Two Italians Walk Into a Steakhouse

A steakhouse wine list usually starts and ends with Cabernet. Ours has plenty of red muscle, but two of our favorite bottles come from the other side of the Atlantic, from Italian producers who let the land do the talking. One is a white grown in volcanic soil near Naples. The other is a red from the hills between the mountains and the Adriatic. Together they cover the whole table.

Here’s the idea. The raw bar wants something bright, salty and cold. The ribeye wants fruit, structure and a little grip. You could spend twenty minutes with a wine list the size of a phone book, or you could order these two and get back to the conversation.

01

No. 01The Raw Bar White

Cantine Federiciane Vesuvius Falanghina

Grown on a volcano. Poured next to the ice.

A crisp, unoaked Falanghina from the volcanic soils outside Naples. Meyer lemon and citrus blossom up front, then grapefruit, a little honeyed peach and a salty, mineral finish that tastes like it knows the sea is nearby.

• Meyer lemon
• ◆Citrus blossom
• ◆Honeyed peach
• ◆Saline finish

The Bottle

Producer

Cantine Federiciane

Grape

Falanghina

Region

Campania, Italy

Style

Crisp, mineral white

Try it with Oysters on the Half Shell or Crispy Calamari or Texas Redfish Piccata

A White Wine With a Volcano in Its Past

Cantine Federiciane’s story starts in the 1950s in Bacoli, a seaside town in the Campi Flegrei, west of Naples. The name means “burning fields,” and it’s earned: the whole area is volcanic, and the vineyards grow in soils of ash, yellow tuff and light sand. It began with grandfather Paolo. Today the fourth generation of the family helps run the winery, and 1951 is still printed right on the label.

Those sandy volcanic soils are more than a nice story. Some Campi Flegrei vines still grow ungrafted, on their own original roots, something most of Europe lost when phylloxera wiped out vineyards in the 1800s. Loose volcanic sand is a hostile place for that pest, so in the right corners of Campania the old way survived.

What that means in the glass: a white with no oak to hide behind. It’s fermented in steel at cool temperatures and rested briefly before bottling, so what you taste is fruit and minerals.

Why It Belongs Next to the Raw Bar

Oysters and Falanghina work for the same reason lemon and oysters work. Vibrant acidity cuts the brine, and that saline finish meets the shellfish halfway instead of fighting it. It also handles the Crispy Calamari like a professional; fried food loves a white with some snap.

Serve it cold, around 50 to 54°F. We’ll take care of that part.

02

No. 02The Steak Red

Terre dei Nobili Montepulciano

Soft hands, strong grip.

A Montepulciano d’Abruzzo with a deep ruby color and violet edges. Ripe cherry, plum and wild berries lead, while a few months in Slovenian oak add gentle spice and a touch of vanilla over firm, well-behaved tannins.

• Ripe cherry
• ◆Plum
• ◆Wild berries
• ◆Gentle spice

The Bottle

Producer

Terre di Poggio

Grape

Montepulciano

Region

Abruzzo, Italy

Style

Full-bodied red

Try it with 12 oz. Ribeye or Double Cut Colorado Lamb Chops or Red Chile Braised Short Rib

Not That Montepulciano

Let’s clear up Italy’s most confusing name. Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is a Tuscan wine named after a hill town, and it’s made mostly from Sangiovese. Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is a completely different thing: Montepulciano is the grape, and Abruzzo is the region on Italy’s east coast where it made its name. Same word, different wine, zero relation. You can now win a bar argument.

Terre dei Nobili comes from Terre di Poggio, a winery in Poggiofiorito, in the province of Chieti. It sits between the Adriatic Sea and the Maiella mountains. Enologist Destro Carulli founded the winery in 2002, and its wines are named after the little neighborhoods of the surrounding countryside. The winery has also hosted “Bevi ad Arte” evenings, pairing its wines with artists, poets and writers. Look for the name on the black band around the neck.

Why It Works With a Ribeye

A great steak red needs two things: enough fruit to stand up to char, and enough tannin to cut through fat. This one has both, and it never gets heavy. The Slovenian oak is a supporting actor, adding spice and a hint of vanilla while letting the cherry and plum take the lead.

Pro tip: it shows best slightly cool, around 66°F. That’s cooler than most dining rooms, so a slight chill is a feature, not a mistake.

Two Bottles, One Table

Split a dozen oysters over the Falanghina, then switch to the Montepulciano when the steaks arrive. That’s not a rule. It’s just a very good evening.

Vintages and availability may change with our distributor before opening night.