Food:

• Stir-fried Spicy Lamb and Swiss chard with Shacha Sauce 

Wine of my Choice: 

• Velenosi  Roggio del Filare Rosso Piceno Superiore Marche Italy 🇮🇹  2015

Marche, an east central region of Italy facing the Adriatic Sea, is known for its white wine made by Verdicchio. But do you know that Verdicchio only accounts for 13 % of the total vineyard area in Marche? The most planted grape varieties are Sangiovese and Montepulciano, 21% and 19 % accordingly. These three grape varieties occupies half of the Marche’s vineyards. In Marche, Sangiovese and Montepulciano are blending partners, where Sangiovese provides acidity to the blends and Montepulciano is in charge of the bones, the structure and the flavors.

Grape Variety: Sangiovese

Sangiovese is the most widely planted grape variety in Italy. Due to the lack of historical document and extensive synonyms, Sangiovese was long thought a native grape variety to Toscana. Recent DNA analysis has found that Sangiovese is a natural cross between the native Tuscan variety, Ciliegiolo, and the mystic southern indigenous variety, Calabrese Montenuovo. Because of this finding, the origin of Sangiovese was more likely from the south.  

Sangiovese is difficult to cultivate. It is site-sensitive and requires extra care in the vineyards. Due to its thin-skin, Sangiovese is highly susceptible to powdery mildew and grey rot. It doesn’t like excessive heat but benefits from considerable diurnal temperature swings and enjoy long growing seasons. Sangiovese grows well in poor and well-drained soils.  Wine made with Sangiovese tends to display light ruby red with hint of garnet hue. It is dominated by tart red fruits with dried rose, dried savory herbs, clove and earth both on the nose and palate. The best Sangiovese has potential to age for decades. High acidity and tannins are the key elements that makes Sangiovese a longevity wine. 

Grape Variety: Montepulciano

Montepulciano is an indigenous red grape variety from Abruzzo, located in the south of Marche. Montepulciano is considered the star variety of Abruzzo and is the second widely planted variety among Italy. A late-rippening and productive grape variety, thick-skinned Montepulciano is resistant to grey rot and downy mildew. Montepulciano is known for its deep red color with purple hue. Montepulciano can be made in various styles from dry to sweet; light bodied, fruity and easy drinking wine to full-bodied, intense and fleshy wine. Montepulciano can be used in the production of rosato. The style of the rosato is well-structured and full-bodied with dark cherry-pink color, savory and tannic.

However, Montepulciano, the name of the grape is often mistaken for Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, an appellation in Tocana producing wine made with Sangiovese.  

Appellation: Rosso Piceno DOC/Rosso Piceno Superiore DOC

This particular wine I picked for this pairing is from Rosso Piceno Superiore DOC. Rosso Piceno DOC is the second largest DOC in Marche in terms of volume and area under vine. According to the discipline, only red wine can be produced by using Montepulciano and Sangiovese.  Rosso Piceno Superiore is a sub-zone within Rosso Piceno DOC. It is not only considered to produce some of the best wine but designated to a smaller area and strict production criteria.

Roggio del Filare, one of Velenosi’s flagship wines, has won 16 Tre Bicchieri of the Gambero Rosso Award over the years. Of course, the 2015 vintage is no exception.

The inspiration of using Roggio de Filare as the name of the wine is from a poem, entitled “Arano” (1885), written by Italian poet, Giovanni Pascoli. The poem describes farmers live harmoniously with nature in the country. Velenosi took “Roggio” from the poem and named this specific bottle as Riggio del Filare, referring to a ray of sunbeam penetrates the vines. When first learned the meaning of Roggio de Filare, I found it very poetic and somewhat romantic. After I tasted the wine, I can definitely picture myself standing in one of Velenosi’s vineyards and seeing “Roggio del Fialre”. 

This wine is made with 70% Montepulciano and 30% Sangiovese. Deep ruby in color, intense black cherry, blackberry, black plum, cassis and raisins immediately jumps out from the glass; clove, all spice, vanilla, dried thyme and oregano are picked up on a second sip. The wine is opulent and juicy with high acidity, tannins, and great structure. It is showing beautifully now but could age for another 10 -15 years to hit its peak. 

Food and Wine Pairing

Chef and I made a few attempts just to find a perfect Chinese dish to pair with Roggio del Filare. We were very happy with the final result. that we did.  Stir-fried lambs and Swiss chard with Shacha sauce and chili is the answer to this pairing. The earthy flavor of the Swiss chard and the intensity of the Shacha sauce work so well with the full-bodied Roggio del Filare. The key to make this pairing successful is to find both food and wine that speak at the same volume. Otherwise, one will be overwhelmed by the other and couldn’t find the balance. It is always about harmony, about balance when it comes to food and wine pairing. 

* If you wanted to know more about Velenosi, please visit Lacrima Two Ways for more information. 

餐酒搭配之平衡

餐點：

• 辣椒炒沙茶羊肉與瑞士甜菜

餐酒：

• Velenosi Roggio del Filare Rosso Piceno Superiore Marche Italy 🇮🇹  2015

談到馬給，這個義大利中部臨著亞得裡亞海的的省份，最廣為人知的葡萄酒莫過於由白葡萄 Verdicchio 所釀造的 Verdicchio dei Castelli de Jesi 及 Verdicchio di Matelica。然而，單就葡萄的種植面積來看，白葡萄 Verdicchio 的種植面積僅排名第三（佔了13％）。第一、二名分別由Sangiovese 及 Montepulciona 這兩種紅葡萄給摘下了寶座。 其種植面積，分別佔了 21% 及 19 ％， 而這三種葡萄的種植面積則大約佔了一半馬給的葡萄園。

葡萄品種：桑嬌維賽（Sangiovese）

桑嬌維賽的種植面積是義大利所有的釀酒葡萄中最廣的。由於缺乏史料文件的紀錄及其煩不勝數的葡萄同義名，桑嬌維賽向來被認為是源自於托斯卡尼的原生品種。直到近代經由 DNA 檢測，才解開了桑嬌維賽的身世之謎。桑嬌維賽是由托斯卡尼的原生品種 Ciliegiolo 及不為人熟知的南方原生品種Calabrese Montenuovo 結合的葡萄品種。由此推斷，桑嬌維賽的出生地是在南方而不是在托斯卡尼。這個發現可是顛覆了大家對桑嬌維賽的認知，對當時的義大利葡萄酒界來說，可是大事一件。

桑嬌維賽其實非常嬌貴而且難以伺候。它除了對種植的地塊及氣候相當敏感，需要被悉心照料之外，由於它的皮很薄，非常容易染上白粉病及灰黴菌 。桑嬌維賽在太熱的地方長得不好，卻喜歡日夜溫差大的地方，而且在土壤貧瘠且排水良好的土地裡長得特別好。

使用桑嬌維賽釀出來的紅酒，顏色如紅寶石般透亮還帶點橘 ; 以酸澀的紅色水果為主，夾著乾燥花香，鼠尾草、百里香、丁香及土質氣味。強勁的酸度與單寧是桑嬌維賽經得起陳放的最主要關鍵。

葡萄品種：蒙塔普齊亞諾（Montepulciano）

紅葡萄蒙塔普齊亞諾是來自於阿布魯佐（Abruzzo），位於馬給的南方。蒙塔普齊亞諾是阿布魯佐的明星品種，種植面積是義大利釀酒葡萄中的第二名。蒙塔普齊亞諾是屬於晚熟型的葡萄品種，葡萄皮相當的厚，比較抗得住灰黴菌及霜霉病的侵襲 ; 也因為皮厚而擁有豐富的花青素，釀出來的酒，顏色也就特別的深，往往還帶點紫色。蒙塔普齊亞諾釀出來的酒風格多變，以干型的紅酒來說，既能做成酒體輕盈易飲的酒款，也能做成酒體渾厚、果香濃郁，有著成熟的紅色水果的風味並綴著乾燥香草的氣息。 蒙塔普齊亞諾不僅能做成干型的紅酒，就連氣泡酒、粉紅酒都有生產。將葡萄風乾後，還能做成甜酒呢！

然而，這個葡萄品種的名字常與托斯卡尼內的一個產區叫Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 搞混。Montepulciano 是托斯卡尼裡的一個城鎮，是釀造桑嬌維賽非常出名的地方。托斯卡尼的蒙塔普齊亞諾是指地方，而阿布魯佐的蒙塔普齊亞諾是指葡萄。我在wine store 工作時遇到不少類似的狀況，都要特意問清楚，才不會幫客人挑錯了酒。

產區：Rosso Piceno DOC (皮切諾）/Rosso Piceno Superiore DOC

今天我挑選的酒款是來自馬給，專門生產紅酒的皮切諾 DOC 法定產區。皮切諾 DOC 法定產區是馬給第二大的 DOC 法定產區，僅次於Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi DOC。由於涵蓋的範圍廣大，氣候及土壤的組成也不盡相同。基於法規的規定，此區只能生產紅酒。主要是由蒙塔普齊亞諾與桑嬌維賽混釀而成。

這瓶酒Roggio del Filare 是 Velenosi 酒莊的一款佳作，已獲得16 次義大利紅蝦獎三個酒杯的殊榮 。不例外的，2015 這個年份，也獲得三個酒杯的評比。（Gambero  Rosso 是全球義大利餐飲評鑑最權威的指南，被評分的單位包括：高級餐廳、家庭餐廳、葡萄酒、咖啡廳、甜點店、橄欖油等等。

這瓶葡萄酒命名的靈感來源是從 Giovanni Pascoli ，一位義大利詩人的其中一首詩 ‘Arano’ 得來的。這首詩主要是描述在鄉村生活的農夫與大自然一同和諧地共生與共存。莊主借用了詩裡的 Roggio 這個字，意指一道陽光，而 Roggio del Filare 則意指灑滿陽光的葡萄園小徑(葡萄樹下透出的一道陽光）。是不是很有有詩意及畫面感？我喝著這瓶酒時，一閉上眼，彷彿就置身於葡萄園中，看見結實累累的葡萄正享受著給予太陽給的能量，努力的成長茁壯，長出最豐碩的果實。

這瓶由 70% 蒙塔普齊亞諾及 30% 桑嬌維賽混釀而成 Roggio del Filare， 有著深沈不見杯底的嫣紅色澤，馥郁的黑色櫻桃、桑椹、黑棗、黑醋栗、葡萄乾的風味從杯裡一躍而上 ; 丁香、 多香果、香草及乾燥的百里香、牛至則悠悠地一現芳蹤。飲來芬芳，果香濃郁，奔放而有個性。酸度強勁，酒體結構紮實而單寧有度。經過五年的洗禮沈澱，口感倒是圓融了不少。這款酒絕對經得起時間的考驗，再陳放個五至十年飲用，絕對會是另一種風景。

尋找合適的餐點搭餐酒

和大廚合作，企圖找出能與這款酒搭配中式家常料理。幾經嘗試，終於在這道辣炒沙茶羊肉與瑞士甜菜找到了答案。重口味的沙茶與土質氣味濃厚的瑞士甜菜，再加上羊肉片一起拌炒，味道好極了，再搭著 Roggio del Filare 一起飲用，是一搭一唱，倆倆相襯。酒體豐厚有味的酒到底還是需要搭配重口味的菜才撐得起場面。就如同天平一樣，等重的兩個物體一起衡量，方能取得平衡。不然就像玩蹺蹺板一樣，一高一低，一來一往。雖然各自精彩，卻各唱各的調。

想要了解更多關於Velenosi 酒莊的介紹，歡迎至「一酒兩餐搭」： Lacrima di Morro 的餐酒搭配 閱讀更詳細的介紹