IS PECORINO A CHEESE, A GRAPE OR A WINE?
Master of Wine Christopher Burr reviews Christian Patat's Pecorino
The short answer is all three, and probably most consumers will think of Pecorino as the hard salty cheese often used for grating, the name simply meaning "of sheep". This cheese comes from various parts of Italy including Sardinia.
But there is also a grape variety of the same name, which grows in the Eastern parts of Italy, mainly in Abruzzo, but also in the Marche. This white grape has thin pale skins but produces wine with lovely green fig and ripe lemon and grapefruit flavours and aromas of wild herbs like sage, and flowery wild acacia and jasmine.
It has a mineral intensity and is a wonderful change from Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc, so it is no surprise that it is one of the fastest growing wine types in Italy and also in the UK.
The best Pecorino wines come from a specific area in Abruzzo, designated as Terri di Chieti, up in the rolling hills, with a bit of cooling temperatures at night-time, and cooling breezes.
The wine maker Christian Patat makes wines from several regions in Italy. He selects fruit and uses his skills to produce the most appealing wines, typical of their region and grape variety.
He is also a keen advocate of the indigenous grape varieties of Italy, making a good red Primativo from Puglia, an appassimento or dried, sweet late harvest wine from the same region, another red - the Montepulciano d'Abruzzo from the same region as the Pecorino he makes from vineyards in the Terre di Chieti. Plus another white wine from Sicily, a Grecanico which is the same grape from which Soave is made in the North of Italy.
Do try the Pecorino from Christian Patat, a great example and gaining a very fast growing following as a crisp, bright but complex white which goes with most summery dishes but is also great as a "fridge" wine, for an occasional glass on its own.
Try with a mouthful of broken off Parmigiano or Pecorino-- that is the cheese!