Pair Food and Wine like a Pro with Sagrantino di Montefalco

Did you get a chance to enjoy Sagrantino Festival from October 26th to November 6th in the GTA? If you missed it, it was a festival hosted by the Montefalco Wine Consortium, in cooperation with the Italian Chamber of Commerce of Ontario (ICCO), that offered wine and food lovers a rare chance to taste outstanding Montefalco wines paired with delicious prix fixe meals. But, if you were able to partake in this festival, we’re sure you walked away with a new favourite bottle of wine–Sagrantino di Montefalco.

To share a quick Italian history lesson, under Italian law, the term "Montefalco Sagrantino Secco DOCG" defines a wine obtained exclusively from Sagrantino grapes, produced exclusively in the small area around Montefalco in the Province of Perugia, in the Umbria region of central Italy. The word "secco" in the name is Italian for "dry". The wine is aged for 30 months, of which at least 12 months must be in oak barrels. The wine is a DOCG (Denominazione di origine controllata, or in English “controlled designation of origin”), which is the highest-ranking category of Italian wine denominations.

So, in short, Sagrantino di Montefalco is a royal wine which makes it a perfect holiday gift for wine lovers or the perfect wine to show off at your dinner parties.

A rule of thumb when pairing food and wine is to always choose a dish or a specialty from the same region. Here are four master chef worthy dishes that’ll help you to pair food with Sagrantino di Montefalco–a wine that boast spicy, earthy and fruity flavours that pairs well with mature cheeses and savoury meats.

Classic Italian Cheese and Meat Platter with Sagrantino di Montefalco

Add thin slices of of salami, Coppa di Parma IGP, a hard classic Italian cheese, like pecorino or a true Italian farmstead cheese such as caciotta. These selections are complimented with grilled bread slices drizzled with virgin olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt. It is important to note that using products with Italian protected designations of origin, such as DOP and IGP makes a world of a difference in quality!

Sagrantino di Montefalco Wine Gnocchi

Ingredients for 4-6:

Potato gnocchi(1 kg)

1/2 white onion, diced

Bacon (150g)

Sagrantino (1 cup)

Crème Fraiche or 18% cream (1 cup)

Parmigiano Reggiano, grated

Olive oil (2 tablespoons)

Butter (1 tablespoon)

Salt and pepper

Preparation

In a medium saucepan, sauté bacon and onion in olive oil for 5 minutes. Add 1 cups of Sagrantino and reduce.In a separate pot, cook the gnocchi in salted water for a few minutes (until they float). Transfer the gnocchi to the saucepan containing the wine reduction, bacon, and onion. Add butter and fresh cream. Simmer for one minute and serve. Garnish with fresh pepper, a sprinkle of salt and grated Parmigiano cheese.

Fillet Mignon (Medallions) with Sagrantino Sauce

Ingredients for 4

4 beef tenderloin medallions

Fresh rosemary (1 sprig) and sage (3 leaves)

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

Butter (3 tablespoons)

Smoked bacon (8 slices)

White wine (1 cup)

Sagrantino Sauce

Sagrantino wine (2 cups)

Shallot (1)

Bay leaves (2)

Cloves (2)

Juniper berries (4-5)

Black pepper grains (4-5)

Dried thyme (1 teaspoon)

Fresh oregano (1 teaspoon)

Butter (2 tablespoons)

Meat Preparation: Wrap cooking twine around the sides of each beef medallion and knot. Layer 1 or 2 slices of smoked bacon around the twine and secure with a toothpick. Season each medallion with salt and pepper.

Sauce Preparation: Heat a saucepan on high heat cook shallots for 3 minutes. Then add wine, bay leaf, cloves, juniper berries, and pepper. Cook until the wine reduces into a sauce. Pour the sauce through a strainer and return to the pan. Add butter and let it simmer on low heat for another 3 minutes. In a separate skillet, heat 3 teaspoons of olive oil, 3 tablespoons of butter, 1 sprig rosemary, 3 sage leaves and some pepper grains in the skillet. Add beef and sear both sides on high heat. Deglaze the pan with white wine, and cook meat to desired temperature (i.e. rare, medium rare, medium). Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper. Pour over the Sagrantino sauce and serve.