From: Lazio, Italy
Varietal: Cesanese

Taste: Deep ruby red. Intense aromas of marasca cherry, typical of late varieties, sweet pomegranate and red plums, followed by spicy notes of white pepper, black pepper and violet. The mouthfeel is soft, extremely pleasant and focused on those cherry and sweet pomegranate flavors with a smidge of savory notes that rounds out all that fruit alongside persistent, fine tannins and pronounced acidity. Perfect for enjoying a night in with a home-cooked (or take-out!) meal.

Pairing: Herbaceous and savory wine like Cesanese will taste way more fruity when paired with a rich meaty dish. We’re sharing Wine Folly’s article on the varietal with Chef Mike Easton’s pairing recommendation, as well as Amanda Hesser’s NYT Cooking recipe for Oxtail Braised with Tomato and Celery (Coda Alla Vaccinara). You can do this even if you’re a vegetarian by using the meatier veggies including lentils, truffles, kale and chestnuts (all Lazio regional foods).

Historical background of Cesanese. This variety hails from the Latium Province of Frosinone, once inhabited by the ancient Volsci tribe who conquered the town of Satricum in 488 BC and ruled supreme until the Romans established a colony there in 385 BC.
Prime areas for the cultivation of Cesanese are around the hill towns of Affile and Piglio.

Grape information & vinification (winemaking) technique. Cesanese is a low yield, late-ripening variety which lends itself to late harvesting.

The cluster is small, sparse and elongated, the berries oval and medium-sized. The harvest does not take place until late October as the vineyards are situated on relatively high, hilly slopes.

Late ripening varieties normally guarantee a long lasting wine; in fact the more days intervene between flowering and maturity the more suitable the wine will be for long aging.

Submerged cap, spontaneous fermentation at 18-20° C for approximately 20 days is followed by a further 10/12 days of maceration on the skins to extract the very last traces of the tannins in which the skins and seeds of the Cesanese grape are particularly rich.