Not only did I have the chance to attend this amazing event, but I helped host a food & wine pairing event on behalf of Santa Margherita USA (full disclosure: that’s my employer). For “Mangia, Mangia, Y’all”, we partnered with Chef Michael Paley of Cafe No Se & Central Standard  and sommelier Mandi Nelson to introduce guests to a selection of wines from Italy paired with bites from one of the best chefs in Austin!

Mangia, Mangia, Y’all!

Our tasting session was held on a Sunday and they told us to expect 80-100 participants — but about 130 people showed up! Here’s what worked best with the pairings below:

Torresella Prosecco NV with Sweet Potato Beignet
Why this works: Three things going on here: contrasting texture, acid to cut fat and echoing sweetness.

1) The bubbly texture of the Prosecco is an excellent contrast to the warm, soft texture of the beignet. I love using sparkling wines for their textures to contrast again soft foods (think soups and soufflés).

2) The acidity of the wine helps to cut through the fat of the deep fried beignet (this acid/fat theme will come up a lot in this review). Bubblies are always great for cutting through rich dishes.

3) Torresella Prosecco is Extra Dry, which in bubbly speak, confusingly, means it has more sweetness than a Brut (which is essentially what wine folks refer to as dry). This one is only 13g/L (many proseccos on the market are around 20 g/L), so this wine is ever-so-slightly-sweet and sweet potatoes are also ever-so-slightly sweet. It was interesting how these two echoed each other in that respect.

Kettmeir Pinot Blanc 2015 with Jonah Crab Toast
Why this works: Weight and freshness.

By ‘weight’, I mean that the intensity of the food and wine match each other; that one does not overpower the other in terms of flavors or body. Kettmeir Pinot Blanc is a semi-aromatic wine that can acts as a great alternative to unoaked, cool-climate Chardonnay. Being more clean and pure in its fruity lemon and apple flavors allows the delicacy and the sweetness of the Jonah Crab to shine.

In the same vein, they both echo a certain freshness. Kettmeir Pinot Blanc showing its mountain air freshness (being from the Alto Adige in Northeast Italy) and the Jonah Crab showing its saline/ocean freshness.

Sassoregale Sangiovese 2014 with Deviled Egg with Wild Boar Salami

Why this works: Ok, first? This was a very cool pairing if only because there is a wild board on the label of Sassoregale. Beyond that, this pairing really highlights the power of acid cutting through fat.

Sassoregale Sangiovese is a fresh, unoaked red wine from southern Tuscany. It has a great black cherry profile and Sangiovese’s naturally brisk acidity is able to cut through not only the fat in a deviled eggs and the wild boar salami, but this wine did incredibly well with many of the meat-centric dishes served through the whole weekend at the Austin Food & Wine Festival. This was clearly the crowd favorite.

Lamole di Lamole Chianti Classico Riserva 2012 with Waygu Beef Tartare
Why this works: First, the wrong wine was sent; this was supposed to be Lamole’s basic Chianti Classico but we scored the Riserva (!) that sees a little more aging. Not only did that allow for a sharper contrast against Sassoregale Sangiovese (as Sangiovese is the main grape in Chianti as well) but I think it was even better for the pairing! Back to the pairing – we see some more action from acid (is it any wonder why high acid wines are among somm’s favorites) as well as how salt plays with fruit.

Waygu beef is famous for its intense marbling, so like the last dish, Sangiovese’s high acidity was there to balance the beautiful fat in the tartare. Further, this classic steak tartare preparation includes the addition of brined capers and anchovy, and salt in a dish will showcase the fruity side of a wine (the topic of a future blog post!) So what I loved about this was even though the Riserva has some bottle age (and fruit begins to fade/dry out as the normal process of aging a wine) the salt components of the steak tartare highlighted the remaining fruit in the wine (there is still plenty of fresh fruit in the wine – it’s going to age for a long time).

I hope you found that helpful! Definitely put this event on your calendar for next year.