A Few Food Friendly Tuscan Wines

One thing that I learned about myself during my recent trip to Tuscany is that, while I like to enjoy my wine with food, I’m not such a fan of huge complex bottlings that compete with — as opposed to complement — what I eat.

Fortunately, most of the wines that I encountered during my travels in Italy were great on their own and, most importantly to me, beautiful with food.

Here are three of my favorites that you should be able to find in the U.S. with minimal searching (in fact, try using the search functions under “Wine Locators” on the left side of this page).

1) Castello di Volpaia Chianti Classico 2006

The Castello di Volpaia Chianti Classico 2006 was recommended to us specifically for a meal that lacked grilled meats (tagliatelle with wild boar ragu) .  The wine was soft and young with a taste of dried cherries that alternated between sweet and tart, and I ended up enjoying my glass so much that I decided to make a special trip to Castello di Volpaia to sample whatever else it produced.  During my visit, I found the Coltassala, a blend of Sangiovese and Mammolo, to be most striking in its subtlety and elegance, but my favorite of all remained the 2006 Chianti Classico – it’s definitely the one that I intend to seek out for regular consumption.

2) Bucciarelli Chianti Classico Riserva 2004

I’ve already told you about my trip to Bucciarelli Antico Podere Casanova (see the piece I wrote on May 16) so I won’t repeat myself, but it is amazing how much the 2004 Chianti Classico Riserva resembles the man who created it: old school, earthy, and a little rough around the edges. The wine was less tannic than your average Chianti Classico Riserva (which is a good thing in my book) probably because the casks in which the wine was aged have mellowed during their hundred, or so, years of use. There was a bit of mustiness in the nose and on the palate, which combined with prominent flavors of dried cherries and faint traces of blue fruit.  This hearty wine would go perfectly with a big bistecca alla fiorentina.

3) Buondonno Chianti Classico 2004 

Unlike most Tuscan vineyards, Buondonno’s are organic – and I know for a fact that its wines are sold in the States because the wine shop across the street from my apartment in New York carries them.  Typically, I associate Chiantis with dried fruit, but the 2004 Chianti Classico was full of ripe summer cherries – and in fact, it was the most fruit-forward (and also least tannic) of any of the wines that I discussed above.  This wine had enough of a backbone to hold up to grilled meats, yet sufficiently subtle features for pairing perfectly well with delicate pasta.