This past week, I’ve tried many kinds of wines, all of which were fantastic. My favorite of the wines that I tried this week were the ones that we had at the wineries last Wednesday.

The first wine I wanted to talk about was a red wine called A.D. 1212. This was the last wine that we had at the last winery we went to on Wednesday. A.D. 1212 is probably the best wine I’ve ever had. I prefer red wines over white wines, and this is definitely the best red wine I’ve ever tasted, so it’s safe to say that A.D. 1212 is my favorite wine of all time. A.D. 1212 has the perfect balance of dryness and sweetness, just slightly further on the dryer side. This wine had a darker color to it, between a medium and deep ruby. The only thing that A.D. 1212 was lacking in, was aroma. It definitely had an aroma, it just wasn’t as strong or as desirable as some other wines we had on Wednesday. The most prevalent note that I got from A.D. 1212, was dark cherry. For whatever reason, I get dark cherry notes for the majority of red wines that I drink. It’s probably because I’m inexperienced, so throughout this blog post you’ll notice that I say a lot of the red wines that we had, smelled like dark cherries. The taste was obviously the best part of A.D. 1212. It’s easily the most complex and balanced wine I’ve ever had. Oddly enough, for me the strongest flavor I got was vanilla. The strongest fruit taste that I found was plum, which is also a flavor that I don’t notice in a lot of wines that I’ve tried. This wine paired really well with the bruschetta and sausage. These are all the reasons why A.D. 1212 is my favorite wine of all time.

The next wine I wanted to talk about, is Mare Antico. This is one of the most unique white wines I’ve had, due to its high mineral content. The mineral content for me, only really affected the appearance of the wine, and maybe a little in the taste. Aside from the mineral content, the appearance and color of Mare Antico was about the same as most white wines I’ve had, pale yellow. The aroma was definitely more unique than the taste, not to say that the taste isn’t unique. This wine had a lot of fruit aroma, mostly pear and apple. Another great thing about this wine, was its complexity. This was definitely the most complex white wine we had on Wednesday. The taste contributed to the complexity, with hints of honey, apricot, and pear. One thing that disappointed me about the wine, was its pairings at the time I had it. Most of the food that was available when I had this wine were meats, which for me, pair much better with red wines. So, because of Mare Antico’s sweetness, I would’ve paired it with a light salad that had a lot of fruits and nuts in it. Overall, Mare Antico was a very good and unique white wine.

Next up, I’ll be talking about the rosé wine that we had, as well as the dish that it was paired with. The wine was called Vitalonga, and it’s the best rosé wine I’ve ever had. Unfortunately, that’s not saying a whole lot, as I’ve only had 4 rosé wines my entire life. The best aspect of Vitalonga, in my opinion, was how smooth it was. For some people a short finish isn’t preferable when it comes to wine, but for me, I prefer white and rosé wines to have a short finish. The aroma of the rosé was quite subdued and definitely the part of the wine that was lacking the most. The color was between a medium pink and a deep pink, and this was the wine that I had the most trouble with distinguishing its aroma and taste, because of how subtle they were. What I could pick up on was lemon, which threw me off because of how uncommon that smell is for me, when it comes to wine. The pairing with the flan and truffle dish was easily the best part of experiencing the wine. The savoriness and richness of the dish really made the wine pop to me. Overall, while the rosé was good, I feel like the dish it was paired with really carried it.

The dessert we had at the first winery was easily the best dish we ate on Wednesday. The closest thing I’ve had to the dessert before, is lava cake. This cake was the perfect amount of soft, gooey, and chocolaty. It’s definitely the best chocolate cake I’ve had in my life, and is one of the best desserts I’ve had as well. Another thing that made the chocolate stand out, was the raspberry sauce that was poured on top of it. While it was very rich and sweet, it didn’t overpower the chocolate taste from the cake at all. My friend who was sitting next to me loves raspberry sauces, and he said it was the best he’s ever had. An amazing ending to an amazing experience.

The past week has been another exciting journey regarding the food and wine that I’ve had while in Italy. One of the most exciting parts, was all the new food that I had for the first time in my life. Most of the new foods that I tried were at this lovely establishment called Trattoria Del Moro Arrone. One of the first things that they gave us at Trattoria Del Moro Arrone, were different types of prosciutto, paired with an amazing white wine. The varietal of the white wine was spumante. The sweetness of it paired very well with the saltiness and savoriness of the prosciutto. I feel like the spumante was best paired with the Umbrian prosciutto, as it was the saltiest prosciutto that we had. After we tried the prosciutto, Trattoria Del Moro Arrone gave us a variety of cheeses. All of the cheeses were some of the best that I’ve had in my entire life. The parmigiano reggiano was one of the standout cheeses that we tried. It was very strong at first, but the more I had it, the more I got used to the sharpness of the flavor. Although the parmigiano reggiano was amazing, the best cheese from that night was hands down, the mozzarella di bufala. The smoothness of the texture, along with the milkiness, make it the best cheese I’ve had in my entire life. Towards the end of our time at Trattoria Del Moro Arrone, we had a sparkling red wine, which was first time that I’ve had that type of wine. As someone who’s used to dry red wines, the carbonation of the sparkling red wine definitely threw me for a loop, but it was still very good. I felt like the wine was best paired with the parmigiano reggiano. The flavor of the wine paired well with the sharpness of the cheese. The sparkling red wine was the only thing that I was hesitant on trying from that night. Looking back on it however, I’m very happy that I gave it a shot.

The other place that I went to this week, was Bar Montanucci. The experience that I had at Bar Montanucci was completely different from the experience that I had at Trattoria Del Moro Arrone. It was much more laid-back and comical. We had many types of hand-made pastries, while hearing about how Bar Montanucci was established, and how it became the most famous restaurant in Orvieto. My favorite pastry from that night, was a small cookie that was filled with very sweet jelly. The pastries that we had, were paired with a delicious dessert wine. The sweetness of the dessert wine complemented the sweetness of the pastries, making for an amazing treat. Next time that I have dessert wine, I’m going to make sure that I pair it with an amazing dessert that complements it perfectly. I’m also more confident about ordering from a menu in Italy, because now I recognize more of the stuff that’s on the menu. Now, when I see mozzarella di bufala on the menu, I’m definitely ordering it.

After this week, I’m definitely more confident when it comes to talking about the regional foods of Italy, as well as the different types of wine I had, and their pairings. Before this week, I had no idea that sparkling red wine even existed, and now I can talk in-depth about what I thought about it compared to other wines that I’ve had. I’m also more informed about dessert wine and spumante, which is actually why I bought a bottle of spumante a couple of days ago. Unfortunately, I forgot the name of it, but for the price it was very good. Overall, I’ve learned countless things about the different types of food and wine in Italy. I’ll never forget the once in a lifetime experiences that I’ve had this week.

During my stay in Italy, the cultural aspect that has both impressed and shocked me the most, has been the food. Easily the biggest difference regarding food that I’ve noticed has been the free bread that’s served at restaurants. In America, free bread is usually flavored, and is meant to be enjoyed by itself. Meanwhile, in Italy free bread that’s served at restaurants is almost the exact opposite. The bread almost never has anything added to it. No garlic, no butter, no salt, nothing. Another thing is that the free bread is not meant to be eaten by itself. It’s usually used to mop up the leftover sauce from other foods. The free bread can also be enjoyed with extra virgin olive oil drizzled on top of it, as opposed to dipping it, as most people do in America.

One thing that I’m not surprised about is how amazing the food and wine is here in Italy. One of the biggest benefits to Italian dining is the slow food movement. At first, when I heard that Italian dinners can take up to 3-4 hours, it was honestly a little intimidating. I thought for sure I’d constantly be bored and want the dinner to end, but to my surprise I ended up loving how long dinners last in Italy. If you’re with the right people, those hours just fly by and you’ll never notice how long you’ve actually been eating and drinking, which is a plus in my book.

No blog post about Italian dining would be complete if I didn’t mention my favorite food that I’ve had here. In my honest opinion, the best thing to eat in Italy, is any sort of pasta. You’ll never be disappointed when you order pasta in Italy. I’ve had a different type of pasta every time I go to a restaurant in Italy, and every time it’s been amazing. Pair that with an Italian red or white wine, and you’ve just bought yourself a one-way ticket to culinary bliss.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton