The Monday after Easter is also a national holiday in Italy. Traditionally, it marks the beginning of Spring and gives everyone the opportunity to get outside and walk off the monstrous meal from the day before. But, Pasquetta (Little Easter) can also be yet another occasion to enjoy an elaborate holiday meal — we decided to incorporate both Pasquetta activities into our celebration.
For many families, the back to back holidays offer the opportunity to visit both sides of the family – one on Pasqua and one the other on Pasquetta. And so it was with the Fongolis. Simona and Angleo each spent Easter with the in-laws and we were invited out to Montefalco to the house of Decio and Laura Fongoli, their parents, for Pasquetta. The Fongoli house is much more than a home — it is the bustling center of activity for the vineyard. Laura is also a suberb cook. This meal was again very traditional with torta di Pasqua and capocollo passed at the beginning of the meal. This and the home-made tagliatelle with meat sauce were paired with Fongoli Grechetto from 2004. Grechetto is the local varietal that makes a crisp, light white wine that is similar to Pinot Grigio. Grechetto is rarely barrel aged and is almost always consumed within a year or two after bottling. Laura’s ragu and tagliatelle were superb with little chunks of meat and sauce clinging to the tiny imperfections of the hand-rolled pasta. After two or three plates of pasta, we were sufficiently warmed up for the meat course.
Just outside of the Fongoli’s wine tasting room is an outdoor grill and wood burning oven. Laura and Simona had fired it up that morning and roasted a chicken purchased from a neighbor. (This was a special treat planned for Maria as they know that she loves chicken.) Alongside the chicken were roast potatoes with rosemary. The skin of the chicken was very crispy and the meat scented with rosemary and the profume of the wood burning oven. It was generously doused with Fongoli olive oil that came from trees in clear view through the window. With the chicken we opened a couple of bottles of Fongoli Sagrantino Secco 2002. Sagrantino is red wine made from 100% Sagrantino grapes. It is a much revered local grape that has attained nationwide status as one of the finest wines of Italy. 2002 is considered to have been a bad year in Montefalco viticulture with many producers deciding not to produce their reserve Sagrantinos. You wouldn’t know it from these bottles. The wine was delicious with a beautiful ruby color and delightful tannins that cleared the palate. It was a good pairing with the chicken — but was out of this world with the lamb and artichokes that came next. Delicate lamb chops, roasted and served with lemon wedges were accompanied by baby artichokes, crispy on the outside but tender and flavorful inside.
After lunch, Maria Gabriella (as she is called by the Fongoli’s) played hide and seek with the Fongoli grandchildren (both Simona and Angelo have two small children) and one of their dogs, a majestic Great Dane. Brian went for a walk through the vineyard with Decio and Angelo. The vines are at the beginning stages of their spring growth with the Sangiovese, Merlot, Grechetto and Chardonnay varieties all showing significant bud bursts and shoots. The slower varieties, Sagrantino and Cabernet, were just now beginning to show signs of life after a wet and cold Umbrian winter. In addition to the vines that will be pressed into service this year, we also had the opportunity to check up some new plantings that will eventually replace one of the older sections of the vineyard. These have already been grafted and planted but are still wrapped tightly in a plastic covering to prevent them from growing too early. Too much early growth followed by a frost could be disastrous for the young vines. Brian finished the day by helping Decio take down a large dead branch from one of the Cypress trees that surround the house. Many of the trees were pruned this year to open up the fabulous vista southward along the vale of Spoleto.
