Salvatori's - Italian wine is made for Italian food

Salvatori’s – Italian wine is made for Italian food.

That’s what “they” say - Italian wine is made for Italian food – and at Salvatori’s, they are right!

Have been twice to the recent location in Southwest Fort Wayne and will go more often now that they have expanded seating into the building next door. Both times, the food was good to great; always order the sausage & roasted mancini peppers to jump start your taste buds! For more information, click on http://salvatorispizzeriaprimo.com.

Both times my group has enjoyed the Banfi Col Di Sasso 2010 ($18 bottle $6 glass) from Toscano I.G.T. (translated more/less: indication that the product is typical of the geographical region Tuscany). We also enjoyed the Feudi Arancio Stemmari Nero d’ Avola 2010 ($20 bottle $7 glass) from Sicilia I.G.T. We will stick with it or another Italian red after unfortunately venturing outside Italy into California with the Double Decker Red blend.

Feudi Arancio Stemmari Nero d’ Avola 2010, Sicilia I.G.T.

I love watching character actor Vincent D'Onofrio best known as Detective Robert Goren in Law & Order: Criminal Intent, who was equally fascinating as Dawson, the Thor-like owner of 'Dawson's Garage' in Adventures in Babysitting, the highly-sexed fisherman boyfriend/fiancé in Mystic Pizza, Edgar the farmer/alien bug in Men in Black and the eccentric accountant brother in The Break-Up. His parents Gennaro (Gene) D'Onofrio and Phyllis D'Onofrio, are both of Sicilian descent. As is this wine.

Sicily is oft described as the island at the end of the boot and it is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea with typical Mediterranean climate of mild wet winters and hot dry summers. Its hilly deforested terrain is dominated by Mount Etna, the tallest active volcano in Europe, whose eruptions have given the area its rocky soil ideal for grapes and olives. Sicily produces more wine than New Zealand, Austria, and Hungary combined. Previously known for fortified Marsala wine the Italian equivalent of sherry and port, Sicily’s best known local varietal is Nero d’Avola. According to Wines of the World authors “stunning examples of IGT and DOC wines can be found in Sicily.” They list the following wineries as “Top Producers of Sicilia” using Nero d’Avola grapes: Firriato, Gulfi, Morgante, Planeta, Valle dell’Acate.

Feudi Arancio Nero d’ Avola did not make that list but is mentioned as one of the top four Italian value brands by Wine & Spirits, June 2009 with its “fresh and tangy fruit, dark concentration and bold aromas of blackberry and toasted almond…..typical of this popular Sicilian grape variety.”  www.wine-searcher.com gives it a score of 87 with an average price of $8.

Banfi Col Di Sasso 2010 Toscano I.G.T.

Tuscany is a completely different wine-growing area of Italy and is home to Chianti commonly referred to as the world’s best known wine instantly recognizable in the late 20^th century by its straw-enclosed bottle. This wine shares Tuscany and Sangiovese with Chianti but is not a Chianti - this is an easy-drinking Cabernet Sauvignon & Sangiovese blend from award-winning family-owned vineyard Castello Banfi www.castellobanfi.com. Wine Enthusiast Buying Guide http://buyingguide.winemag.com calls the 2004 vintage “not a bad entry-level Tuscan red” and wine.com cellar notes lists it for $9.99 and quotes Wine Spectator rating of 88 points for the 2008 vintage. Castello Banfi also produces higher-end Sangiovese wines so develop your palate and try one of them, perhaps the Poggio all’Oro Riserva Sangiovese Grosso (Brunello di Montalcino) at 95 points, $150 (and please call me to taste it with you!).

DivaDaVino Yes & Know:

Yes, I would buy either or both of these bottles again – Banfi Col Di Sasso 2010 and the Feudo Arancio Nero d’ Avola 2010 – especially when I am eating Italian food because Italian wine is made for Italian food.

Yes, I would buy either or both of these grape varieties again.

Nero d’ Avola in the Feudi Arancio Nero d’ Avola  is “the most important red wine grape in Sicily” according to Wikipedia and is one of Italy’s most important indigenous varieties grown originally only in the Avola area but now throughout Sicily.

Cabernet Sauvignon & Sangiovese in the Banfi Col Di Sasso are grape varieties and an interesting combination. Sangiovese is native to Tuscany and Italy is the main source of Sangiovese grapes followed by the Mendoza region of Argentina, and California where it found popularity in the “Cal-Ital” movement of the late 1980s. Cabernet Sauvignon is probably the most famous red wine grape in the world. It is widely planted due to its ability to prosper in a variety of soils and climates unlike Nero d’Avola or Pinot Noir, and widely blended though not as often with Sangiovese as with Merlot, Cabernet France, Malbec, Petit Verdot, and Carmenere.

Know our examples are just the beginning of taste opportunities of these grape varieties.

Nero d’Avola: Winemaker John Chiarito, Chiarito Vineyards, Ukiah, California, is the first American producer of Nero d’Avola as homage to his family’s heritage – if you can find it, try Chiarito 2007 Estate Bottled Nero d’Avola (Mendocino) rated 91 points by Wine Enthusiast, $36. 

Sangiovese: “Super-Tuscans” are a remarkable success story of Sangiovese grapes by local winemakers working to create a higher quality of Chianti outside the restrictions of the Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC); the approved formula for Chianti is Sangiovese with a 10-30% blend of Malvasia and Trebbiano grapes changed only slightly since established in 1872. The first Super-Tuscans changed the world’s perception of Italian wine and I want to try the oft-mentioned Tignanello (wine) from Tignanello (vineyard) from Marchesi Antinori Sri, a leader in the Super-Tuscan revolution that traces its roots to 1385. Tignanello is a blend of 85% Sangiovese, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc.

Know Tuscany and Sicily are two of Italy’s 20 wine regions and within the regions are appellations equivalent to an American Viticulture Area (AVA) such as the Sonoma AVA in the state, wine region, of California.

Know Italy is the world’s second largest wine producer in the world – 2nd only to France – and the largest exporter of wine in the world with Germany, Great Britain, and the United States being the main importers. Small vineyards, one million grape growers with an average of one hectare per grower, make for an industry highly fragmented and resistant to building big international brands that have homogenized so much of other countries production.

Know Indicazione Geographica Tipica (IGT) on the label is one of the four classifications for Italian wine making it a step above Vino da Tavola (Table Wine) and below Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) and the top tier Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG). The system is designed to encourage producers to focus on quality wine-making by following the rules for production and labeling but some refuse finding it restrictive. Renegades, such as producers of “Super Tuscans” which must be labeled IGT instead of DOCG, are creating cult followings fueling worldwide interest in new Italian wines.