Campania’s Donnachiara Greco di Tufo Paired with Fish and Chips #ItalianFWT

Pairing Campania's Donnachiara Greco di Tufo with Semi-Homemade Fish and Chips 

Susannah from Avvinare invited the #ItalianFWT bloggers to explore wines from Campania, Italy. I’m so thrilled to find a bottle of 2010 Donnachiara Greco di Tufo in my home “stockpile” of wines. A “stockpile”? Yes, I learned this term from watching the daily Covid-19 news briefings on TV for these past two months. Contrary to the US federal government’s national stockpile for ventilators and PPEs, my wine stockpile is frequently checked and refilled to anticipate regular or emergency needs.

Photo Credit: Angela Personal Tuscan Tour

Campania is a wine region that’s located at the southwest section of Italy. It is famous for making world-class white wines. There are five provinces in Campania (i.e., Naples, Benevento, Avellino, Caserta and Salerno) and each one of them is renowned for winemaking. Irpinia (in the Avellino province) is the home of the two most famous Campanian whites, Greco di Tufo and Fiano di Avellino. While Greco is primarily grown and produced in Irpirnia, Fiano is mostly grown in the province of Salerno, south of the Amalfi Coast. A third important white grape in Campania is Falanghina, which is planted in all five provinces.

Photo Credit: Vinepair

Irpinia, where the Donnachiara Greco di Tufo DOCG is produed, is dominated by volcanic soils, which add minerality to the wines. The prominent acidity and richness of Greco di Tufo enables it to be versatile with food pairings, including well matches with fatty and fried dishes. 

Tasted Donnachiara's Irpinia whites: Fiano di Avellino and Taurasi; and red: Aglianio
in the Gambero Rosso Trebicchieri Event in Feb 2020 

Donnachiara, which is owned by the Petitto family, also produces two other DOCG wines in Irpinia – Fiano di Avellino and Taurasi.

Loving the Donnachiara Taurasi!

The Donnachiara Greco di Tufo DOCG has the typical minerality but is profiled with creamy mouthfeel. The aromas and palate of ripe stone fruits and a tad cedar are unfolded along with the hints of pineapple and citrus, ideally qualifying this wine for fried foods like fish and chips.

The beer battered fish is from a frozen package where I bought in Costco. If you like the yeasty and hoppy beer smell and taste, the batter of this fish alone is already a treat. Reheating it in the oven for 30 mins at 400 degree, this fish is a no brainer - the tender and creamy fish filet is encrusted with a favorful and crispy beer-tasty “shell”. The structured and complex Greco di Tufo can stand the heavy favors and fattiness of this fish, while its acidity brightens up and adds freshness to the fried foods. The grocery shopping experience during pandemic is not fun but rather stressful - social distancing, wearing a mask and being germaphobia. I do it and buy it because of availability, survival and the fear of food shortage. When the typical 5 pound-bag Idaho potatoes is not available, I picked up a 15 pound-bag that’s available. Only after I got home and removed my mask, I realized that these are Russet potatoes from PEI (a.k.a potato growing capital in Canada). I made baked steak fries, which were crispy outside and soft inside. The low starchiness of these potatoes made them easy to bake to perfection in the oven.

I sipped the Greco di Tufo and devoured the perfectly crispy fish and chips – a gastronomical indulgence that takes away the anxiety of the current pandemic, for an hour!

Check out other #ItalianFWT’s Campania wine journey below:

Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares "Melanzane a Scarpone + Cantine Astroni Gragnano Penisola Sorrentina 2018"

Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm posts "Polpette and Terredora di Paolo Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio Rosso"

David at Cooking Chat discusses "Salmon with Pesto and Orzo with Wine from Campania"

Pinny at Chinese Food and Wine Pairings adds "Campania’s Donnachiara Greco di Tufo Paired with Fish and Chips #ItalianFWT"

Gwendolyn at Wine Predator shares "3 Wines from Campania’s Feudi Di San Gregorio paired with pizza and wild boar ragu #ItalianFWT”

Cindy at Grape Experiences writes “Exclusive to Campania: Coda di Volpe Bianco, the Tail of the Fox”

Linda at My Full Wine Glass posts "A Coda di Volpe wine from Campania’s protector of native grapes (#ItalianFWT)"

Jen at Vino Travels joins with “The Lacryma Christi wines of Vesuvio”

Terri at Our Good Life shares "Chicken Pot Pie and A Beautiful Wine from Campania for a Spring Day"

Katarina at Grapevine Adventures muses "Campania Makes You Dream Big About Amazing Wine"

Nicole at Somm's Table dishes on "Donnachiara Taurasi and Lamb Spezzatino"

Jeff at Food Wine Click! writes about "Vini Alois: Champions of Campania's Native Grapes"

Rupal at Syrah Queen brings “NYC Somm Jordan Salcito Making A Splash With Campania Wines"

Lauren at The Swirling Dervish adds “Mastroberardino Greco di Tufo: White Wine from Campania's Volcanic Arch"

Lynn from Savor the Harvest shares "Italy - Organic Wine and Rare Grapes In Campania #ItalianFWT"

Susannah at Avvinare shares “Taking Another Look At Falanghina from Campania.”