Marzemino

            “Versa il vino! Eccellente Marzemino!” I’m not about to become the only person to write about this grape variety without mentioning its appearance at the last supper of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni.” So that’s out of the way: on to a discussion of yet another northern Italian grape that is a credit to its region.

            Jancis Robinson describes it as being of “tantalizingly average quality,” and other writers note that it’s high-yielding, late-ripening and susceptible to fungal diseases –not qualities likely to produce great wine in northern climes. In fact, it’s often made into sparkling wines or sweet ones with names like “Baci Dolci” (“Sweet Kisses”).

But as a dry wine, like this one from Cantina Turina in Garda, (available in the U.S. from Turina Italian Wines), it’s entirely worthy of a place at the dinner table.  Like the Turina Groppello mentioned in the previous post, it’s flavorful in the cherry-berry end of the red fruit spectrum, well-balanced and elegantly light-bodied. I wouldn’t bet the house on being able to distinguish the two in a blind tasting, but the producer describes its Marzemino as having an “herbal and undergrowth” character, which I assume is meant as a compliment.

The producer recommends serving it with barbecued or stewed meat or game (one retailer suggests elk). I think it would usually show off better with something lighter. It was delicious with our grilled pork chops, and I believe it would, like the Groppello, go well with tomato sauces.