Thank Michele for inviting me to a dinner at CIAK with each course nicely paired with a wine from
Maso Cantanghel - a small but significant wine producer in Trento. The surrounding hills (about 460 metres above sea level), the optimal nature of the terrain and the excellent sun exposure, combine together to provide a perfect microclimate for developing high quality viticulture! This is my first taste of the flavours of Trento - Delicious! Thanks also to Domenico di Luccio for sharing with us the stories of the region and this wonderful boutique winery.
The "Maso Papa" Pinot Grigio is an elegant wine with distinctive fruity bouquet with hints of ripen pear and savoury notes. The fruity notes echoed well with the orange dressing in the Octopus Carpaccio.
Next came a restrained old-world style Sauvignon Blanc, which with its mineral and flinty notes made me think of a Sancerre or Puilly-Fumé - due very much to the clayey-calcareous ground and the south-eastern exposure of the vineyard. The wine goes hand in hand with the salinity of the Orecchiette with Mixed Seafood and Sardinian Bottarga.
To me, the highlight of the dinner was the Pinot Nero from "Vigna Cantanghel" located on the 500m-high foothills of Lagorai chain. It is of very good fruit and yet very aromatic and elegant. The magnum has more concentrated flavour and an especially longer finish.
The chef nicely paired it with veal shank cooked in "Osso Buco" style with some very smooth masked potato. Yum!!
How could a nice dinner end without a dessert? We got an Apple Tart with Vanilla Ice Cream paired with Moscato d'Asti - a happy ending!
