Christmas lunch with Poggio 2020
Christmas lunch with Poggio 2020
Christmas lunch anxiety? Food, wine, tradition? What will the guests say? Worse, what will your family say? 😨🥵
Aaaaand your anxiety is over right now! 🫠
What? Oh yes, dear reader, because today, with this article, I propose to you five Italian recipes that will perfectly complement a unique and incomparable bottle of wine, Poggio 2020.
But first, let me introduce you to Poggio 2020
Before delving deeper into the food world, I’ll describe our brand-new Poggio 2020 in more detail.
Poggio is a red wine, blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Barbera, and Bonarda, the latter added after sun-drying in September. It stays one year in steel, 14 months in wood (several passages between barrique and tonneau), and finally, one year in the bottle to soften the green and edgy tannins of Cabernet Sauvignon and begin to develop tertiary scents from aging.
Each vintage of Poggio is different from the others, and the first factor that always changes the game is time.
💡Do you know the difference between weather and climate? Weather changes from day to day, from one season to another; climate indicates the atmospheric conditions that occur in a specific area over twenty or thirty years.
The weather conditions in 2020 were highly favorable here in Salsomaggiore Terme. We all remember 2020 for obvious reasons, but environmentally, the halt of human activities brought great benefits to nature. Less pollution, more balance in the seasons, and it only took a few months.
When it comes to viticulture, monitoring the progress of all seasons is crucial, but summer is the decisive moment when, for example, a hailstorm can ruin a year’s work. The summer of 2020 here, in the hills of Salsomaggiore Terme, reached peaks of 35/38 degrees, with regular but not frequent rain. This allowed a longer and more balanced grape ripening period, and all of this is found in the glass today.
It releases scents of cooked fruit, a deep-black cherry; in the mouth, still slightly austere and edgy, but this is Cabernet, which needs more time to soften. The tannin is present, not bothersome, and evokes something juicy on the palate.
And now that I have convinced you to set your Christmas table with at least one bottle of Poggio 2020, I’ll illustrate which Italian traditional recipes pair best with this wine.
1. Tuscany – Chicken Liver Crostini
Find me an appetizer that goes better with a barrel-aged red than Chicken Liver Crostini? 😉 Get a good plain and toasted bread and follow the recipe instructions on NYT cooking section.
💡🍷Why do Chicken Liver Crostini go well with Poggio 2020? Tuscan chicken liver crostini often present intense and complex flavors thanks to ingredients like chicken liver, butter, sage, and strong aromas. The Poggio 2020, with its still very marked tannins and robust flavor from aging in wooden barrels, offers a pleasant contrast to the intense flavors of the dish, balancing and complementing them.
2. Emilia Romagna – Lasagna Bolognese
Do you prepare Lasagna on Christmas day? If not, it’s time to do it! I’ll leave you here with the real recipe where you can discover the true story of Lasagna Bolognese.
💡🍷Why do Lasagna go well with Poggio 2020? The robust and deeply fruity flavor of Poggio 2020 counterbalances the rich taste of Bolognese sauce, emphasizing the flavors of meat, tomatoes, and herbs in the recipe. A well-structured dish, thanks to the different layers of pasta, that pairs well with this complexity. Lastly, the acidity that contrasts the creaminess of the béchamel helps to cleanse and refresh the palate.
3. Lombardy – Oven-Baked Venison with Polenta
When recommending meat, I prefer game: I believe it’s a more ethical and respectful way of consuming meat (and qualitatively better in terms of health and the environment).
So, get yourself good polenta and call your hunter friend who surely has some reserves of venison in their freezer. I’ll leave you this recipe, which can also be served as a single dish (although on Christmas day, I acknowledge, a single dish is probably utopian).
💡🍷Why does oven-baked venison with polenta go well with Poggio 2020? Venison is an elegant, tender, and delicate yet meaty animal that pairs well with the body of Poggio 2020. The structure and body of the wine, in this case, match well with the density of polenta, which has a slightly earthy flavor, congruent with the fruity tones of black fruit in Poggio 2020.
What I wouldn’t pair with Il Poggio 2020:
- Cold cuts and cheeses (although aged cheeses can be daring)
- Fish and shellfish
So, are you ready to prepare a Christmas lunch featuring Poggio 2020? If you need it, click here 😉