Last night’s dinner was Rustichella d’Abruzzo Penne Rigate with a sauce made from a little over half a jowl of guanciale diced and crisped, a Japanese eggplant diced and sautéed in the fat rendered from the guanciale with a little garlic, and a half jar of Rao’s Sicilian Eggplant sauce. It was enjoyed inside at our dining table, for the first time in several weeks because of afternoon thundershowers and wind, with a 1996 Ridge Dry Creek Valley Sangiovese (87% Sangiovese, 13% Merlot) - fill just a little below the cork; good dark garnet color; rich fresh and dried dark cherries in nose & flavors, with the age i couldn’t detect the merlot; reasonable acidity and fruit in the mid-palate; and a medium cherry fruit finish. It was a fairly simple wine, but nice with the pasta.
Then for dessert while watching TiVo’d shows in the den we had a crisp Pink Lady apple with two grappas, Banfi Grappa di Brunello and Badia á Coltibuono Wood-Aged Grappa di Sangiovese.