On two separate occasions this past week we opened a Cleto Chiarli Vecchia Modena Lambrusco. This is a light dry sparkler with enough fruitiness to pair with many meals and not over power the food. The first one we opened when we came into fresh yellowfin tuna that was caught not far off Long Island by a good friend of ours. We made nigiri sushi and it paired beautifully… pictures here … EnoViti: Vecchia Modena and Sushi . The second bottle was opened for our friends that are ready to snow bird migrate south to FL. That night my spouse made a delicious fried “karaage” chicken and side spring rolls with a veggie medley from local mushrooms, cabbage, & carrots. Again the Chiarli Lambrusco worked beautifully with this food. I really like dry lambruscos and only wish more were available near me. Cheers !
Agreed - modest wines that on their own can be a little raw and rasping, but can be brilliant with food (and also moderate in alc%)
That tuna looks so fresh!
Pet peeve of mine, but “this wine pairs well with Asian food” makes just about as much sense as “this wine pairs well with European food” or “this wine pairs well with North American food”. Asia is a pretty big and diverse place. If you meant more specifically East Asian or Japanese food, then why not say that?
Not a big deal but specificity helps, especially when you are recommending food and wine pairings.
Thank you for posting this! I find myself reaching for dry(er) Lambrusco a lot these days, and find it goes with just about anything. Especially all different kinds of Asian food (e.g. spicy Sichuan stir-fry, grilled lemongrass pork chops, etc) where there aren’t obvious pairings. I do often get Cleto Chiarli from Whole Foods, which carries their organic cuvee “Grasparossa di Castelvetro” for ~$15
And even more than that, the oft-repeated notion on this board that most wine doesn’t work with “Asian food” or “Mexican food” and you should drink beer, tea or margaritas only with that food. Or if you absolutely must drink wine, then only sparkling wines or some obscure white varietals or roses.
Caught the day before sushi was made and never frozen. Had enough left over that we made Hawai’ian poké bowl 2 days after caught. In our area yellowfin tuna is running right now offshore. Probably will be around for only a short time longer as the currents are changing with cooler Fall weather.
I did give specific dishes in the text following the more generic title.
We used to have a Korean restaurant in LA that was using our Lambrusco with their beef dishes.
I find Alto Adige Sauvignon a great match for some Vietnamese dishes, I like it more than beer.
Almost 7 hours and no one posted about the dangers of raw fish?