Friday, June 03, 2011

Love Fish? Try Falanghina

I don't know why, but recently my largely-chicken diet has turned in the direction of fish. This means my white wine preferences are shifting subtly, too. It's harder and harder for me to find a Chardonnay that doesn't overwhelm fish's delicate flavors. Sauvignon Blancs can be too assertive. Riesling doesn't work for my tastebuds for some reason, unless the fish preparation is quite spicy or I'm having shrimp.

So I kept searching for whites that would pair well with my fish tacos, linguine alle vongole, grilled tuna, halibut, scallops, and shrimp. And I found Falanghina. This wonderful grape is native to the southern Italian region of Campania, and is especially well-known in the vineyards around Naples on the Amalfi Coast.

The wine that knocked my socks off and won a permanent spot on my table is the 2009 VIVI Falanghina Campania IGT. And the suggested retail price? $9.99 (available in the market for $8-$13). You will find that the wine smells fresh and floral, like sitting in a garden by the seaside on a summer's day. As you swirl it in your glass, you may notice some citrus notes, too. Flavors of lemon and honeycomb round out the wine. And while there is plenty of zip and acidity in the juicy aftertaste, it will not overwhelm the delicacy of the seafood or fish you might be serving. Excellent QPR.

Full Disclosure: I received a sample of this wine for possible review.

10 comments:

Sweet Lily said...

Yeah! Now I can get wasted all day long! Yeah!

Ivo said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ivo said...

I'm happy that you have so much appreciated our VIVI Falanghina! When you change your diet to meat consider trying our VIVI Primitivo :)

Ivo

Join us at http://facebook.com/viviwine

Jeffrey Gross said...

Just discovered your terrific blog. One observation: it would be very useful if you would mention oak (or its absence) more often. You report other parameters (fruit, spice, earth, acidity, mouthfeel, etc) very reliably. For those of us who prefer little or no oak to our wine, if you mentioned that, it would be a big value-add to an already great resource.

Vino30 said...

We agree with you, the grape is fantastic and we are shocked to think that it was not long ago that the wines of souther Italy were snubbed! This is Vino30 approved!

Anonymous said...

I think that Falanghina and all white wine from campania,and speccialy from Irpinian region are so good,because are fresh and mineral!
I live in Euganean Hills,near Padua and i've a new wine blog. If you want an information from this wine visit my blog: http://thegoodwinery.blogspot.com/

Hello!!

Unknown said...

Thanks for your input and I will have to give it a try? Do you think it would be good with Halibut or more of a Salmon.

Unknown said...

more suggestions please! I love your blog and follow it regularly but its been awhile.

check mine out at http://www.thefreewineblog.com/ for wine knowledge + reviews + experiments

NotEmily.com said...

I am excited to try this, I hate chardonnay but I find myself only drinking champagne with fish. This seems like a nice alternative.

Jeffrey Gross said...

@NotEmily: I'm not a Chard fan, normally. Especially not that creamy, buttery, over-oaked stuff. Ick. However, I had a Chard from the Jura called "Pamina" the other day, and it knocked my socks off. Chard for Chard-haters.