Sangiovese di Romagna
One of the great things about living in Bologna is Sangiovese di Romagna.
This grape variety, which is said to have originated in the pretty small town of Sant'Arcangelo di Romagna, near Rimini, is the great red grape of much of central Italy. Sangiovese di Romagna is made with the same grape varietal as Umbria's Sagrantino di Montefalco and as Tuscany's Chianti, Morellino and Brunello. In fact there's an Italian expression meaning "it's all the same" which goes "Se non è Chianti è Sangiovese " or "If it's not Chianti it's Sangiovese". I take my cooking class guests to the wonderful Enoteca Italiana, less than a minute's walk from my place, to get advice on what wines to match with the dishes we make. The Enoteca has been selected as Best Enoteca in Italy not once but twice so it is a fantastic resource on my doorstep. The experienced sommeliers there tell me that the Sangiovese grape expresses itself differently according to the territory: it is elegant in Montalcino, potent and powerful in the Tuscan Maremma, austere in the Chianti area, rich and fruity in Romagna. They also tell me that the Sangiovese di Romagna is one of the best and best value reds on the Italian market today. For which I am grateful! Being a wine lover but not a wine expert, I was pleased to find this short blog post to share with you. It speaks of the pleasures to be had when drinking one of the many excellent Sangiovese di Romagna of this "obscure region" - the last is the author's description and one with which I stongly disagree! The post is HERE I hope you enjoy it.
