At the table, wine has one more dimension beyond tasting: it intoxicates the senses and, together with the dish it is paired with, touches more sensitive chords, those of knowledge and discovery. As you taste, images, sensations and sounds of a new territory surface; its history, its events and the habits of its people become clearer. The sensory experience takes on a broader meaning: sipping becomes the pleasure of discovery. Let us sit down in front of a Petit Manseng from Casale del Giglio and a dish from the Pontine islands made with “acqua pazza”. Together they reveal the secrets of the Agro Pontino and of the old fishermen of the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Petit Manseng is a white wine with a fresh, mineral taste and excellent structure. At the first sip the Agro Pontino surrounds us, and before our eyes lies the Casale del Giglio estate.
Casale del Giglio is more than just a winery. Casale del Giglio is an ambition: to innovate and experiment so that the Agro Pontino, too, can become a respected wine-growing area. It is no utopia: it is a project born in the 1980s which, out of 60 grape varieties, has led to single-varietal wines and blends with an attractive quality-to-price ratio. The focus is on reviving a territory without solid roots in winemaking. The land reclamation of the Fascist era changed the face of the ecosystem of a marshy, unhealthy area. The Agro Pontino is now a flat expanse of sandy and clay soils, rich in minerals, where Casale del Giglio tries out new techniques, experiments with different ways of growing vines and innovates to bring out its value. Casale del Giglio is creating a tradition, that of Pontine wine.
Petit Manseng embodies this project well. Although it is not Casale del Giglio’s flagship wine, its grape variety and the way it is grown are attracting ever more interest in the Agro Pontino. It is a fresh white with an intense scent that shows at its best with the flavours of the sea. And the sea has many stories to tell.
The Tyrrhenian keeps the story of acqua pazza: the fishermen of Ponza and those of the Gulf of Pozzuoli both claim it as their own, but there is no doubt about what used to happen at the harbour years ago. Acqua pazza is a story of nets hauled in, of bustling markets, of coming home with small but tasty catches: all the leftover fish was boiled for a single large meal, humble but complete. Acqua pazza was a light broth made with seawater and a little white wine.
Like every dish of humble origins, fish cooked in acqua pazza now takes pride of place on the menus of the best local restaurants. The savouriness of Petit Manseng goes well with the lightness this cooking method gives the fish. Together they tell an engaging tale: the freshness of Petit Manseng mirrors the young, innovative approach of Casale del Giglio; the delicacy of fish in acqua pazza is a story of life worth remembering.
Petit Manseng is a new, approachable wine; fish in acqua pazza is a light dish that is simple to prepare. The affinity between Petit Manseng and acqua pazza takes us to an important area of our country, where the past has modest origins and the present is writing a new story.
What a pleasure this discovery is!
