Italian Night is a Great Night

For any of you who watch The Borgias on Showtime you'll be familiar with the character of Giuliet Farnese, the pope's mistress in the show.  She was rumored to be the most attractive woman in Rome at the time.  I don't know if the wine we selected for dinner was named after her, but it was definitely a beautiful wine.  A few days ago I whipped up a batch of baked pasta shells stuffed with Italian sausage and a blend of cheeses.  To go with this meal we selected a 2010 Villa Farnia di Farnese Montepulciano from the Wall Street Journal Wine Club.

The Farnia di Farnese was a great Italian red.  The deep red opaqueness was the first indicator that this was an exceptionally rich wine.  Ripe fruits dominated by dark berries and plums offer a great fruity nose on this Montepulciano. When this wine hit the palate it was all smooth dark fruit.  The plum continued on and was joined by some notes of licorice and a touch of spice at the front of the palate.  

To say the wine went well with the pasta shells would be an understatement.  Overall it was a very rich dish since the shells were stuffed with Italian sausage, roasted garlic, onions, basil, ricotta, marscapone, parmesan, and romano cheeses.  This dish needed something rich to keep up with it.  The Montepulciano, tomato sauce, and Italian cheeses were meant to be paired together.  The Farnese was rich and fruitful which complimented the tanginess of the tomato sauce and savory of the cheese stuffing.  Everything just clicked together.

While the Farnese is a full flavored wine, it is not heavy or dry.  The smoothness and full flavor make this a great anytime wine, but it really shines with pasta dishes.   What's more, at $12 a bottle its perfectly priced for everyday drinking.  For more information on the 2010 Villa Farnia di Farnese Montepulciano you can visit:  http://www.wsjwine.com/