Your Orlando wine diva here, for what I hope will be the first of many articles about one of my true passions.  So you know, I am not a sommelier, I have learned everything I know about wine from drinking it.  Being in the restaurant business since 2000 I have been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to meet and work many wine makers, and to sample a wide variety of wines from regions around the world.  Over the years I have tasted thousands of wines, from regions all over the world, which has given me a very unique perspective and helped me develop my palate.  My experience with wine allows me to help take people from Amarone to Zinfandel.  Whenever possible I like to let people sample wine if it is new to them.  Being in the restaurant business there are, of course wines for which that is not practical.  That is where my ability to accurately assess what someone wants and to describe the flavors of the wine have helped me tremendously.  This month in our quest for only the best wines we travel to Valpolicella, Italy and to the Tedeschi family winery.

Home of the wonderfully unique Amarone della Valpolicella wine, Valpolicella is one of Italy’s most prestigious winemaking areas.  Valpolicella’s red wines have been popular since the time of the Roman Empire.  Comprised  of a myriad of lush, fertile valleys that spread like the legs of a fine wine across a glass, the valleys stretch out of the Lessini Mountains, Valpolicella is an intensely beautiful region, whose name comes from “val polis cellae” and means “valley of many cellars”, and is characterized by the steep, vine-laced ridges that run alongside its babbling mountain brooks.

At the Tedeschi winery, wine is still made using some of the same traditional techniques used since the winery was founded in 1824. These time honored traditions of wine making are melded with some of the latest advances in wine making technology to produce several great, easy drinking Italian table wines.  The crown jewel of this winery, however, is their Amarone della Valpolicella, the only mainstream style of wine they produce.  For those of you not in the know, Amarone is an Italian wine that is made by a process of drying the grapes before pressing, resulting in a strong raisin finish.  This process which is heavily regulated by the Italian government produces a wine that is very rich in flavor and heritage.  When producing Amarone only the best grapes can be used because the process of drying over approximately 120 days can lead to inferior grapes, or tightly bunched grapes molding.  With the drying process complete the grapes are pressed with rollers and then aged in european oak.  Amarone will have a high alcohol content when compared to regular wine, typically over 15%.  With the regulation from the Italian government, wine makers are prohibited from adding water or sulfides to Amarone, resulting in lower wine yields than most other wines.

Chef Steff, my husband, and I almost always enjoy wine with food.  The symbiotic relationship between the flavors of wine and food result in both reaching their full potential.  When drinking an Amarone, pairing with meat is our recommendation, as Amarone’s deep rich flavor will easily overpower the light flavors seafood.  An osso bucco, braised beef, or perhaps a veal roast.  One of Chef Steff’s favorite pairings with Amarone would be lamb chops, marinated in a light balsamic vinaigrette, lemon and extra virgin olive oil and just simply grill them.

Italians drink a glass or two of wine and laugh with friends everyday.  Truth be told laughter and wine help relieve the daily stress of life, which is believed to be a part of the reason that in some areas people are living be over 100 years old.  It’s strong heritage from Italy makes the Tedeschi Amarone della Valpolicella one of my personal favorite wines, and this months Wine Diva selection.   Remember, good wine does not need to be expensive, expensive wine is not necessarily good, and the one true test of a wine is this – take a sip, and see if you love it.