This week Franks gives us a quick video on making Italian Sausage and shares a New York staple dish with onions and bell peppers.
ITALIAN SAUSAGE WITH ONIONS AND BELL PEPPER
Click the links below for a short video and detailed recipe:
Video: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cnrt_feBuWn/
Home made sausage details: https://www.whatfranksmaking.com/post/homemade-italian-sausage
Recipe: https://www.whatfranksmaking.com/post/italian-sausage-and-peppers
Pairing this dish
Finding a great wine compliment is not too difficult as either a white or red wine will work well. As Frank mentioned in his recipe, Italian Sausage with peppers and onions are an American invention started back in the late 1920’s in New York City from Italian immigrants from southern Italy. For our red wine compliment, light bodied reds from Sicily are a great place to start!
Nerello Mascalese
Vineyards on the slopes of Mt Etna
Not many people outside of Italy have heard of this simply fantastic red but if you love BBQ, pasta dishes, or heavy fish such as tuna or swordfish this is one to know about!
Nerello Mascalese is a light bodied red wine with huge fruit flavors including bright cherry, alpine strawberry, and dark currant with hints of herbs, leather, and baking spices on the finish. This wine has strong mineral notes, high acidity and soft tannins perfect for the sweet, savory and spicy flavors found in this dish. It can be hard to find in local shops but online retailers such as wine.com or vivino can offer plenty of great options. The vast majority of these wines are grown on the volcanic slopes of Mt. Etna at altitudes up to several thousand feet. Vineyards here are mostly farmed by hand as the steep slopes prohibit mechanized farming so you will pay a bit more for them. Here are some great suggestions (from least to most expensive):
Tornatore Etna Rosso $20
Tascante Ghiaia Nera $23
Alta Mora Etna Rosso $31
Planeta Eruzione 1614 Nerello Mascalese $47
Tornatore Pietrarizzo Etna Rosso $52
IDDA Etna Rosso $57
Barbera
Italy’s Piemonte region found in the Northwest is most famous for growing the Nebbiolo grape in the very prestigious Barolo DOCG. That said it’s less prestigious cousin Barbera is what we’ll focus on here as a perfect pair for this dish. There are 3 main DOCs in the region that produce Barbera: Barbera d’Alba produced in the province of Cuneo, Barbera d’Asti produced in the province of Asti, and Barbera del Monferrato produced in the provinces of Alessandria and Asti. Alba is where we’ll find the pairing we want as Barbera d’Alba is lighter in body, higher in acidity, and has bolder fruit flavors and is known locally as the “wine of the people”. These drink now wines have bright strawberry, plum, raspberry flavors with hints of baking spices, herbs, and vanilla on the finish.
Pertinace Barbera d’Alba $18
Enrico Serafino Pajena Barbera d’Alba $20
Paitin Barbera d’Alba Serra $23
Paolo Conterno La Ginestra Barbera d’Alba $25
Pio Cesare Barbera d’Alba $25
Borgogno Barbera d’Alba $30
Bruno Rocca Barbera d’Alba $32
So far we have found pairings based directly on the recipe and are assuming using sweet sausage but what if we change things up a bit and make the following changes?
- 1/8 of a cup of white wine instead of red
- Add American yellow or Dijon mustard and a bit of heavy cream instead of tomato sauce or paste
- Spicy or hot Italian Sausage instead of sweet
Well now that changes things up a bit and puts us in….
A New York State of Mind
The seemingly small ingredient changes presented above make a huge difference in our wine pairing choices. With the mustard and heat of the sausage we’re now firmly in white wine territory. And since this dish is a New York staple, what better place to find pairing choices than New York’s Finger Lakes wine region!
The Finger Lakes AVA is located in upstate New York just south of Lake Ontario and was established in 1982. Since then the region has gained a great deal of popularity and acclaim mostly for it’s white wines such as Riesling and Pinot Gris but is also getting some attention for it’s reds such as Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc. For our pairing though it’s the dry Riesling we’ll be focusing on.
Due to the cool climate, Finger Lakes Rieslings mature very slowly producing rich creamy textures, bright peach and citrus notes with lush acidity. These are delightful wines and are a perfect compliment to our changes!
Ravines Dry Riesling $19
Dr. Konstantin Frank Dry Riesling $19
Forge Cellars Wagner Caywood East Vineyard Dry Riesling $24
Ravines Argetsinger Vineyard Dry Riesling $34
Hillick and Hobbs Estate Vineyard Riesling $34
Red Newt Cellars Noble Dry Riesling $45
German, Austrian, and Rieslings from Alsace will work just as well if those are easier to find. Make sure the German offerings are in the Trocken (dry) style. Dry Rieslings from California are also great choices.