To say Brunello di Montalcino is like saying Tuscany. We are dealing with one of the region's historic appellations, recognised worldwide as a guarantee of absolute quality. A symbol of Italian viticulture in every corner of the globe: from America to Asia, the name Brunello immediately evokes the image of an elegant, full-bodied, structured, powerful and at the same time harmonious wine. Capable of expressing all the best of the Tuscan terroir. 

Here in Carpineto we know what Brunello di Montalcino represents for the entire Tuscan and Italian viticulture. Sangiovese Grosso grapes grow on our estate guarding the Val d'Orcia, one of the highest in the entire appellation, and are harvested and carefully selected to give us a wine of absolute depth. To be sipped as a meditation glass or paired with the great dishes of national and international cuisine. Very typical are the pairings with Fiorentina steak, with structured first courses based on game, with stews and braised meats that enhance the body and fullness of our Brunello di Montalcino. 

The pairings, however, do not end here. Carpineto Brunello di Montalcino is also at its best with more refined recipes, the full expression of Italian quality in the kitchen. Brunello, for example, is perfect when paired with similarly structured dishes, which can be richly seasoned or particularly elaborate (think, for example, of preparations with brown sauce) or accompanied by cheeses that have been left to age for a long time. An overall picture that certainly needs some examples. 

Let us start with another great typicality of the land of Tuscany: Cinta Senese pork. We prepare the roast and then dress it, perhaps, with a sweet-and-sour sauce that balances the more densely fruity notes of Brunello; later, we can add some dried fruit: plums or figs, thus recalling the tertiary notes of Brunello. For those who like particularly intense flavours, we can then finish with a cooked apple sauce that finally recalls aromatic notes well integrated within our glass. We will thus have an elegant and very fine combination. With distinct, intense and at the same time caressing flavours. 

Another very interesting pairing could be pigeon breast and red fruit sauce. Raspberries, blueberries, butter for the base, a few sprigs of thyme for flavouring. This is all you need to prepare a tasty and elegant dish that brings to mind the jam-like notes of Brunello di Montalcino. The combination of raspberry and blueberry, together with the succulence of the pigeon meat, comes almost naturally to enhance all the magnificent notes of this great bottle. An ideal score that results in a full ecstasy of taste thanks to a pairing that is almost by "concordance" thanks to the rich seasoning of the pigeon meat. 

As we can see, Brunello di Montalcino knows how to go much further than the albeit magnificent classic pairings of the Tuscan regional tradition. Alongside the intense flavours of wild boar stew with polenta (a recipe typical of the Montalcino tradition), of first courses such as tortelli alla mugellana, of game and venison dishes, we can - if the fancy and the palate require it - head towards combinations that, as we have noted, are more refined. Without forgetting, of course, the solid Tuscan cooking tradition.