Pairing Bibi Graetz Casamatta Toscana Rosato with Drunken Cold Chicken Wing and Pork Knuckle, and Sautéed Julienne Leek #ItalianFWT

Pairing Bibi Graetz Casamatta Toscana Rosato with Drunken Cold Chicken Wing and Pork Knuckle, and Sautéed Julienne Leek

Having a stronger preference over red wines and typically shying away from the sun, sitting at the patio and enjoying chilled wines is not my usual summer pastime.  However, the summer of 2020, in so many ways, is very different from the past…staying in the house, no family travel plans, no summer street fairs, no wine tasting events. To extend my living space to outdoor, we have upgraded our patio with elevated garden boxes for some annuals and new patio furniture. All out of a sudden, checking out how my flowers are doing becomes a daily ritual and, slowly but surely, having our wines and meals outdoor is what I look forward to every evening.  Lauren from The Swirling Dervish invited the #ItalianFWT bloggers to discover the pink wines from Italy’s indigenous grapes. That helps me expand my summer patio wine list. Let’s sip some Bibi Graetz Casamatta Toscana Rosato and devour the chilled drunken chicken wings and pork knuckle plus some sautéed julienned leek.

                          Bibi Graetz Casamatta Toscana Rosato 2018 SRP$12.99:
cherry plum (GMO for sure), fuller-bodied, a good balance of acidity at the end; Dry Port?

What is Rosato?

Rosatos are pink wines coming from all over Italy. They are made with a wide variety of Italian indigenous grapes. The choice of grapes and winemaking methods, either direct pressing of red grapes or “saignée method” (bleeding off must from tanks to avoid too dark of the color from skin contact) presents a diverse and fun world of Rosato – different regions, shades of pink or light red, weight or body, aromas, tastes and price ranges.

Soft citrusy finish that kind of zips all the fruitiness of this wine
and leaves you with a refreshing and clean mouthfeel at the very end!

This Rosato doesn’t taste like Rose!

BibiGraetz Winery was found in 2000 when Bibi Graetz turns his passion of wines from drinking it to making it. Growing up in a family of artists, it’s not hard to find the artistic strokes on the wine labels. Not only I like the label of this Bibi Graetz Casamatta Toscana Rosato 2018, I’m also so excited to taste my very first Rosato which happens to be awarded a 91 rating from James Suckling.

This Sangiovese-based Rosato is strawberry and cherry on the nose. My first sip of it really sent some shockwaves…what is this? A dry Port? I immediately asked my husband, who is a Port lover, to “verify” the taste. It also tastes like a lighter Port to him too. But what makes this Rosato so interesting is the soft citrusy finish that kind of zips all the fruitiness of this wine and leaves you with a refreshing and clean mouthfeel at the very end!

Making drunken chicken wings and pork knuckles takes some time but it is so worth it!

 

Drunken Chicken Wing and Pork Knuckle with Sautéed Julienned Leek

With this fuller-bodied and solid Sangiovese-based pink wine, I decided to make some drunken chicken wings and pork knuckles that are served cold. I boiled the wings and knuckles for about ten minutes and washed off the fatty floatie stuff from the meat under the running water. I then fully cooked the wings and knuckles an Instant Pot (stovetop is perfectly fine too). One thing to keep in mind is not to stew the meat so it becomes too mushy and the skins of the wings and knuckles need to be intact. In a separate pot, I was making a brining liquid by boiling two cups chicken broth, ¼ cup rice vinegar, some Sichuan peppercorn, anise, scallion, ginger, salt, and pepper. After the broth was cooled off in a large bowl, I added ½ cup of clear Chinese cooking wine to the broth and submerged the wings and knuckles in the broth. Leave the meat in the fridge for at least 4 hours. 

Yes, it's a meaty pork knuckle. The pork skin is not fatty at all as the rice vinegar in the brining liquid takes care of it.

When you bite into the bouncy skin of the wings and pork knuckles, you know that all the work is totally worth it. The brining process turns the heavy meat into tasty cool summer eats that are substantial but not fatty, appetizing, umami, lightly sour and gingery…overall, a good match to the honest and impressive Bibi Graetz Casamatta Toscana Rosato.

If you don't like leek potato soup, maybe try to sautee leeks. I am quite happy with this leek dish.

With the vegetable side, I julienned a whole leek and sautéed it with Laoganma Spicy Chili Crisp until the leek was tender and slightly under-cooked so that it still had that crunch to it. 

Julienned leek sautees very fast and can be served cold. The leeks retains the vibrant green color after its cooked too.

The Laoganma sauce is an all-purpose condiment for spicy food lover. It is red pepper-based with oil that is infused with the spiciness. The crunchy peanuts and tinny dry tofu cubes in the sauce also add a lot of fun to your sautéed food too. This sautéed leek is spicy, oniony and literally healthy. Who can imagine one can eat a whole leek and drink Rosato – yes, I can… at my new patio.

Got this leek from a nearby farmer's market. It costs me $2.5 for three whole leeks.
A better alternative to onion, in my opinion. 

Let's check out which Rosato our #ItalianFWT friends is drinking:

• David from Cooking Chat writes about Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo: Pairings with My Favorite Italian Rosé
• Camilla from Culinary Adventures shows us with Sardinian Native Grapes, Italian Pinks, and Gamberi all’Aglio
• Terri from Our Good Life shares her pairing for Roasted Chicken Flatbread with Rosato Floats
• Linda from My Full Wine Glass says Summer Won’t Last: and Neither Will this Charming Chiaretto in Your Glass
• Martin from Enofylz Wine Blog is Dreaming of Sicily with a Graci Rosato
• Gwendolyn from Wine Predator offers Summer Dinner with Rosato from Tuscany and Sicily
• Marcia from Joy of Wine chats about Rosato d’Aglianico Vulture: Much More than a Red Wine
• Lynn from Savor the Harvest suggests Rosato: Drinking Pink Italian Style, from the Mountains to the Sea
• Nicole from Somm’s Table prepares Cheese, Charcuterie, and Ciabatta with Praesidium Cerasuolo
• Katrina from The Corkscrew Concierge advises us to Get to Know Lambrusco Rosato
• Susannah from Avvinare shares Italy's Chiaretto from Lake Garda Makes Waves
• Jennifer from Vino Travels presents Rosato from the Veneto with Pasqua
• Katarina from Grape Vine Adventures shares An Italian Rosé that Makes you Sparkle
• Lauren at The Swirling Dervish shares Cantele Negroamaro Rosato: Summer Wine from the Heart of Puglia
• Robin of CRUSHED GRAPE CHRONICLES presents Pallotte Cac e Ove & Orecchiette with Two Brilliant Cherry Red Rosatos from Southeast Italy.
• Pinny from Chinese Food and Wine Pairings writes about Pairing Bibi Graetz Casamatta Toscana Rosato with Drunken Cold Chicken Wings and Pork Knuckle, Sautéed Julienne Leeks #ItalianFWT