If you follow me regularly, you'll know that I am a fan of mystery novels and anything set in Italy. T A Williams' book check both of those boxes! This post is inspired by the seventh book in his Murder...series.
On the Page
I shared my thoughts about the first six books in Pizza ai Frutti di Mare. Now, here we are in the seventh installment: Murder on the Italian Riviera. Dan has been retained to look into a murder at luxury resort called The Retreat. It is only when he arrives that he realizes it's a naturalist resort as in no clothing! Dan and Oscar are up to the task, but he does lament not having any pockets to keep a pad of paper and a pen for taking notes. As with all of the books in this series, the Italian scenery and food are swoonworthy.
"Instead of a sit-down meal that evening, we opted for some Tuscan fast food. This consisted of a couple of focaccia sandwiches made with porchetta. The lady behind the counter filled the sandwiches with hand-carved slices of the tender, deboned pork from a roasted roll of meat, glazed a wonderful chestnut brown on the outside. The texture was soft and the taste was enhanced by the addition of rosemary and, in particular, fennel, which gave it its distinctive flavour. We accompanied this with cups of Chianti and consumed our meal perched on a straw bale as we watched knights in full armour beating the hell out of each other in the ring."
"Freddie arrived with my starter. I had only asked for something small but I found myself presented with a little pot of olives and sun-dried tomatoes in extra virgin olive oil and an unusual thin yellow pancake sort of thing that she told me was made of chickpea flour. In spite of its unprepossessing appearance, it turned out to be incredible. She said this was a local speciality called farinata."
"We had lunch at the Retreat and it was predictably excellent. As a starter, I opted for soft burrata cheese on a bed of cold roast aubergines, laced with fresh pesto. I followed this with vitello tonnato and salad. This dish consisted of thin slices of cold veal smothered in a creamy sauce made with mayonnaise, tuna and capers, and the salad was a delicious mix of iceberg lettuce and rocket leaves, sprinkled with slivers of parmesan and doused in extra virgin olive oil."
But in the end, I was inspired by a new-to-me wine.
"'This is Leo’s favourite. He said you have to try it; he’s sure you’ll like it.' The label indicated that this was a wine called Pigato, which was a new one on me, and it was made by a producer only a few kilometres away from here. Pulling out the cork, Sophie half-filled my glass and waited while I tasted it. It was cold, it was crisp, it was dry and it was beautifully fruity. I nodded in approval."
In the Glass
I was able to track down a Pigato, the 2018 Foresti Riviera Ligure di Ponente I Soli Pigato. Then I did some reading in Native Wine Grapes of Italy by Ian D'Agata. In his section "When is identical really identical?" he writes "Pigato, Favorita, and Vermentino are another case in point. Pigato grows in Liguria, Vermentino in both Liguria and Sardinia, and Favorita in Piedmont. The three grapes have been deemed genetically identical based on DNA" (pg. 22) but they produce vastly different wines.
Pigato, whose name means 'spotted', refers to the way the grapes look. And Napoleon was said to have been a fan of Ligurian Pigato. Grapes have been grown in Liguria for over two millennia which is interesting since there is virtually no flat land in the region. Vineyards are so steep that they need to be terraced with stone walls.
Foresti has been making wines from indigenous varieties for more than three generations, focusing on red Rossese and whites Pigato and Vermentino. All of their grapes are farmed organically and sustainably.
Pigato may be genetically identical to Vermentino but it has a much more intense profile. The wine poured a pale golden hue with a rim that had almost peachy highlights. On the nose I got summer stone fruit with honey, garrigue notes, and floral undertones. On the palate the wine was surprisingly full-bodied with a hint of bitter at the end.
I will have to hunt down a few more bottles to see if these impressions are isolated to this bottle or indicative of the entire variety. Stay tuned!
On the Plate
I knew the wine would go well with seafood and considered a Fritto Misto, but I try not to eat too many fried foods. So I served my Pigato with Seafood Biryani + Homemade Naan.
I am adding this to the August #FoodieReads link-up.
I enjoyed this book as well.