The tasting of the week: Aromatic Malvasia di Candia from the Cantina di Vicobarone
- Wines and Food Blog
- 5 March 2021
- 0

This week, with our tasting, we take you to Val Tidone, a land that has always been dedicated to wine. Malvasia has always had a great importance for the Piacenza area, so much so that in the annals of agriculture of the Kingdom of Italy in 1813, it was already counted among the indigenous varieties.
Its production acts as a vehicle for the two faces of Piacenza: on one side the foggy Lower Po Valley, along the great river Po, on the other the hill with the Trebbia River and the cool valleys dotted with villages, villas and castles.
Although the shape of the bottle may lead you to think you are dealing with a still wine, the tradition of sparkling wines from Piacenza is well expressed through this Aromatic Malvasia di Candia, a grape originating from ancient Greece and present in the Piacenza hills for centuries.
The peculiarities of Malvasia di Candia
The growing attention on the part of producers towards the environment has led the Cantina di Vicobarone to adhere, with this label, to the V.I.V.A protocol which certifies the sustainability of the entire production process, both in the vineyard and in the cellar.
The simple Guyot breeding is what this vine prefers, harvested manually in small boxes and fermented with selected yeasts at a controlled temperature of 18 °.
In the glass it shows a straw yellow color with slight golden reflections.
Intense notes of apricot, peach, white flowers and acacia honey come out intense from the glass accompanied by hints of cedar.
On the palate the hardness stands out, such as flavor and perlage, well balanced by the decisive aroma which releases a slight bitter hint, only in the after-olfactory, well integrated by citrus notes.

The combinations with the Piacenza culinary tradition
It is an aperitif wine, given its intensity, which also goes well with any meal.
This wine goes perfectly with the trio of PDO cured meats (Coppa, Pancetta and Salami) of which Piacenza can be proud of in the world. It also goes perfectly with fish appetizers or first courses that are not too structured, but of good persistence as are the pisarei e fasò, typical dish based on pasta and beans.
These delicacies will then be enhanced by this historic bubble which, for almost two centuries, has been present on the tables throughout the Piacenza area.