Sharing Lugana DOC – Winter Whites With Friends #ItalianFWT #Luganawines

Kicking off 2020 with the #ItalianFWT blogging group, Jeff from Food Wine Click! invites us to introduce Italian wines to our curious friends. Well, most of my friends are no strangers to Italian wines. But have you heard about the ‘liquid gold’ - Lugana wines from northern Italy? Susannah Gold, the Lugana DOC Wine Ambassador on the East Coast, US invited some friends to a Lugana/Indian dinner at Spice Symphony in New York City during the holiday. It was a merry night - sipping these wintery, medium-bodied Lugana wines and enjoying the Indian food that was precisely prepared to match the wines. After all, learning about these unique Italian white wines from Lugana, especially their versatility in pairing with different cuisines, was super fun too!

Lugana DOC Wines Introduced at Spice Symphony- Photo Credit: Susannah Gold

Italy is the second-largest wine exporter by volume and by value in 2018 per OIV published in April 2019. The wildly popular Italian wines in the US include Prosecco, Pinot Grigio, Moscato, Chianti, Super Tuscan, Montepulciano, Barbera, and Nebbiolo…to name a few. At any price point, consumers can easily find what they need. Lugana DOC wines are priced nicely at the range from $16 to $24. To me, it’s a great bargain for these textured white wines that have some ‘chews’ to them – totally appropriate for the winter.

Lugana is located at the south shore of Italy’s largest lake, Lago di Garda, and lies partly in Veneto and partly in Lombardy. Its geo features a fairly flat basin bounded on the north by Lake Garda. On the west, south, and east, it’s surrounded by low morainic hills, which were formed by the southern push of the great Alpine glaciers of the Ice Age. The unique terroir in Lugana is formed by its uniform clay soils, temperature moderated by the large lake, and the confining hills.  

Turbiana Grapes - Phote Credit: www.consorziolugana.it

Turbiana is the native signature grape of Lugana wines. To be qualified for the Lugana DOC, at least 90% of the grapes need to be Turbiana.  While the styles of Lugana DOC wines slightly vary from one producer to another, these wines, in general, are dry, lush, savory, and have the stronger mouthfeel that pairs well with well-seasoned cuisines like Indian and Chinese food. You could ‘chew’ on these wines to experience the texture and hold onto the longer finish than most of the other white wines. All these characteristics qualify Lugana DOC wines as the sought-after winter white wines.

There are five types of Lugana DOC wines:

• Lugana Spumante: Sparking wines that are produced both by the Charmat (or Martinotti) method (prise de mousse in pressurized tanks) or the Classic Method (refermentation in the bottle).
• Lugana: Fresh, young, “standard” or “basic” Lugana that is the driving force and counter stone for the denomination as a whole, accounting for almost 90% of the DOC’s wines.
• Lugana Superiore: a Lugana that has been aged for at least one year after harvesting, and produces a more complex taste profile.
• Lugana Riserva: a natural evolution of the Superiore type, which must mature for at least 24 months, 6 of which in the bottle.
• Lugana Vendemmia Tardiva: the Late Harvest version of Lugana is an elegant sweet wine that is made by over-ripening the grapes on the vine and then picking them later than usual.

We started off sipping the Luguana DOC Classic Method 2016 Olivini, a light sparkler, while we were having the Panipuri. Panipuri is an Indian street food. It is a hollow, deep-fried crispy crepe that is filled with a mixture of chickpeas and mashed potato, and tamarind and cumin flavored water. The Olivini has solid acidity that co-mingled the acidity from the tamarind water and brightened up the oily texture of the deep-fried crepe.

The next bottle was Lugana DOC CA’Maiol Molin 2018, which has pleasant acidity, great structure, aromatic herbs, and sharp finish. Its freshness really cut through the fried samosas we were having. Samosa is a fried pastry with a savory filling such as spiced potatoes, onions, peas, meat, or lentils inside the pastry. An interesting twist to this everyday Indian side is having the filling outside the pastry – great presentation too with the Inside-out samosa. The CA’Maiol Molin also went well with the paneer cheese chunk that had a cranberry filling in it, echoing the classic compatibility between wines and cheeses. Paneer is a fresh, unaged and non-melting soft cheese commonly used in  Indian cuisine. 

While love was in every bottle, Lugana DOC Superiore CA’ Vaibo 2017 Fausto Bulgarini was a true love at first sip to me. The initial sip was savory and briny - continuing into hints of wild herbs, fuller body, balanced texture, and lush mouthfeel. 

When pairing with the non-saucy tikka masala chicken thigh, this wine was mighty and retained its taste profile in light of the spices.

As we moved onto the seafood platter - curry seabass, pan-seared scallop over sweet mango sauce, and curry-sauced Basmati rice, the Lugana DOC Riserva Vigne Di Catullo 2016 Tenuta Roveglia was poured. 

The Tenuta Roveglia has a fruity accent on the nose and features a dry, subtle mineral and citrus notes, which is a perfect complement to the mildly spicy fish and scallop.

With 26% residual sugar, the Lugana DOC Vend. Tardiva Rabbiosa 2015 Marangona was a dessert by itself. It first reveals fresh sensations of aromatic herbs, hints of saffron, wildflower honey, and cardamom, and then opens to the citrus sensations of limoncella and sweet spices. To pair with this wine, the Ras Malai, a dessert made with paneer cheese, cardamom powder and pistachios, was served. Wow… a big shout-out to Jay who is the sommelier at Spice Symphony for a fantastic pairing between Lugana DOC wines and Indian cuisine!

To learn more about other Italian wines, check out my blogger friends' posts...

• Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares “Sips and Eats Around the Boot: A Primer to Italian Wines and Pairings”
• Lynn at Savor the Harvest shares “Introducing the Diversity of Italian Wine”
• Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm shares “Ringing in the New Year with Loved Ones and Prosecco“
• Marcia at Joy of Wine shares “The World of Italian Wine: Where Do I Begin?“
• Gwendolyn at Wine Predator shares “4 To Try in 2020: Italy’s Franciacorta, Friuli, Chianti, Mt. Etna“
• Cindy at Grape Experiences shares “Why the Wines and Food of Custoza DOC are Some of Veneto’s Many Pleasures”
• Susannah at Avvinare shares “Three Noble Red Grapes that Help to Navigate the Italian Peninsula”
• Linda at My Full Wine Glass shares “What exactly IS this Italian grape?”
• Jen at Vino Travels shares “The Beginnings to Understanding Italian Wine”
• Kevin at Snarky Wine shares “Cutting Your Teeth on Italian Wines”
• Katarina at Grapevine Adventures shares “3 Grapes to Get a Beginner’s Taste of Italian Wine”
• Nicole at Somm’s Table shares “Italian Wine 101 Cheat Sheet”
• Jeff at Food Wine Click! shares “Italian Wine 101 – Start Your Journey Here”

Lugana DOC Wines and Cantonese Banquet Dinner…When A Pairing is Seriously Done Right!

When Susannah Gold from Vignet Communications approached me about the idea to pair Lugana DOC wines with Chinese food back in May, I didn’t have any doubt if the pairing would work or not. Having tasted Lugana DOC wines many times, I immediately know that these full-bodied and textured white wines would do well with Cantonese food – the food that I grew up with. I was also very excited about the opportunity to work with Susannah, who thinks outside-the-box in terms of pairing her wines with diverse cuisines. With a few word-of-mouth recommendations and its great location, Jing Fong was the first restaurant to kick off the Lugana DOC media dinner series. Let’s see how the synergy erupts between Lugana DOC wines and an 11-course Cantonese banquet!

Photo Credit:Italianwinecentral.com

Lugana is located at the south shore of Italy’s largest lake, Lago di Garda, and lies partly in Veneto and partly in Lombardy. Its geo features a fairly flat basin bounded on the north by Lake Garda. On the west, south, and east, it’s surrounded by low morainic hills, which were formed by the southern push of the great Alpine glaciers of the Ice Age. The unique terroir in Lugana is formed by its uniform clay soils, temperature moderated by the large lake, and the confining hills.

Turbiana is the native signature grape of Lugana wines. To be qualified for the Lugana DOC, at least 90% of the grapes need to be Turbiana.  While the styles of Lugana DOC wines vary from one producer to another, these wines, in general, are dry, lush, briny, and have the stronger mouthfeel that pairs well with fresh seafood that’s cooked with light sauces/seasonings or deep-fried in a light batter.  The Cantonese way of cooking seafood exactly demonstrates the style of less-is-more, showcasing the seafood and discouraging any attempts to mask the ingredients' flavors with sauces.

Top L: Lobster Garlic Noodle, M: Sauteed Shrimp & Chicken, R: Baked Scallops with Crispy Seafood Rolls; Bottom: Assorted Seafood in a "basket"

After tasting all six Lugana DOC wines, it was so hard to prefer one over another as they are all very good with subtle and nuanced differences that fascinate wine lovers. However, there are two standouts – Ca Dei Frati Brolettino Lugana DOC 2016 (SRP$27) and Tenuta Roveglia Lugana DOC Vend. Tard. Filo Di Arianna 2014 (SRP$17), which goes a bit above and beyond by offering the capacity of ageing or velvety texture as a result of late harvest respectively. 

Cellaring Potential

The Brolettino has been aged in oak for 10 months, showcasing mature citrus and tropical fruit. While the crushed limestone is still on the palate – typical of Lugana DOC wines, the lingering bittersweet lime, honey and almond at the finish was impressive. The complexity and structure of this wine go well with the creamier dishes such as baked scallops with crispy seafood rolls and steamed lobster with garlic over E-Fu noodle we had for the night. It also makes me want to cellar it to optimize its ageing potential.

Late Harvest Grapes Making the Arianna a Bit Sweeter

The Arianna is produced using late-harvest 100% Turbiana which transcribes into a bit sweeter wine. It has the light vegetal and delicate nutty notes on the nose. On the palate, it reveals a hint of honey, ripe, juicy, candy fruit, but is balanced with elegant acidity. The mouthfeel is velvety with a salty and minerality finish. I loved this wine with the sautéed cuttlefish with vegetables as well as the assorted seafood in a “basket” as this wine works well with the peppery saltiness of the cuttlefish and the sweetness of the large scallops glazed with cornstarch in the “basket”.  Speaking with this iconic dish in Cantonese banquet - assorted seafood in a “basket”, I have attempted to make it a few months back. My basket was made out of shredded taro instead of the rice vermicelli noddle.

For the rest of the Lugana DOC wines tasted, check out my brief notes below:

〰Cantina Bulgarini Lugana DOC 2017 (SRP$15): fresh, sapid, structured, intense, almond finish

〰Le Mortette Lugana DOC Mandolara 2017 (SRP$11): white flower, fruity, stone-fruit, delicate, bitter almond

〰Ca Maiol Lugana DOC Molin 2017 (SRP$17): pleasant acidity, refreshing, great structure, aromatic herbs, sharp finish

〰Cesari Cento Filari Lugana DOC 2016 (SRP$14): peach blossom, lemon, ginger note, green apple, almond finish

While Susannah called this July event, “Happiness Dinner”, I called it a pairing that’s seriously done right!