Before the pandemic I was privileged to be an attendee at a trade luncheon at Osprey Tavern, in Baldwin Park, during a take-over by Master Sommelier Bobby Stuckey. For this lunch he and chef Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson created a menu of dishes from Friuli, Italy, to sell a line of wines they import from the area. It is worth noting that they also own several restaurants in the Boulder, Colorado area including Frasca, which is based on the cuisine of Friuli. During the luncheon Bobby and Lachlan consistently impressed the attendees with how different the cuisine and wines of Friuli are compared with the rest of Italy. To this day I often find my cooking at home inspired by a couple of techniques I learned that day, along with how beautiful these wines can be with food. – Tim
Once the main seagoing hub of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Friuli region borders Slovenia to the East, the Adriatic Sea to the South, and Austria to the North, boasting several unique micro-climates and soil types. It is a rare winemaking region with mountains in the foreground and the Mediterranean nearby, so the climate is warm during the day and cool at night. As a result, this is something of a winemaker’s paradise, often making use of native grape varieties and winemaking styles not common in the rest of Italy. This month, we will examine two varieties that are well known, though the flavors and aromatics of these examples are uniquely Friulian.
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