The fine features of Italy's localized white wines(2)
Terre di Tufi, a white blended with big bold taste in mind, comes from Tuscany. The wine is elegant and complex and because it is made primarily for export, suits the American palate. It compliments sauced fish, shellfish in butter or oil, or drunk by itself as a cocktail wine. It's pricey at about $20 retail.
Soave, I'm recently told, is the hot Italian white right now in New York. It is a dry white wine produced from the grape garganega in the hills surrounding the northern town of Verona. It comes in several designations determined by selectivity of grapes and vineyards. Soave Classico is from the prime growing hillsides of the region. Soave Classico Superiore is made under the strictest regulation designed to increase quality and is priced accordingly.
Finally, there is the grape Vermentino. From the house of Antinori comes Antinori Vermintino, Guado el Tasso, Bolgheri from the coastal region north of Rome famous for world-class red wines. Vermentino is the most elegant of unblended Italian white wines.
Vermentino is rapidly becoming my favorite. Try it with roasted clams.
Buy a couple dozen fresh hard-shell clams. Wash them well and coat them with olive oil. Squeeze a lemon over them, toss in a tablespoon of fresh garlic, a twist or three of fresh pepper and a splash of white wine (I always keep a cheap dry white wine in the refrigerator just for cooking simple food. That way I can drink every drop of the good stuff.). Put the clams in an oven as hot as you can get it. As soon as they pop open, they are done. Toss on a little chopped Italian parsley.
Eat the clams. Mop up the broth with good dense bread or pour the whole thing over a plate of steaming spaghetti. Drink the wine.
Enjoy!
