It is a landscape developed by red wine, that of Valtellina. Fruit of that resourcefulness and commitment that led, one stone after another, to covering the whole slope of the Rhaetian Alps with balconies and dry stone walls, an overall of 2,500 km, where the vineyards lie. For these vertical lands, red wine has actually been, over the centuries, a resource and nutrition, thanks to that temperate environment that the Romans had actually currently determined as perfect for the growing of the Rhaetian grapes explained by Virgil. Discussing a temperate environment for a valley situated on the border in between Lombardy and Switzerland, in the center in between the Orobic and Rhaetian Alps, might appear paradoxical. Yet, here, it is exactly the east-west orientation of the valley on the Insubrian line and the high disposition of the slopes that identify the uncommon microclimate. The very first due to the fact that it figures out that the side on the orographic right of the Adda river is continuously exposed to the south; the 2nd due to the fact that, by compensating the range from the equator, it guarantees that the occurrence of the sun’s ray is perpendicular to the ground, ensuring the exact same hours of light that we discover, no less, in Pantelleria. This discusses the specific richness of Mediterranean greenery that occupies the Valley (irritable pears, fragrant herbs, capers), however likewise the predisposition for the production of among the most well-known dry red white wines on the planet, Sfursat, acquired from dried grapes.
Thanks to these beneficial weather conditions, Valtellina has actually had the ability to react to its undeniable territorial restrictions and its seclusion with food self-sufficiency, ending up being an independent manufacturer of practically whatever that was needed for the survival of its occupants. Amongst the rows, mainly oriented vertically, i.e. according to the higher slope of the land, in a perpendicular instructions with regard to the mountain wall, other crops have actually constantly discovered a home, such as veggies, apple trees and even cereals, such as rye, or pseudo such as buckwheat, which still identify the abundant agri-food basket of the location today.
Pizzoccheri: the symbolic meal.
If we needed to pick a meal efficient in summing up the savoir-faire of the Valtellina individuals, their sluggish living in synergy with the area and their capability to enhance the resources it can use, the option would definitely fall on pizzoccheri. The dish is codified from the Accademia del Pizzocchero di Teglio, for that reason, when we state pizzoccheri, we are referring exactly to that preparation and to that set of active ingredients that compose it, that is, pasta with buckwheat flour, cabbage, potatoes, butter, Casera Dop cheese, parmesan, garlic and pepper. The primary aspect of the preparation is buckwheat flour, a herbaceous plant belonging to north-eastern Asia, however which has actually been developed in Valtellina because a minimum of the 1600s. The center of the regional growing of buckwheat (pseudo-cereal of the Polygonaceae household whose achenes, poorly called seeds, are taken in) has actually constantly been the Teglio location, east of the province of Sondrio, where the 2 Tellini ecotypes exist, Nustran and Curùnin.
Their growing has actually been preserved thanks to the work of a couple of senior farmers in the location, where as soon as there were likewise many mills powered by the watercourses from the mountains. Today, the last staying undamaged bastion is the Menaglio di Teglio mill, situated on a high slope in the Rogna Valley, in the hamlet of San Rocco, which was recuperated by the town and changed into the very best maintained example of such ancient equipment. The mill is active for little internal grinding, however is primarily a center for the promo of the farming culture of Teglio, where traveler experiences can likewise be delighted in. Like the one that saw us personally associated with the grinding of the flours and the preparation of the pizzoccheri, according to the conventional dish and the directions of the volunteers of the Association for the growing of buckwheat of Teglio, which runs in the mill. Like lots of ancient peasant preparations, this one likewise stands apart for its sustainability, not just due to the fact that it utilizes just regional and seasonal items (an “exemption” enables, in summertime, the cabbage to be changed with ribs or green beans), however likewise due to the fact that all the active ingredients they are prepared together, in a big pot, forming a significant single meal, suitable for dealing with the very first cold Alpine temperature levels or for drink after an e-bike trip in the high terraced vineyards that comprise the Valtellina Historic Rural Landscape.
What to combine pizzoccheri with.
What to consume with this really considerable single meal? Clearly a red white wine from Valtellina, and here you are ruined for option. Offered the fattiness of the meal, figured out by the essential existence of butter and cheese, and the basic sweet propensity, a great pairing conjures up exactly those elements of freshness and taste that identify the white wines acquired from Nebbiolo delle Alpi, much better understood in your area as Chiavennasca. These are qualities that stem from the microclimate, from the temperature level variations and from the structure of the soils, sandy, abundant in minerals and bad in natural compound, which likewise make the white wines really long-lived.
The grape that feeds the distinguished Langhe production of Barolo and Barbaresco for that reason identifies, in a virtually univocal method (regional grapes such as Pignola, Rossola and Brugnola contribute no greater than 10%), likewise the Valtellina viticulture, decreasing in really various organoleptic subtleties depending upon depending upon the recommendation locations. On 800 hectares of vineyard location we discover, in reality, one DOC, Rosso di Valtellina, and 2 DOCGs, Valtellina Superiore, with its 5 sub-areas (Sassella, Valgella, Inferno, Grumello and Maroggia), and Sforzato di Valtellina, which do it all Valtellina is now the only location with 2 DOCGs corresponding in regards to area and grape range. Beginning, for that reason, from the frank and fruity freshness of Rosso di Valtellina, we slowly explore higher intricacy and territoriality with the white wines of the sub-areas, approximately the well balanced roundness of the Sfursat, acquired from dried grapes.
To effectively integrate this vegetarian meal, with its homely and ancient flavour, it is not needed to presume with intricacy, however you can depend on the “piercing” variations of the Rossi di Valtellina Doc, a daily red wine par quality, with fruity, flower and juicy taste-olfactory with an acid-savory quality. We picked the really aromatic and tense one from the little household service Alberto Marsetti, in the heart of Sondrio. Nevertheless, if you wish to go with a Valtellina Superiore, it is much better to concentrate on the Sassella sub-area, the most well-known and historical of the Valley, a precursor of white wines with frank fragrances of fruit, orange and flowers, well balanced tannins, taste and excellent freshness, provided by the stony structure of the land. For instance, you can attempt that of the historical Nino Negri winery, a business that we have actually likewise consisted of amongst the 50 finest wineries of the year in our Red wine Unique.
