ANTHIUM

BELLONE DI ANZIO

BIANCO LAZIO IGT/IGP

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Bellone’s ancestor is believed to be the Uva Pantastica praised by Pliny the Elder in his Naturalis Historica and present in Italy’s Latium region since Roman times.

Today the grape is cultivated from the Alban to the Lepini hills and along the nearby sea coast.

GRAPE VARIETY

The Bellone grape is vigorous and resistant to drought – a guarantee for wine quality and balance – while its plump, golden, thick-skinned grapes
hang in elongated, cone-shaped bunches.

A persistent sea breeze contributes to the perfect ripening of the grapes while a perfect concentration of sugar and notable acidity help to underline the wine’s pronounced mineral notes.

The harvest takes place in late September.

VINIFICATION TECHNIQUE

Vinification takes place in two stages: first, maceration on the skins to encourage extraction of the aromas resulting from the terroir, then, after soft pressing, spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts for around 10-12 days at 18-20°C

TASTING NOTE

Deep yellow flecked with gold.

The wine speaks of summer sun and rich, ripe tropical fruit such as mango and papaya, carefully balanced by a marked acidity making it suitable for long bottle aging.

Lush, ample and lingering on the palate with hints of flowers and spice.

Defined by its trademark acidity and zesty tang.

A long finish.

SUGGESTED FOOD PAIRING

“Minestra di Sgavajone”: a typical soup from the fishermen of Anzio made with the broth of this local fish, rarely found outside the family home

Ingredients for 4 people:
400 gms. Sgavajoni, 100 gms. spaghetti (roughly broken by hand), 3 litres water, 2 cloves garlic, 100 gms fresh cherry tomatoes, 2 sprigs chopped parsley, finely chopped chilli, salt and a little extra virgin olive oil.

Boil the Sgavajoni for two hours. Meanwhile, in a little olive oil, saute the garlic, salt, chilli and tomatoes until these are soft. Remove the garlic, pass the mixture through a sieve and set aside.
When the fish has broken down completely pass it through a sieve taking care to crush the bones completely.
Mix the fish water with the tomato mixture, add the “Sgavajoni” pieces one at a time and return the soup to the boil. Add the roughly broken spaghetti and when cooked garnish with the finely chopped parsley and serve.