassing hair styles ago.
The timing seems right. A brilliant classmate who became a Catholic priest and distinguished educator has been installed as the private institution's new president. Thoughtfully, he has invited his less accomplished former buddies back to the past, this time to share, not his algebra notes, but rather "beer, wine and hors d'oeuvres." I'm hoping that, by the latter, his invitation was referring to the cafeteria's excellent fries and gravy, which for me is the secret draw. Forgive me, Father, but those spuds were the main attraction that kept me from transferring to a school with girls.
It happens that one of the best-value wine propositions coming up for sale today at Ontario Vintages stores, a smooth and smoky red, was produced by a winery in southern Italy with an academic-sounding name:
Schola Sarmenti. The first word describes an ancient Roman school, while the second is the plural for vine shoots. As you might guess, this "school for vine shoots" takes its agriculture with a grain of earnestness. It even displays a Latin motto on its website, Eruditio et Disciplina ("Knowledge and Discipline"), which sounds eerily close to the crest on my high-school blazer, "Teach me goodness, discipline and knowledge."
In the back-to-school spirit, I've focused below on lesser-known grape varieties, not just Schola Sarmenti's fine negroamaro but also on such curiosities as cortese, grillo, freisa and nero di Troia. I hope you'll find at least one or two to be new and agreeable. And for what it's worth, I think you'd find the Torrevento Vigna Pedale, made from the aforementioned nero di Troia, a pretty decent match for fries and gravy.
Schola Sarmenti Roccamora Nardo' Negroamaro 2006 (Italy)
SCORE: 90 PRICE : $17.95
Based in the southern region of Puglia, on the inside heel of Italy's boot, Schola Sarmenti makes concentrated wines. One such red, Diciotto, made from the primitivo grape, tips the alcohol scales at a shocking 18 per cent, higher than some fortified sherries. This relatively tame 13.5-per-cent gem is made from negroamaro, a deliciously savoury and firm local variety. Expect a smooth texture and succulent flavours of raspberry and cherry laced with an aromatic character that suggests the smell of a recently extinguished campfire. Lovely. It would match well with grilled lamb or beef. Available in Ontario.
Torrevento Vigna Pedale Castel del Monte Riserva 2009 (Italy)
SCORE: 90 PRICE : $22.95
If you've got an Italian edition of the one-cent euro coin lying around, have a glance at the back. That building is called Castel del Monte ("Castle of the Mountain"), built in the 13th century in southern Italy by the especially powerful Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II . Castel del Monte also gave its name to a surrounding wine appellation in Puglia known for various grapes. Arguably the best such variety is the local nero di Troia, which you're unlikely to find grown elsewhere. Here it gets a very ripe interpretation, with a soft core and notes of raisin and prune set against supple tannins and bright acidity. Match it with aged cheeses or red-meat stews. $22.65 in Quebec.
Fazio Aegades Erice Grillo 2012 (Italy)
SCORE: 90 PRICE : $17.95
Erice is the appellation; grillo is the grape. It might be fair to say that in modern times more people have eaten grillo than sipped it. That's because the white grape is a big constituent in Marsala, Sicily's sherry-like fortified wine that's used to cook veal Marsala and a variety of other dishes. The variety, while sometimes bland if overcropped and mistreated, has been carving out a reputation for decent dry wines. This one exhibits a strong peach-apricot flavour on a medium-bodied but concentrated frame. Round and sweet in the middle, it's lifted high by fresh acidity. Pair it with heavier fish, such as grouper. Available in Ontario.
Fontanafredda Raimonda Barbera d'Alba 2012 (Italy)
SCORE: 89 PRICE : $16.95
The winery was purchased a few years back by the Farinetti family. That name may be little-known in these parts, but Oscar Farinetti is famous in Italy, where he earned a fortune building a homeelectronics retail chain (which he sold for about half a billion dollars) and then started the gourmet-food megastore Eataly, with locations in several cities, including New York. The wines have been improving, and this barbera shows good concentration and ripeness. Mediumweight, it's impressively smooth for barbera, though still has some of the grape's characteristic juicy acidity. Plummy and perfumed, it also hints at licorice. It would be fine for charcuterie. $17.40 in Quebec.
Borgogno Langhe Freisa 2012 (Italy)
SCORE: 88 PRICE : $21.95
In the hands of one family for almost 250 years, the Piedmont estate of Giacomo Borgogno forms part of the Farinetti stable (see Fontanafredda above). Oscar Farinetti's son Andrea now runs Borgogno and is keen to make improvements. The local freisa grape often gets little respect outside Piedmont and occasionally not much respect even at home. Astringently tannic, like that more famous local grape nebbiolo (of Barolo fame), it is frequently fashioned into a lightly sweet, sparkling red. Not here. This is dry and medium-full-bodied, with an uncanny and fetching flavour of maraschino cherry, starting smooth but evolving in the mouth to reveal those solid tannins. Serve it slightly chilled, with steak, lamb chops or semi-firm cheeses. Available in Ontario.
La Chiara Gavi di Gavi 2013 (Italy)
SCORE: 88 PRICE : $15.95
Piedmont, the region in Italy's far northwest, is decidedly a red wine sort of place. But the white grape cortese, rarely a variety of great ambition, likes to poke its head out from time to time to remind us it's there. The La Chiara is light-bodied, crisp and clean, in keeping with the grape's general profile. Expect notes of underripe peach and grapefruit rind on a subtly oily texture. Well done. Available in Ontario.