Chestnuts and wine: pairing with Novello? There's better!

Chestnuts and wine: what could be the perfect pairing? Until not long ago, in the nineties and 2000s, many would have said that Novello wine would have correctly answered the question. A wine from carbonic maceration whose seasonality came right after the harvest, making it perfect for the chestnut period (here you can find all the benefits of chestnuts). Easy-drinking wines, fresh and fruity. In reality, there is much better.

That trend has ended a few years ago and Novello wine has experienced a tremendous decline. In fact, some wineries no longer produce it as it is no longer perceived by consumers as an interesting wine. To tell the truth, this is a wise evolution that distances us from a product that had little sense, and above all, very little capacity to interpret a territory, being a technology uninterested in the origin of the grapes. If we also consider that Novello was the chosen pairing for chestnuts and marrons: for heaven's sake! There is better and more sensible options. It is necessary to reflect on this.

Boiled chestnuts or, even better, roasted marrons on the coals, are sweet and slightly oily on the palate due to the presence of starch. Therefore, the technique requires a pairing not of contrast but of similarity. In practice, the best wine should have a nice acidity, a certain sapidity, a good glyceric density, and a pleasant roundness. Finally, a certain sweetness to accompany that of the chestnuts. Quite the opposite of Novello. For this reason, we recommend different approaches with wine for marrons.

First of all, when do we eat them? At the end of a meal, during the day, when guests arrive, in moments of conviviality. This is a fruit that should caress and uplift our palate and, above all, offer pleasure. The ultimate would be to have a nice fireplace in front of which to unwrap the chestnuts and then let them bounce between the palms of your hands to cool them down (alternatively, here we have the recipe for oven-baked chestnuts). These are ancestral gestures and rituals that are timeless. To accompany them, we suggest these wines, and you'll see what pleasure you will experience!

Let’s try savouring them with a nice Passito Bianco Trevigiano made from Glera grapes (the one used for Prosecco) and Incrocio Manzoni. You should savour them with your eyes closed if you really want to better perceive the harmony of flavors. Or if you want to risk a bit more vinous verve, we recommend an excellent Recioto Classico della Valpolicella DOCG that, with its sensations of chocolate and wild cherry, pairs well with the sweet and vanilla notes of Bracalla chestnuts from the Varaita Valley. If you want to treat yourself, include a piece of aged goat cheese, just to not miss anything.
 

Bernardo Pasquali