Alto Adige Red Wines Paired with Sierra Nevada Adventures and Cabin-Cooked Meals #ItalianFWT

This month I am hosting the combined wine writers' group for our Italian Food Wine Travel event. You can read my invitation. I was sent the bottles from Cantina Bozen as a media sample, but I received no compensation for this article. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Line-Up

• Alto Adige Red Wines Paired with Sierra Nevada Adventures and Cabin-Cooked Meals by Culinary Cam (you're here)

• Alto Adige Wine Pairings by Cooking Chat

• Bolzano and the Alto Adige Wines of Kellerei Bozen by Crushed Grape Chronicles

• From a Country of Contrasts: Pinot Noir, Schiava, Lagrein at Alto Adige’s Cantina di Bolzano plus a Menu for Alpine Wines by Wine Predator…Gwendolyn Alley

• From the Dolomites to Your Glass: Tasting 4 Alpine Reds and a Refreshing Kretzer by ENOFYLZ Wine Blog

• Head northeast for juicy Italian reds by My Full Wine Glass

• Italian Red Wines from Trentino-Alto Adige with Kellerei Bolzano by Vino Travels

• Italian Wines at Altitude by Avvinare

• Two Italian Dinners, Two Wines from the Italian Alps, and a Book Review by A Day in the Life on the Farm

• Uncorking the Italian Alps: A Journey Through Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio and Exquisite Alp Whites by Our Good Life

Italian Alpine Wines

I received several bottles for a webinar I attended about Italian Alpine red wines with Matthias Messner, Director of  Cantina Bozen, who introduced us to the property in the Alto Adige, gave us the history of the estate, and presented the wines he had sent.

Alto Adige is the most northernmost wine region, right next to the Austrian border. While they are most well known for their white wines, Messner led us through a selection of their red wines. And now I am borderline obsessed with getting my hands on more examples.

In addition to the Cantina Bozen bottles, I got my hands on a Alois Lageder Schiava Vigneti delle Dolomiti and served it with braised lamb shanks. More on that in a different post.

Here are some fun facts that we learned during the webinar about the region...

The German word for the Trentino-Alto Adige is Sudtirol. The population of the region is almost three-quarters German-speaking, first, though all are bi-lingual. This is also why the imprint has two names - Cantina Bozen (in Italian), Kelleri Bozen (in German). In fact, Messner himself has German as his first language though he is nationally Italian.

All vineyards are hand-harvested due to the steepness of the slopes. An most of the winemakers grow both grapes and apples.

In 2023, production in the region was 65% white wine and 35% red wine with 98% of production DOC - Denominazione di Origine Controllata, literally Controlled Designation of Origin, which is a certification in Italian wines that, under the law, have distinctive features of superior quality, determined by the grape varietal and the production area as well as the techniques for processing and aging.

Then we learned about Cantina Bozen...

In 1908, thirty wine growers in Gries decided to form a cooperative; a second winemaking cooperative was founded in 1930 around the hill of S. Maddalena. In 2001 the Gries and Santa Maddalena wineries merged to consolidated their range of wines. Then, in 2016, they merged under Cantina Bolzano. Today the winegrowers' cooperative has over two hundred families who share a goals of diversity, passion, and enjoyment.

The estate is comprised of 14% flat vineyards with the remaining 86% lining the hillsides of the Bolzano basin, an ancient volcanic crater.

The best sites of Cantina Bolzano are as varied as the land itself: The vineyards sit at between 600 and 3200 feet above sea level around Gries, S. Maurizio, Settequerce, Missiano, S. Giorgio, Cologna, S. Maddalena, S. Giustina, Coste and Renon which lends to a broad diversity in the kinds of grape varieties that are cultivated. The higher elevations produce Sauvignon and Gewürztraminer. Moving down the mountain, you get Santa Maddalena, then Cabernet and Merlot. And Lagrein thrives on the valley floor.

One of the attendees asked about the effect of climate change on the grape production. Messner's answer was simple: we will just have to move further up the mountain to get to cooler temperatures.

Though Messner led the tasting during the webinar, I took notes and reserved the alpine wines for our mountain adventures though instead of the peaks of the Alto Adige, ours were the mountains between California and Nevada rimming Lake Tahoe!

Sierra Nevada Adventures

We have been truly fortunate that, despite going to different universities, the boys' Spring breaks have always lined up. So, we book a house somewhere and spend a week adventuring together as a family. This year we went back to a cabin in Incline Village - on the California-Nevada border - that we love.

We snowshoed up to Chickadee Ridge from the Old Mount Rose Highway; Jake and D had chickadees literally eating from their hands.

We all jumped into the forty-degree lake for a refreshing cold dunk. There was no Danish Snobrød (Camp Fire Bread) waiting for us. Sadly.

We circumnavigated the entire seventy-two miles of the shoreline on our twenty-fifth anniversary and stopped at Bonsai Rock, Spooner Lake Summit, and Sugar Pine State Park.

We trekked through the Desolation Wilderness from Inspiration Point to the top of Cascade Falls. That's almost a 1200-foot elevation gain in less than three miles.

And, on our last day, we sculpted 'Hot Frosty' - have you seen that Netflix Christmas movie?!? - during whiteout conditions on Mount Rose. The movie is regrettable, but this adventure was priceless. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.

Cabin-Cooked Meals

After every day of adventuring, I cooked a meal and poured a wine pairing. Many people go on vacation and eat out for every meal. I prefer to tuck in, and spoil my family with home-cooked feasts where we linger over glasses of wine and interesting conversation. It is quite something to spend time with our adult children. Who knew you could spend half an hour discussing shit? Literally.

I mistakenly said, "Shit is shit." Nope!

"Mom, think about it. Bat shit means crazy. No shit means you're surprised. Dog shit means..."

You get the idea. These guys crack me up. And I am grateful that they still want to spend their breaks with us instead of lounging in pools in Mexico or the Caribbean with their friends. Finally...to the food and wine!

Cotoletta di Vitello and Frico

I paired it with the Huck Am Bach 2023 Sta. Magdalena

When I started researching Italian alpine recipes, there were a few that caught my eye. With the Huck Am Bach 2023 Sta. Magdalena, I went with cotoletto di vitello and frico. Both were new to me. I did have to figure out the cotoletta versus costoletta from recipes in my very rusty Italian. And what I think is the answer: cotoletta is boneless whilc costoletta in bone-in. I could be wrong and, if so, someone please set me straight. Perhaps Susannah of Avvinare will chime in!

Cotoletta di Vitello

I had some veal in my freezer from a lunch I prepared for my mom and her friends. Veal is not something I buy or eat simply because of how it is produced. But I had some, so I went with it. You can do this same technique with whatever meat you have; it's akin to a German Schnitzel. I also saw this process referred to as orecchio d'elefante, meaning 'elephant ear', which I really like, but went with the more common name.

Ingredients

4 servings

• 4 veal cutlets, pounded to about 1/2-inch thick

• 4 eggs

• 3/4 cup flour (I used a gluten-free flour)

• 3 to 4 cup breadcrumbs (I used gluten-free)

• 1-1/4 cup (2-1/2 sticks) butter

• salt to taste

Procedure

Place flour in one bowl and breadcrumbs in another. Whisk the eggs in a third bowl and season with salt. Dredge the cutlet first in flour, dunk it in to the eggs to coat completely, then press it in to the breadcrumbs so that the meat is covered as much as possible. Set aside and repeat until all of the cutlets are done.

Melt the butter in a skillet. Fry the cutlets until golden brown, approximately 2 minutes on each side. Transfer to paper towels to drain any excess fat. Sprinkle with salt and serve warm.

Frico

This was a new-to-me dish though I have made similar dishes such as Irish Boxty or any kind of latke. But these have the addition of cheese, traditionally Montasio which I couldn't find. I went with another mildly flavored semi-hard Alpine cheese - Emmenthal, but I could also see this done with gruyère. Whatever you can find really.

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 pounds potatoes (I used golden potatoes), grated

• 1-1/2 cups cubed cheese

• 1 onion, finely sliced

• 1 Tablespoon butter

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil

• salt

• handful of herbs or greens (not traditional!), for serving

Procedure

Melt butter in a splash of olive oil in a small pan over a medium heat. Add the onions and cook until softened and beginning to turn translucent. Add the grated potatoes and cook for about 15 minutes until the potatoes are almost cooked through. Stir occasionally so that they cook evenly.

Add the cubes of cheese and stir the mixture together to distribute the cheese into the potatoes. When the cheese starts to melt, gently press the mixture into a thick, flattened pancake. Cook until golden brown, approximately 6 to 7 minutes. Once nicely browned, carefully flip the frico and cook the other side for another 6 to 7 minutes. Flip onto a serving platter.

While not traditional, I always add greens wherever I can. In this case, I topped my frico with a handful of wild arugula.

Huck Am Bach 2023 Sta. Magdalena

This wine is a blend of Schiava and Lagrein grapes from Santa Maddalena. I will talk more about Schiava when I share my Alois Lageder Schiava Vigneti delle Dolomiti pairing, but I am quite enamored with this indigenous grape. I am less familiar with Lagrein though I have tried it before. Lagrein is also a native grape, a descendent of Teroldego and relative to Syrah, Pinot Noir, and Dureza. Its name suggests its origins lie in the Lagarina valley of Trentino.

The wine pours a brilliant ruby red. On the nose, there were floral notes layers with red fruit. But it was the scent of marzipan that really intrigued me. On the palate, this wine was medium-bodied but full of flavor. The finish was smooth and perfect with the heavier dishes with which I poured it.

I already mentioned that I received this as a media sample, but it retails for around $30.

Roasted Rack of Lamb

I paired it with the Riserva 2020 Taber Lagrein

'Rack of Lamb' might sound fancy, but it's just like any other roast. This is definitely worth the effort. Za'atar is a Middle Eastern spice that I always have on hand. I carted a jar up to the mountains for this exact dish.

Ingredients

• rack of lamb (with 6 to 8 ribs)

• 10 cloves garlic, peeled and pressed

• 1 teaspoon stone ground mustard

• 2 Tablespoons za'atar spice blend (you can see one of my versions)

• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

• olive oil

• Also needed a roasting pan fitted with rack

Procedure

In a small mixing bowl, whisk the mustard, za'atar, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper together with a splash of olive oil to create a thick paste. Rub the paste all over the lamb and refrigerate until ready to cook. Before cooking, remove the lamb from the fridge at least 60 minutes before cooking.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the lamb in a roasting pan, fat-side up, and drizzle liberally with olive oil.

Place pan in the oven and roast for 15 minutes. Turn the lamb, fat-side down this time, and return to the oven for an additional 10 minutes for medium-rare meat. Cook longer, if you prefer your meat more done than medium rare.

Transfer lamb to a carving board, stand rack upright and let rest for 10 minutes. Carve in between the rib bones and transfer to plates.

Riserva 2020 Taber Lagrein

This single varietal Lagrein was the most expensive of the bottles I received, so I save it for a special cabin dinner that I cooked on our 25th wedding anniversary. It retails for around $80.

The grapes for this wine come from more than 80-year-old vines that grow in the alluvial sand in Gries at around 750 feet above sea level.

The wine pours a strikingly deep garnet with an almost black core. On the nose there were aromas of mulberries layered with chocolate and the pleasingly almost burnt scent of sourdough bread. On the palate the wine matched its aromas and took it over the top with a velvety elegance. It was powerful but opulent.

I am unsure which kid took this photo, but I love it!

That's a wrap for my offering today though I will be sharing my pairings with the 2022 Perl Lagrein and the 2023 Blauburgunder Pinot Nero soon. Stay tuned! Cin cin!