A few days ago we cooked pumpkin risotto, it was so tasty that the only choice we had was to choose a really good wine to pair with. So we chose the Masseré, a Collio Pinot Grigio, produced by Tiare winery. I decided to write about this very satisfactory experience.
Pumpkin belongs to the Cucurbits family, it arrived from the Americas thanks to the first overseas trips of the sixteenth century. It consists of water (about 80%) and the rest is fats, carbohydrates and proteins. We cooked the risotto by customising the recipe: we used extra virgin olive oil instead of butter and we also used a little smoked provoletta to mix in it. As I am from Sicily, I served the risotto with a sprinkling of gratedcaciocavallo, a Sicilian cheese.
As mentioned, we chose a Collio Pinot Grigio for the pairing, Tiare’s Collio Pinot Grigio Masseré 2020, awinery managed by Roberto and Sandra.
Tiare winery is in Dolegna, in the eastern part of the Gorizian Collio, right next to the border with Slovenia. The winery’s vineyards is 12 hectares in size, with a production of about 100,000 bottles per years. The soils are calcareous-marly, with the right mix of silt and clay. The microclimate is mild, sheltered from the Julian Alps, with a large diurnal range that allows the development of aromas in the wine. The vine pruning system is Guyot, with a density from 4.000 to-5,000 vines per hectare. The number and location of the buds is selected, and hand harvesting takes place in September with several pickings.
In the cellar, the must macerates with the skins for one night, so that it can take the typical coppery reflections. The controlled fermentation of 80% of the mass takes place in steel tank, subsequently stopping on the yests during the winter. The remaining part ferments in wood and the blend between the two masses is carried out in February.
Let’s move on to the of the dish’s recipe.
Ingredients for 4 people:
- 400 g. of brown rice
- 500 g. of pumpkin
- 1 onion
- 150 g. of smoked provoletta
- 1 l. of vegetable broth
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt
- grated Sicilian caciocavallo
First of all the pumpkin and onion blanched and then cut very thinly. Then they are mixed with the rice, and everything is cooked in the vegetable broth, that is added gradually. After fifteen minutes, the extra virgin olive oil and the provoletta have to be added and, finally, as soon as the dish is ready, grated caciocavallo sprinkled on top.
The Risotto’s main ingredients have the following taste-olfactory characteristics:
- rice: slightly aromatic with a sweet tendency;
- pumpkin: sweetness and aromaticity;
- smoked provoletta: fattiness and aromaticity;
- onion: sweet tendency and aromaticity;
- vegetable broth: flavours, aromaticity and mouth watering effect.
The recipe is mainly characterised by the aromaticity and sweet tendency, but also the oiliness (fattiness) and the mouth watering effect are well perceptible.
Now let’s talk about the wine. It’s crystal clear with a beautiful deep golden colour, coppery, and it is consistent in the glass. On the nose the wine expresses articulated and intense aromas of wisteria, yellow peach, exotic fruit such as pineapple, spicy tones of nutmeg, a breath of linde, sage and a hint of bitter almond in the finish. In the mouth the wine has a very important freshness and a savory component, which balance the alcohol. The finish is very long.
But how was the food and wine pairing?
The important fresh-savory component of the Masseré balanced the sweet tendency and the fattiness of the dish well. The good alcoholic component of the wine was in contrast to the risotto’s mouth watering effect and fattiness, while the long finish and persistence of the Pinot Grigio have well matched the aromaticity and persistence of the risotto.
A really successful pairing, I would even say harmonious. Matching a dish that I love and the organoleptic characteristics of Tiare’s Pinot Grigio was e beautiful sensory experience.
