Wine Pick of the Week: March 1, 2015

Zuccotti Frizecco D'Italia U.V. (Italy)

This is a very light, easy-drinker. The color is the palest gold, almost like white gold. It’s a sparkling wine, but a frizzante—light bubbles. It’s isn’t sugary sweet, but not dry either. It’s fizzy on the tongue, and that lingers. The wine is initially tart thanks to a slight grape flavor that develops into a lemony-citrus. This becomes more of a vanilla flavor and finally a caramel finish. The grapes aren’t listed, but my guess would be a combination of Moscato and Prosecco.

I first paired it with raw salmon sushi with avocado. The sushi brightened the wine, bringing out more lemon-lime. The finish was shorter, without the caramel. I then paired the Frizecco with a caramel toffee cupcake from Avenue Eats. The tartness was enhanced at first because the cupcake was so sweet, but immediately it smoothed out and was all caramel, without the citrus at all.

Other compatible foods might include almond (as lightly roasted nuts or almond cookies) and shrimp cocktail. Because of the tartness and lemon-citrus, this may also be a good wine for asparagus.