Buy Meal.com - Guide to Good Food

I Love Italian Wine and Food - The Umbria Region

Email 50 Million Daily - FREE!

Umbria lies smack dab in the middle of Italy. The countryside is unspoiled and dotted with medieval churches. Its fairly gentle terrain is composed of hills, valleys, and small mountains. Umbria is the only region of Italy with neither a seacoast nor a foreign border. But it has lakes, rivers, and even a waterfall. It is known as the green valley of Italy. In spite of this name, until a few decades ago Umbria kept losing population to the more highly industrial north. Its total population is about 830 thousand.

Umbria was settled by the Umbri, perhaps the first inhabitants of Italy. They were forced into the mountains by the Etruscans, who were conquered by the Romans and then the Lombards. The poet Dante considered it the most violent part of Italy.

Umbria is particularly known for pork, dried pasta, and both black and white truffles. It also produces specialty breads and a wide variety of vegetables and meats. Fish and eels from the Tiber River and Lake Trasimeno abound. Cheeses include Pecorino Toscano, reviewed below.

Umbria?s capital is Perugia, a beautiful medieval city with a population of 150 thousand. Among other things Perugia is known for chocolates and Italian as a second language classes. Another famous Umbrian city is Assisi, the home of St. Francis of Assisi. Umbria devotes about 41 thousand acres to grapevines, it ranks 15th among the 20 Italian regions. Its total annual wine production is about 19.5 million gallons, giving it a 16th place. About 58% of the wine production is white, leaving 42% for red. The region produces 11 DOC wines. DOC stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata, which may be translated as Denomination of Controlled Origin, presumably a high-quality wine, and 2 DOCG red wines, Montefalco Sagrantino and Torgiano Rosso. The G in DOCG stands for Garantita, but there is in fact no guarantee that such wines are truly superior. About 30% of Umbrian wine carries the DOC or DOCG designation. Umbria is home to about thirty major and secondary grape varieties, about two thirds white.

Widely grown international white grape varieties include Chardonnay and Trebbiano. The best known strictly Italian white variety is Grechetto, used in the its flagship Orvieto DOC wines.

Widely grown international red grape varieties include Cabernet Sauvignon, Gamay, and Merlot. The best known Italian red variety is Sangiovese, now grown elsewhere such as in California.

Before we review the Umbrian wine and cheese that we were lucky enough to purchase at a local wine store and a local Italian food store, here are a few suggestions of what to eat with indigenous wines when touring this beautiful region. Start with Zuppa di Lenticchie di Castelluccio, Castelluccio Lentil Soup, which with local bread can be a meal in itself. Later try Porchetta alla Perugina, Roasted Suckling Pig with Wild Fennel, Rosemary, and Garlic. For dessert indulge yourself with Serpentone delle Monache di Perugia, Nut and Fruit ?Snake? of the Capucin Nuns.

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY While we have communicated with well over a thousand Italian wine producers and merchants to help prepare these articles, our policy is clear. All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed Lungaraotti Pinot Grigio 2004 12% about $12

I haven?t always been happy with Italian Pinot Grigio, or for that matter with non-Italian Pinot Gris. These wines often are weak. However, I thought that this particular Pinot Grigio was a fine wine for its price when it accompanied the right food. The sales literature suggested that this light-bodied, vivid, and balanced wine would be a great match for antipasti. My mistake was pairing it with non-imported antipasti, really more of a mediocre relish, which overpowered the wine. I later tried this wine with cold barbecued chicken in a moderately spicy Thai sauce and was quite pleased. Its citrus flavors really shone. I could taste this wine?s subtle complexity.

Pecorino Toscano is a sheep?s milk cheese that has been made in Tuscany and neighboring Umbria for thousands of years. Soft Pecorino Toscano is white with a tinge of yellow, while semi-hard Pecorino Toscano is pale yellow. It is moderately strong smelling and has a complex nutty flavor. I thought that it blended very nicely into the wine.

Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten books on computers and the Internet, but to be honest, he would rather just drink fine Italian or other wine, accompanied by the right foods. He teaches classes in computers at an Ontario French-language community college. His wine website is www.theworldwidewine.com . You can reach him at ital@mail.theworldwidewine.com.

Email 50 Million Daily - FREE!

MORE ARTICLES:

Copycat Restaurant Recipes - Great Recipes At Your Fingertips
When you have had enough of lining your favorite restaurants pockets with your money, you can serve the same food at home using a copycat restaurant recipe. Instead of putting your hard earned cash into their coffers, you can add it to your savings for something special that your whole family can enjoy for longer than a quick meal. You will be amazed at the savings you will accumulate when you use a copycat restaurant recipe instead of dining out.

From Food Software, To Restaurant Software, To Catering Software
Running a catering business or a restaurant is not a small task. Being in this industry not only includes cooking food but much more than that. A good caterer needs to possess distinguished qualities of an accountant, a manager, a marketer, a sales person, and a bill collector. Being an expert in all these fields is simply impractical for any single person. And this is where catering software tools come in and play multi purpose tasks for a caterer. According to one estimate, catering industry in the US alone is at around a whooping $5 billion per year. As a caterer needs to perform a number of tasks such as cooking, serving and managing, catering software will generally range from all types of food software to restaurant accounting, and ge...

BigHoller Inaugurates Online Ordering Restaurant Dining Guide - I Must Eat
With a robust directory of over 600,000 restaurant listings and the ability to contour search results by details -- including geographical area, cuisine and whether the restaurant accepts online orders and online reservations -- I Must Eat (www.IMustEat.com) offers something for everyone looking to discover new meal experiences, while simplifying the search and order process.

New Ice Scoop Ensures Safe Handling, Food Safety at Restaurants and Bars
The new San Jamar Saf-T-Scoop? & Guardian System ensures safe ice handling at restaurants and bars. Food safety in the food service industry is a legitimate concern, as a recent study found more than one out of every five samples of ice contains high levels of bacteria.

Italian Restaurant, Antonino's, Ranked Top In Inland Empire By Major Food Critic
?Antonino's in Rancho Cucamonga is one of those fine dining restaurants that lots of the locals know about but those outside of the area are not familiar with. It is one of the top Italian restaurants in the Inland Empire,? states Allan Borgen,

Organic Food Recipes And Your Eating And Dietary Lifestyles
Although some people would like to go organic and lead a healthier lifestyle, they find themselves stopped by a few things. Among these little stumbling blocks in their paths to going organic, are things like the cost of organic foods, the ready unavailability of organic foods, as well as the little fact that they will also need to find organic food recipes to go with their new lifestyle.

Healthy Eating And Super Food - 3 Food Categories That Help Burn Fat
I'm wondering if you're already aware of what I'm about to share with you? There is some good news for people trying to lose fat and slim down to a healthier and more attractive lifestyle: there are actually foods you can eat with will burn fat for you with any effort on your part. Even better, they can easily be assimilated into any diet; in fact, you may already be eating them on a regular basis and not even know it.

Toronto Restaurants Famed for Best Food Styling
Toronto is a place famous for its unique food styles and eminent eating out places. One can take the utmost delight in trying out its popular cuisines namely Italian, Chinese and Greek cuisines. For one thing you would not have to take any pains or put in extra effort looking out for the food you are interested in. Besides this, here you will not have people telling you the must try delicacies, as one can easily plan out and enjoy ones own little food hunt. While on a trip to Toronto there are certain places you should not miss out on. Toronto restaurants are known for their ambience, tranquility and their own different styling of food. To start with, Pangaea restaurant on the famous Bay Street is a must visit place, beautifully struc...

Healthy Cooking Does Not Mean Eating Bland And Boring Food
Eating healthy should always be a priority. Healthy eating can be accomplished by simply changing eating habits and changing the methods you use to cook. There is no need to cook bland or boring dishes, many options are available. Understanding the flavors your dishes use means eating well and feeling well.

Historical Restaurant Mirrors Change In Los Angeles' Food And Drink Scene
Los Angeles' noted Brown Derby restaurant played host to many stars during Hollywood's 'Golden Age.' The eatery was an example of novelty architecture, as it was built to resemble a brown derby hat. The Brown Derby was the first restaurant to serve chiffon cake, a recipe invented by an insurance salesman and later given wide distribution by Betty Crocker.

MyNorth.com Gives Foodies Recipes, Restaurants, Wineries and Food Finds From Northern Michigan
Traverse, Northern Michigan's Magazine today launched its new website, MyNorth.com, giving food and wine lovers access to the magazine's rich, in-depth coverage of Northern Michigan culinary culture and foodie news. MyNorth.com readers can access recipes, restaurant listings and food and wine features from the archives of Traverse plus stories written specifically for MyNorth.com. The site provides access to the popular dining guide with information on restaurants Up North, including Traverse City, Petoskey, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Mackinac, Cadillac, Interlochen, Gaylord, Leland, Suttons Bay, Boyne City, Frankfort, Harbor Springs and more.

Authentic Northern Vietnam Cooking Recipes in Hanoi?s High-end Restaurant
With fluorescent lights bleaching the steel surfaces and plumes of scented smoke rising from shing copper pots, this could be anyone of the bustling kitchens in Hanoi?s high-end restaurants But at KOTO (which stands for Know One, Teach One), creating tantalising dishes is only one of the restaurant?s aims

Eat Good Immune System Foods To Prevent Sickness
The immune system is probably one of the most important systems of the human body It is what keeps us from getting sick

Campfire Cooking Recipes - 4 Great Camping Dishes Using Traditional Campfire Cooking Recipes
There is nothing like the fresh air and exercise that you get on a hiking or camping trip, to work up a really big appetite. But you don?t want to spend ages preparing and cooking complicated meals, which turns it into a chore.