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What Can You Do With One Grape? Ask Lugana Winemakers
What can you do with one grape? We are not talking about the quantity of the grape berries in your possession – we are talking about one variety. Especially if this is the white grape variety such as Turbiana (a.k.a Trebbiano di Lugano), for example?
Before I’m publicly ostracized, let me be clear. I’m not trying to say that Lugana is the only region in the winemaking world with only one official grape – Brunello, Barolo, Barbaresco, Burgundy, Albariño (Rias Baixas) are all single grape variety greats. But comparing Lugana with Brunello, for example, wouldn’t be fair. I will explain.
Feel free to disagree, but I always say that delicious white wine is harder to make than red wine. In white wine, you have nowhere to hide – typically, no oak, no skin contact – the grape itself either delivers or not. Besides, Brunello and the others we mentioned above already built their reputation, and a single grape is all people want.
Even in the white wine world, Lugana is not the only “one grape” place – we already mentioned Rias Baixas with its Albariño, and then there is Sancerre, Condrieu, Vouvray, and many others. However, as I tasted the delicious range of Lugana wines last week at the Destination Lugana event, I couldn’t help but wonder about Lugana winemakers’ ingenuity. So what can you do with one grape?
Lugana DOC wines can be produced in 5 different styles. First, there is a regular Lugana DOC wine, which requires minimum aging of 4–5 months in the bottle. Next, there is Lugana Superiore DOC, which has to be aged at least 12 months. Lugana Riserva requires a minimum of 24 months of aging, 6 of which have to be in the bottle. Two more styles to complete the list: Vendemmia Tardiva (late harvest), which also required a minimum of 12 months of aging, the same as Superiore. And last but not least is Spumante, which can be produced using both Classic and Charmat methods.
At the Destination Lugana event, we were able to taste all the different styles with the exception of late harvest. As the event was taking place at the rooftop bar in downtown Manhattan, I didn’t even attempt to take any sort of reasonable notes. As one general note, I can only tell you that there was not a single Lugana wine I didn’t like. Fresh, clean wines with beautiful acidity – if I have to use a serious descriptor, I would have to call them “happy wines”.
Here is the list of the Lugana DOC wines I was able to taste (we have to add to this a bunch of Lugana sparkling wines I didn’t take the pictures of the labels from):
2022 Tenuta Roveglia Linne Lugana DOC
2022 Zeni 1870 Vigne Alte Lugana DOC
2022 Ottella Le Creete Lugana DOC
2022 Cà Maiol Prestige Lugana DOC
2022 Tommasi Le Fornaci Lugana DOC
2022 Vigneti Villabella Lugana DOC
2022 Cantina Valpantena Torre del Falasco Lugana DOC
2022 Cantina Cereasa Ceresa Lugana DOC
There was also food. Fresh sushi, made right there on the spot – perfectly complemented by Lugana wines. Few different types of fresh pasta – I can’t even tell you if I had a favorite, all were tasty. And pizza, a simple pizza. All worked quite well with the wines.
Let’s get back to wine. So what else can you do with one grape? For example, you can take multiple harvests. As an example, in Oregon, early-picked grapes are used for sparkling wines (higher acidity), and then the later harvest is used to produce regular still wines. In the case of Lugana wines, we had an opportunity to taste such two wines from Scolari. While both belong to the standard Lugana DOC category, the first one, 2022 Scolari Lugana DOC was harvested about a month earlier than the second one, 2022 Scolari Premium Lugana DOC. While the first had cut-through acidity as a main trait, the second wine was more round and unquestionably more complex. Add to this a bit of time with the skin contact, and you get beautiful light tannic tartness from the wine which never saw an inside of the oak barrel.
And then, of course, you can age your wines, to produce Superiore and Riserva styles. We had an opportunity to try wines from 2017, 2019, and 2021 vintages, and I would be hard-pressed to name a favorite out of these three – I would just suggest you should find them and try them for yourself (you will not regret!).
2017 Corte Sermana Riserva Lugana DOC
2019 Le Morette Riserva Lugana DOC
2021 Perla Del Garda Madonna Della Scoperta Lugana Superiore DOP
And, of course, the rooftop bar means views, and it means I have an opportunity to inundate you a bit with the city’s pictures.
Here you are, my friends. Lugana wines are happy wines, I said it. Moreover, they are versatile, food-friendly, and will not make you break the bank to enjoy them. Do yourself a favor – visit your favorite wine store, grab a few bottles of Lugana wine, and then leave me a happy comment. Cheers!
Experience Lugana in New York
“Drink your Lugana young, very young and you will enjoy its freshness. Drink it after two or three years and you will enjoy its fullness. Drink it after ten years and you will be amazed by its dignified authoritativeness. Lugana wines, a rarity of their kind, have an extraordinary ability to make themselves known. If you taste a Lugana, and you are a competent taster, you cannot forget it”
– Luigi Veronelli
Imagine yourself sitting by the lake, a beautiful lake.
Source: Consorzio Tutela Lugana DOC
Let’s make it more precise, to make the picture vivid.
Imagine yourself sitting by Lake Garda in Northern Italy, on a beautiful summer day. The water is tranquil, there are tiny waves and an endless horizon. Next to you, there is a little table with a glass of white wine. You take the glass, take a sip of the wine. The wine is delicious, it is locally made, it is called Lugana, and you take another sip of the liquid pleasure. You capture the moment of this pure, hedonistic pleasure in your memory, Next, you put the glass down and go back to your happy thoughts. In that moment, life is absolutely perfect.
What if I will tell you that you don’t have to travel to Italy right this moment to experience this life’s perfection? What if this experience can come to you?
If you live in New York or the New York area or plan to visit the city over the next few weeks, you are in luck. Instead of you going to Lugana, Lugana is coming to you. The Lugana wine experience is coming to New York. And this Lugana experience will move past just the Lugana wine itself – it will bring you the ultimate gourmet’s salvation – wine and food paired together.
Starting on Monday, June 12th, 19 producers from Lugana will have their wines paired at a series of dinners taking place at 6 New York restaurants (I will give you a full list of restaurants and producers in a minute). All the wines will be specifically paired with the dishes – and as someone who never visited Lugana, I was really curious about what one can expect to find on such special dinner menus. I reached out to Consorzio Tutela Lugana DOC which is organizing this event, and asked a simple question (or two): What is the traditional Lugana food? What are the traditional pairings for the Lugana dishes and wines? Here is the reply that I received:
“Like all Italian wines with century-long traditions linking them to their place of origin, Lugana is lovingly paired with the classic gastronomic repertoire of the region. This of course includes dishes of freshwater fish: from the lake, river or stream, whether noble or poor. But even better-known sea fish can be happily matched with this refined and versatile white. Therefore the “base” version can be readily paired with seafood antipasti, fried pessìn (small fish or whitebait from the paddy fields), boiled bass, boiled shrimps and large carp. The Superiore and the Riserva are literally the perfect partner for richer and more complex dishes, such as pike in sauce (boiled pike with anchovies lightly sautéed in oil, from Lake Garda of course), grilled eel, trout with grape, risotto with frogs, as well as grilled crustaceans, peppered clams, salted bass, and several white meat dishes, such as chicken, capon and rabbit (especially roasted in the oven). The Vendemmia Tardiva (late harvest) wines are ideally matched with cheeses, from the fresher varieties such as ricotta, robiola and crescenza, to the more seasoned and flavoursome such as several exquisite D.O.P. cheeses like Monte Veronese, Grana Padano and Provolone Valpadana. Spumante has a broad range of possible pairings, since this “bubbly” wine can be served right throughout the meal. However, since a spumante is usually uncorked at the beginning of a lunch or dinner, why not try it with all types of antipasto, ranging from the broad range of tasty local cold meats to the wide variety of egg-based dishes. Instead avoid serving it with dessert. The versatility of this wine does not stop here. International tastes are certainly no obstacle for Lugana. This white wine, either in its “base” version, Spumante, Superiore or Riserva, is in fact the perfect match for raw fish, from the Japanese sashimi and sushi to all the variations on the theme proposed at the international level. It is also ideal with salmon and tuna and the perfect match for seafood finger food. Ideal serving temperature (in broad bowl tulip-shaped wine glasses for all varieties): Lugana Spumante at 8°C; Lugana “base” at 12°C; Lugana Superiore and Riserva at 14°C; Lugana Vendemmia Tardiva at 12°C.”
Lugana wines are produced from the local indigenous variety called Turbiana. Lugana wines can be still, sparkling, and late harvest (sweet), but no matter what the style is, they are literally guaranteed to be delicious. I had an opportunity to do a little preview of what someone might anticipate experiencing during the tasting – here are my notes on 3 wines that will be presented during the tasting:
2022 Corte Sermana Cromalgo Lugana DOC (13% ABV)
Straw pale
Beautiful intensity of tropical fruit, lemon and honey
Lemon and lemon zest, a hint of white peach and underripe white plum, tart, perfectly structured, with medium-long, tart finish
8, delicious.
2022 Ottella Lugana DOC (12.5% ABV)
Straw pale
Tropical fruit, guava, lemon, honey, herbaceous undertones
Crisp, fresh, tight, Meyer lemon, clean acidity, a tiny hint of gunflint.
8, imbues seafood craving
2022 Perla del Garda Lugana DOP (12.5% ABV)
Straw pale
Tropical fruit, honey, fresh, inviting, enticing, seductive. It says “drink me”
Beautiful. Fresh Whitestone fruit, cut through acidity, lemon. Crisp, fresh, delicious. A happy wine that can transpose you.
8+, superb. Had a few friends try this wine too, and they were literally blown away by it.
As promised, here is the list of participating restaurants, dinner dates, and the wines which will be poured at each:
IL FIORISTA (Monday, June 12, 2023)
Le Morette, Mandorlara 2022
Cantine Di Verona, Torre di Falasco 2022
Tommasi, Le Fornaci
VICEVERSA (Tuesday, June 13, 2023)
Ca’ Maiol, Lugana Prestige 2022
Scolari, Lugana Doc Premium 2022
Zenato, Riserva 2020
GNOCCO (Monday, June 19, 2023)
Sguardi di Terra, Riserva 2018 Fachetnabia
Selva Capuzza, Selva 2021
Ceresa, Ceresa 2022
Montonale, Montunal 2022
HEARTH (Monday, June 19, 2023)
Zeni 1870, Vigne Alte 2022
Tenuta Roveglia, Vigne Catullo Riserva 2019
Famiglia Olivini, Lugana 2022
MISIRIZZI (Wednesday, June 21, 2023)
Pasini, Il Lugana 2022
Perla del Garda, Madonna della Scoperta 2021
Citari, Conchiglia 2022
OSTERIA CARLINA TRIBECA (Thursday, June 22, 2023)
Corte Sermana, Riserva 2017
Vigneti Villabella, Lugana 2022
Ottella, Lugana 2022
You can find additional details of the Lugana festivities in New York on the Destination Lugana website.
This is not every day that instead of you going to your travel destination to experience delicious life’s offerings, the travel destination comes to you. This is your chance for a memorable experience and I hope you will not miss it.
And I will be sure to tell you more… Who knows, maybe we will run into each other during one of the dinners. Cheers!
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