For this Italian dish with lots of kick, look no further
than the table wine enjoyed by the local crowd throughout the Piemonte, made
from dolcetto. Offering a good
balance between fruit, acidity, and tannins, wines from dolcetto range from simple
mealtime quaffers to structured and elegant versions from low-yielding vines
that are partly aged in barrique. The production area approximates where
you will find its more expensive siblings, Barolo and Barbaresco, in the
communes surrounding Alba and Asti.
Don’t mistake the sweet fruit flavors for significant residual sugar,
but that same sensation will balance the spice of the pasta sauce.
Remaining in Italy for a white wine, travel east and north
from the Piemonte to Alto Adige, or Südtirol as the local, ethnically Austrian
population would prefer you call it.
Here, the town of Tramin offers its name to the grape variety know
variously as traminer or gewürztraminer, regardless of where it may have
actually originated. As the name
suggests (“würz” is the German word for “spice”), you should expect various
baking spices on the nose and the palate.
Although it can be completely fermented to dryness, an off-dry version
will be more effective at cleansing your palate of the red pepper elements
accompanying this MRE.
Complementary Pairing:
Dolcetto, Piemonte, Italy
Try: Poderi Luigi Einaudi Dogliani Superiore
‘Vigna Tecc’
[www.poderieinaudi.com] This is a more complex expression of dolcetto that restrains
the use of wood during aging to preserve its concentrated black fruits. From older vines planted 30 to 75 years
ago on the southerly slopes of Madonna della Grazie and San Giacomo in
Dogliani, the wine will taste just as dark and rich as it appears in the glass.
Contrasting Pairing:
Gewürztraminer, Südtirol, Italy
Try: Cantina Tramin Nussbaumer Gewürztraminer
[www.cantinatramin.it]
The cooperative in Tramin represents 280 growers, and the gewürztraminer
for this wine comes from their vineyards on the slopes around the village of
Sella at a height of 350 to 550 meters (1150 to 1800 feet). Appreciate the intense aromatics that
are characteristic of this varietal, while the bit of residual sugar helps to
put out the fire of your spicy pasta.
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| The actual reason for the author being in Afghanistan—providing anesthetic care to combat casualties. Difficult to discern from the photo is the division of attention: 99% focused on monitoring the patient, 1% still thinking about sharing a nice bottle of wine with his wife. |
