A question here, do Italian wines really go better with Italian food?
We got the answer during the recent concluded Velenosi Italian Wine Dinner at Java Tree in Eastern & Oriental Hotel Penang. Unlike conventional wine pairing dinnner which the meals revolve around Western / French inspired dishes, the chef exclusively prepared a 5-course Italian dishes to be paired with wine with different profiles originated from Velenosi region.
Being a relative new winery among the giants in the wine industry, Velenosi wines were certainly impressive in terms of each of their wine flavour profiles.
Therefore the answer to the question pose is Yes. Italian food certainly makes a good pairing with Italian wines and would love to see more of these wine pairing.
Thanks to Eastern & Oriental Hotel Penang for extending an invitation
While waiting for the dinner to commence, we were served with Prosecco and mingled around the diners and wine distributor. The distributor briefly detail on Velenosi wine varities so that we could have an expectation what to have later.
The dinner begin with a light Hokkaido Scallop "Crudo", which sits on a bed of orange emulsion, scallion and promegranate. These Hokkaido scallops were sleek, and offers a buttery taste that coats my tongue. Its orange emulsion and promegranate provides some a slight acidity to the umami flavour of the scallops, and the wine white Pecorino Offida DOCG further elevates the dish by due to its natural sweet floral scent.
The dish and wine combination further enhances the white flavour, giving you a gentle lingering of floral scent in the olfactory. If you prefer a stronger body Pecorino Offida, you may let the wines breathe longer with room temperature.
Next up is a classic Italian appetiser, Wild Mushroom and Ricotta Cheese Risotto, with shaving of smoked duck and winter truffle oil. It is to be paired with Querciantica Lacrima di Morro d'Alba, which is a lighter version of red wines.
The wine offers a mellow taste as an introductory to the later stronger body reds later, allowing you to enjoy the flavour of the risotto. The cheese in the risotto somehow increase the acidity of the wines.
We were then served with entre of the day - Lamb Stew Calzone with side of wild rockets. The calzone has lamb as filling, so naturally is denser and richer in taste, so the pairing is a red Montepulciano D'Abruzzo.
The red offers a higher alcohol content, along with a stronger tannic structure. Therefore when eaten along with lambs, it further emphasize the lamb flavour. On the other hand, as the lamb has been seasoned with salts, the wine further tunes down the saltiness level. This is a playful combination, as it let you choose which flavour you prefer. If one wish to enjoy the lamb taste, then immediatelly sip the red after the lamb. Otherwise, you can get a lingering salty flavour that somehow mask the lamb richness if you take the wine a tad more after a spoonful of the calzone.
Then the main course is a Slow Cooked Beef Brisket Ravioli with Grana Panado, and pair with Roggio del Filare DOC. The bold flavour of ravioli is due to heavily seasoned of the beef brisket, and the somelier has purportedly choose an intense red to go along with it.
It is designed in such a way so you can enjoy both the wines and main course. If one just have the ravioli without the Roggio del Filare, you will feel surfeited easily.
Then the dinner ends with Italian Cannoli with a choice of coffee or tea.
Stay tune for more exciting wine pairing dinner upcoming in Eastern & Oriental Hotel. A New Zealand wine pairing dinner is coming up in October.
Eastern & Oriental Hotel
10, Lebuh Farquhar, 10200, Penang, Malaysia
10, Lebuh Farquhar, 10200, Penang, Malaysia
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