Pandoro, Panettone and… Cartizze!

What wine is better to use with the leavened products of the festivities? Which wine do Pandoro and Panettone prefer? Still or sparkling? Dry or sweet? White or red?
First of all, let's clear up any doubts! When eating a leavened product like Pandoro or Panettone, the wine must be white, sparkling and sweet.
Please do not ruin a bottle of dry sparkling wine: it gives me chills just to say it! 

We need to recreate on the palate the sensation of creaminess, pleasantness, softness, and consistency. And never as in the case of leavened desserts is this more than appropriate; I would say it is essential!

In Italy, there are many, and the two most common are Asti Spumante and Cartizze Superiore. In both cases, sweetness is the characteristic element of the wines, and in the first case, it sometimes can be too pronounced, which may not appeal to everyone. Thus, we need a wine that is soft and tendentially sweet without exceeding in sugar concentration.
The ideal wine would then be the Cartizze Superiore. It is a Prosecco made from Glera grapes grown in the hills of Cartizze, indeed.

Spaghetti & Mandolino has chosen a winery that has its headquarters and vineyards among the steep and rugged hills of this splendid Cartizze territory. It is extraordinary to think how a wine so alluring and elegant comes from such an ancient and wild territory. Quite the opposite of what is normally believed. It’s worth a visit to believe it.

The Cartizze Agathe from the Faotto Bottignolo winery is the ideal wine for leavened products because its natural sweetness is not…sweet! Don’t laugh, it’s true—it sounds like a contradiction. But it means that the sweet tendency of this wine is natural, not forced, arriving in the finish and accompanying a fruity structure with pleasant notes of citrus and apricot. All this amidst floral sensations and hints of acacia honey. But its structure remains that of Prosecco, with this Glera grape that naturally retains a beautiful acidity and an herbaceous aromatic component that supports the excellent drinkability of the product, which never becomes cloying. Indeed…in this Cartizze, it is the balance that surprises. After all, the grapes are harvested at the perfect ripeness and only the best.

The Faotto Bottignolo winery in Santo Stefano di Valdobbiadene can rightly be defined, as the French would say, une cave de garage. And in a territory like Valdobbiadene, it is a rarity. Ah, there are not many bottles precisely because the vineyards are literally…counted!

But believe us…for a great leavened product, a Pandoro, a Panettone, it’s worth it for a great Cartizze!

Happy holidays to everyone!