Saladini Pilastri

In honor of "National Pizza Day", I had a pizza for dinner, and figured it was a good time to open a bottle of Italian wine. On tap for tonight was Saladini Pilastri Vigna Monteprandone, a Rosso Piceno Superiore, which is from the Marche area in Italy (on the east coast, farther south than Tuscany, but farther north than Rome). Rosso Piceno is a blend of Sangiovese (the main grape of Chianti) and Montepulciano (the grape, not the city; where they grow Sangiovese, and not Montepulciano).

This is a typically dry Italian red wine. In fact, a little too dry to work well with the cheese pizza I had for dinner. It came across a little tart, and frankly harsh. I think this was a combination of not letting it breath, and simply not being a good match for the pizza.

After letting it sit and breath for about an hour, it opened up with much more fruit. Still quite dry, the flavors of cherry and plum present themselves slowly, rather than hitting you over the head the way so many California wines do. The finish is equally dry, with a little earthiness and a hint of dried fruit. Quite pleasant, even if not what I expected.
Pizza needs a slightly sweeter or fruitier wine; my favorite is a Valpolicello or Valpolicello Ripasso, but I think this would work great with a juicy steak. With the earthiness, I suspect it would be a good match to venison, but it's a combination I haven't tried (if you want to serve me some venison, I'll be happy to bring along a bottle!)

Overall, very nice, although I suspect too dry for many people. Certainly more of a food wine than a cocktail wine, as to be expected for an Old World wine. And since it's from an area that's not so well known, and about $13, it represents a great value compared to comparable quality wines from Chianti, Montepulciano, or Barolo.

Recommended, if you're having a hearty meal.