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Bibimbap and Pinot Gris Ramato, Sort Of (#italianFWT)

 

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For this month’s #ItalianFWT, Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla has invited us all to explore the world of Ramato wines. You can read her invitation post here. You can join us too! Even if you haven’t written a post about it, join our live Twitter discussion on Saturday July 3 at 8 am CST / 11 am EST / 6 pm GMT +3 (aka Istanbul).

What is Ramato exactly?

While researching ramato wines I ran across an article from Decanter that starts with this brilliant sentence:

Ramato is for the wine lover who wants more from their Pinot Grigio, but don’t go thinking it’s just another rosé or orange wine.

This is so true. It is not just another rosé or orange wine. But why not? It’s kind of orange and made with skin contact… In the simplest terms, rosé wines comes from black grapes and orange (or amber as I prefer) from white. Derived from the Italian word ‘rame’ which means ‘copper’, ramato wines hail from Italy’s Friuli-Venezia Giulia and are made exclusively with Pinot Grigio. A grape that is neither black nor white. It’s a grey-tinged pink grape. Most people don’t think about grape colors outside of black and white (ha, see my unintentional pun!) because we’re more familiar with the white wines made from pink grapes, like Pinot Grigio (aka Pinot Gris), Moschofilero, and Gewürztraminer.

Not only does Pinot Grigio’s greyish-pink skin give wines a coppery hue when made with extended maceration, it also adds texture and flavor. The added texture especially helps make these wines highly food friendly. It was with that in mind that I decided to pair my Arcadia Bağları Pinot Gris rosé with a heavily substituted bibimbap recipe.

You might be thinking that ‘Arcadia Bağları’ doesn’t sound especially Friulian or even Italian. You’d not be wrong. The imported Italian wine we get is limited and focused almost entirely on red. I’ve never seen a ramato here. Happily, host Camilla graciously allowed me to participate this month with a wine a few degrees removed from the theme.

Turkey has quite a few of the Pinot mutations. Lots of Pinot Noir here, some Pinot Meunier (produced solely as a still red), and Pinot Gris. Actually the latter two are in really low quantity with only one winery representing each grape. For Pinot Gris that winery is Thrace-based Arcadia Bağları. They make several wines with this grape, both varietals and blends. One just happens to be a “rosé”.

Arcadia Bağları Pinot Gris Rosé, 2019

I’ve seen this wine around but don’t think I’ve ever had it! And since I’d never had it, I also had not noticed until this month’s theme came up how very orange the wine looks. Having now done a lot of reading about ramato wines I know why! One sniff and I was already wondering if my favorite shop has more of this in stock. Summer sun-ripened raspberries and strawberries highlighted by pink grapefruit and given depth from fresh herbal notes.

Usually, I mock pink wine for exactly these “summer red berry” aromas but there was something about this that was simply more. I felt transported back to my childhood, on my knees in the dirt of the front garden plot picking berries while birds, bees, and crickets serenaded me with their gentle cacophony.

The first sip reminded me that there is a difference between Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio. Yes, yes, they’re the same grape. But the wines they made are distinctly different. Arcadia chose to use ‘Pinot Gris’ because their wine matches that style. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt such palate weight from a rosé! Round and weighty with 13.5% abv and a balancing lively acidity, the wine tasted of berries and intoxicatingly perfumed nosegays. After living in the glass for a while and warming up a few degrees the flavor profile to a wide left turn away from summer berries into luscious loquats.

I paired this with a ‘cheater’ bibimbap recipe. That palate weight tempered the savory MSG, which enriched the fruit in the wine, which, in turn, played really well with the copious amounts of ginger I used. I have to say that the pairing was more successful than my bibimbap!

There are still more Ramati to discover!

Don’t forget to read up on what the other #ItalianFWT members poured this month!

• Another BIPOC Celebrity Wine that I’m anxious to share with you by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Bibimbap and Pinot Gris Ramato, Sort Of by The Quirky Cork
• Fregola Sarda Con Gamberi + a Vertical Tasting of the 2017 and 2019 Attems Ramato Pinot Grigio by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Making Pinot Grigio Ramato Style: The Dal Cero Family of Corte Giocobbe by Joy of Wine
• Craving Copper: Old World vs. New World Ramato Wines & Pairings by Somm’s Table
• Ramato, A Fresh Look at This Italian Wine by Savor the Harvest
• Ramato: Taking Rosè to the Next Level by Vino Travels
• Ramato, the copper colored “orange” wine of Italy — and Oregon! by Wine Predator
• Santa Margherita: My Favorite Pinot Grigio by Our Good Life
• This Summer Drink Pink With Pinot Grigio by The Wine Chef