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Italian BYOB

Written By: Jon Aronson on Friday, May 11, 2007

Culinary life used to be so simple in this town. Dining Italian-style meant heading on over to your local pasta joint, working your way through whatever inexpensive Chianti you picked up at the state store on the way there, and letting the carb-times roll.

These days, though, things aren’t quite that straightforward. And while we find ourselves in the middle of an Italian food-and-wine renaissance, it’s a double-edged sword: The ever-improving quality of the wines at state stores, coupled with the increasing regionalism of Italian restaurants in town, means that, while it’s easier to eat well than ever before, it can be awfully confusing at the same time.

The question, then, is simple: What are you supposed to bring to that hot new Italian BYOB you’ve been dying to visit?

I’m a firm believer in keeping your options open, which generally means that I’m the guy lugging two or more bottles to my table.

Nothing starts a meal better than a little bit of bubbly—it pairs well with anything you’re likely to order. From antipasto to Italian bread and olive oil and everything in between, sparkling wine prepares your palate for the heavier flavors it’ll have to contend with later in the meal. And contrary to popular belief, Champagne is not always your best bet. In fact, if given the choice—and if I were paying for the bottle myself—I’d take Prosecco any day of the week.

Prosecco is a wonderfully fresh, pleasantly fruity sparkling wine from Northern Italy. The best ones have bright citrus flavors and a bracing acidity that will wake up even the most tired tongue. And best of all, you can find a great bottle for $10 or $15—a fraction of what a decent bottle of Champagne runs. Look for Zardetto (which is a bit on the sweet side) or Nino Franco “Rustico.”

As far as white wines go, Italian BYOB’s are the perfect places to have a little fun. And there are some great deals in local state stores these days, which makes it easy to do.

I’m a big fan of the Teruzzi & Puthod 2004 Terre di Tufi. It’s so much more interesting than that bottle of Yellow Tail Chardonnay I see everywhere these days, and a much better pairing partner for the kind of southern Italian food Philadelphia does so well. There’s a bright acidic note to it, which means that it will enhance everything from pasta with cream sauce (the acid will cut right through the fat and freshen it up nicely) to whole branzino.

When it comes to red wine, too many people still insist on bringing a bottle of cheap Chianti, which often tastes like some sort of unfortunate combination of battery acid and grape juice.

These days, however, there’s an entire world of Italian reds out there that are just perfect for our local BYOB’s. Try the Zaccagnini 2002 Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Riserva. It’s a juicy, flavorful red that will work just as well with veal parmesan as it will with spaghetti Bolognese. And don’t be scared off by the twig tied around the neck of the bottle. (Yes, there’s an actual twig there.) It may look cheesy, but the wine inside is what counts.

And if you plan on going to dinner with a big group of people and making a night of it, you can always bring something really different: The Rose Regale Brachetto d’Acqui, a sweet pink sparkling wine that’s likely to be totally different from anything you’ve tasted before. And believe it or not, there’s nothing better with chocolate—not coffee, not a cigar, not Port. This is the wine for chocoholics.

No matter what you end up bringing, the important thing to remember is to have fun with it. People tend to get bent out of shape when it comes to wine, nervous that they’ll bring the “wrong thing,” or that no one will like their selection. The truth, though, is that even wine professionals don’t hit home runs with every bottle they buy.The key is to always try new wines, and to keep an open mind when you’re at the state store. The beauty of bringing them to BYOB's is that you’ll have paid a fraction of the cost for the wines than if you had purchased them from a wine list, so the risk is minimal.

And Italian food is so versatile—there's such a wide range of ingredients, flavors, and cooking methods—that whatever you bring is likely to pair nicely with at least some of the dishes. And even if it doesn't, who cares? At least you got to taste something new. And that’s what it’s all about.

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atruong1011
san jose, california
Posted on 11/20/07

nice article, looking forward to reading more

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