Verdiso: A new grape (for me)

Pesto and caprese was the dinner menu for tonight and armed with that information, I went to the cellar to select something fun to pair it with. I came upstairs confessing that I had chosen a bottle that was largely unknown to me, but would likely work. We acquired this bottle through our Roscioli wine club, which always send surprises, most of which are quite good. The first surprise came when I removed the capsule only to find a "beer cap" closing the bottle instead of a cork. I opened the bottle and a gentle mousse foamed out of the top, accompanied by strong aromas of white flowers and fruitiness.

This sparkling wine is relatively light-bodied, with high acidity, low alcohol, and lots of citrus fruits with a bit of apricot and peach. The fairly short finish is characterized by lots of bitter almond. All-in-all, not a terribly auspicious beginning. As dinner was cooking, I went to D'Agata's Native Wines of Italy (a comprehensive tomb) and learned that Verdiso is a grape that is native to the Veneto region and used to be much more commonly planted than its neighboring Glera. It fell out of favor largely because when planted on fertile land, it leads to very uninspired wine. Verdiso can be made into a sparkling or a still wine and can be blended with Glera. The best region for Verdiso is Valdobbiadene, the region from which these grapes derive.

The second surprise came when I paired the wine with the pesto. It was a really fine pairing, serving to highlight the basil in the pesto and the herbal elements in the wine. I only had a few sips before dinner and was debating what I might replace it with, but after trying it with the pesto, a glass of this seemed perfect. Further, D'Agata singles out this vineyard (Gregoletto) as being one of the very best producers. As a final note, my wife declared that it was a fabulous match for a piece of Turkish delight, which she had for dessert.