Here at Carpineto, as our recurrent readers will surely have noticed, we really like to explore the infinite possibilities our wine pairings can encounter far beyond the national borders. Dogajolo Rosso Toscana IGT 2022 can be the perfect protagonist for today’s adventure, as we will explain in detail further on.

We have entered harvest season: this period corresponds to when grapes are picked before being vinified. The harvest is a crucial phase, because it is the result of a whole year's work in the vineyard. It is at this precise moment that the winegrower will reap the fruits of his patience and all the care he has devoted to each vine over many months. The date of harvest is therefore very important, as is the technique used to pick the fruit. This ritual is passed down from generation to generation, creating a craftsmanship that only centuries of passion can inspire.

While this liturgy goes on, we would like to introduce you to a couple of rather unusual pairings for one of our finest bottles: Dogajolo is an innovative young Super Tuscan that combines the power and chromatic intensity of a young wine with the elegance and balance derived from aging in wood. Although excellent when drunk young, it has good aging potential. It has a deep garnet color with violet reflections and offers an intense, fruity aroma, enriched with notes of cherry, coffee, vanilla, and spices. On the palate, it is full, smooth, complex, and well-developed. The ideal serving temperature is 15-16 °C in the first year and 18-20 °C in subsequent years.

So let’s add a fusion twist for it: how about some vegetarian tacos with porcini mushrooms and Tuscan pecorino cheese to begin with?

• Tacos ingredients (serving 4 people)
• Small corn tortillas
• Mushrooms
• 300 g Tuscan Pecorino cheese
• 200 g Fontina cheese
• Parsley
• Salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil

Preparation:

Heat the tortillas on a griddle or frying pan over high heat, turning them until they puff up and brown slightly around the edges; then let them cool over a rolling pin, glass, or bottle to give them the shape of tacos.

Clean and chop the mushrooms, and if they are honey mushrooms, boil them for 15 minutes. Cook them in a pan with oil and garlic over high heat for about 7 minutes, then lower the heat, add salt, pepper, and wine (or water), and when the liquid has evaporated, add the chopped parsley. Grate the fontina and pecorino cheese using a large grater, mix with sautéed mushrooms, then fill the tacos with the mixture.

Heat them in a large saucepan, without overlapping them, with the lid on and over low heat for 5 minutes, so that the cheese melts. Finally, serve with chopped parsley and powdered rosemary.

Pumpkin & gorgonzola fusion pizza

Sweet pumpkin, spicy gorgonzola, and soy sauce whispering from the East. Sounds like a recipe for disaster, right? Wrong. This pizza is pure poetry. The secret lies in the young Dogajolo, served slightly chilled at 16 degrees.

The delicate tannins cut through the creaminess of the gorgonzola, the coffee notes in the wine pair with the umami of the soy, while the pumpkin acts as a bridge, with its sweetness recalling the fruity hints of Sangiovese. A tip? Pour the wine while the pizza is still hot, because the contrast in temperatures amplifies the flavors.

Now that you have a wonderful starter, In addition, you could try some Bao with Tuscan braised beef. A bao bun is a white fluffy Chinese steamed bun, which is now used in thousands of variations, both sweet and savory. Why not give it a Tuscan twist, then?

Bao buns ingredients: (Serving 4 people)

500 g flour

20 g fresh yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

250 ml water

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon fine salt

Start by preparing the dough and mixing the flour and crumbled yeast together in a large bowl with your hands. Add the sugar and oil, and begin mixing with a fork to incorporate the ingredients.

Then pour in the water and salt, continuing to mix everything with the fork and then by hand. Transfer the mixture to a pastry board and continue kneading by hand until you obtain a smooth, even ball of dough. Cover the dough with an upside-down bowl and leave to rest until it doubles in volume, which will take about an hour.

After rising, knead the dough to form a loaf, then divide it into eight equal parts. Form each portion into a ball. Roll out each ball with a rolling pin to form an oval shape.

Brush the surface of each oval with oil. Fold in half to obtain the typical shape of bao buns, then let them rest for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, bring water to a boil in a pot and place the steamer on top.

Place the bao buns on the bottom of the steamer lined with parchment paper. Keep them spaced apart. Cover with the lid and steam for about 8 minutes, until they are puffy and soft.

As we were suggesting, you can accompany the tacos and the bao with a good glass of Dogajolo, but don’t forget to fill your chinese fluffy bread!

For a special filling, we thought about a delicious braised tuscan beef. Here’s some tips on how to prepare it properly: sear the beef in the hot oil, in batches to brown well without crowding; do not move the meat too soon to sear all sides.

When all the meat is browned, return it to the pan and deglaze with red wine, boiling for 2 minutes. Add broth and diced tomatoes as well as tomato paste; stir everything together well. Returning to a boil, lower heat and cover the pan, add thyme and bay leaves.

Let it simmer gently at the barest bubble for approximately 2 hours, or until the meat is tender. Add the rest of Chianti and freshly ground black pepper. Cook for 20-30 minutes more over medium heat until the sauce thickens and is a very deep mahogany color. Finally, remove thyme, peels of garlic, and bay leaves. Fill your bao buns and enjoy!