Wine Time

That’s Amore at Mooresville’s Mi Amici

Italian wine, lots of it and lots to like

by Trevor Burton photography by Trevor Burton

A perfect pairing for the wine from Basilicata.

Italy is a young country; it used to be a collection of dukedoms and principalities. It became a unified country only some 160 years ago. It was, and still is, a diverse country. It shows in local cultures and customs. And it shows in the diversity and styles of Italy’s wines. There are 20 defined wine regions and about 2,500 different grapes used to make the huge portfolio of Italian wines. The world of Italian wine is tremendously broad and tremendously deep. Lots to explore and lots of fun exploring.

Exploring is what a group of wine enthusiasts and I did at recent wine dinner at Mi Amici restaurant in Mooresville. We didn’t go for the most well known wines of Italy. Instead, we wanted to get off the beaten track and go venturing into some of the lesser known regions of the country. We wanted to taste the breadth of wines available and to pair them with some of Mi Amici’s dishes.

I requested some relatively obscure wines and co-owner Nick Bonarrigo did a wonderful job in getting hold of them. Each wine was interesting and delicious. Don’t take my word for it, those were the opinions of the people at the dinner. Additionally, Bonarrigo dug into his menu and came up with dishes to go along with the wines, sometimes making small modifications. This was, simply, a blast. I could give you an itemized description of each pairing, but I’d like to single out a couple of wines that made a big impression.

A Vermentino from Sardinia was paired with Bonarrigo’s wedding soup. Wines from Sardinia are a favorite of mine. Sardinia is an island off the west coast of Italy. The island punches well above its weight. The amount of quality wines compared to its population way exceeds any other region of Italy. It’s Italian but Sardinia’s history has a lot to do with France and Spain. Vermentino could have come to Sardinia from southern France, where it’s known as Rolle. Or, maybe, it arrived from Spain.

Wherever it’s from, it has thrived on the island. There is lots of sunshine and the island is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea. That gives it cool breezes to retain some wine crispness. In addition, there is the Mistral, a strong, cold wind from the north. The result is a complex, not too acidic, crisp wine that was perfect for the soup.

That brings me to the main course, a bowl of penne pasta and sautéed vegetables with marinara sauce. The wine, Aglianico del Vulture, that was paired with this dish is, in my opinion, a tremendous value. It was also perfect for the pasta dish. It has a couple of misperceptions about it that cause people to shun it for the certainty and comfort of a well-known region, such as Tuscany.

First, it is from the little-known region of Basilicata in the instep of the foot of Italy. Not many people are familiar with Basilicata. Second, the grapes for the wine, Aglianico, are from the slope of an extinct volcano, Monte Vulture. The pronunciation of the mountain’s name in Italian is “Vool-too-REH.” It’s almost romantic. In English it connotes a bird that lunches on carrion. The thought of a wine that pairs well with roadkill can be a little off-putting.

Aglianico del Vulture is a deep, intense wine. But it has two marketing strikes against it that keep the price lower than it should be. A great wine that’s a great value. And, boy, did it go well with the pasta.

This was a perfect way to go exploring some of Italy’s lesser-known but fabulous wines. A fabulous job by Nick Bonarrigo. And a fun and tasty way to wander around the wines of Italy.