Wine Recommendation

Now that I've given you a simple pasta recipe, the question becomes what wine should we serve with the pasta? For the recipe below, something bold, strong and Italian comes to mind, and no, I'm not talking about me. (Thank you very much I'm here all week)

Last Saturday I attended a fantastic tasting of reserve reds and found some delightful wines. One Pinot in particular was quite interesting, but wouldn't be appropriate for the dish below. Instead, for this dish, I found a Ripasso that was very good and reasonable inexpensive at USD 19.00/bottle.

Ripasso is not quite as well known as some other Italian wines, and as a result can be a nice to introduce to friends who like a nice bold flavor along the lines of an Amarone, but like me are unwilling to accept the inflation in Amarone prices that we've seen over the past few years. Ripasso is, in fact, made from the lees left over from a batch of Amarone. The lees are re-fermented, hence the name Ripasso. The great thing in addition to the price advantage is that you get a wine with the flavors of Amarone, that is also very drinkable as a young wine.

So give the 2001 Tedeschi San Rocco Ripasso from Valpolicella a try. Its been aged in cherry barrels, and although it is young will taste with moderate structure and a rich medium to full bodied flavor.