Last week, when I was exploring my new favorite wine store, European Vine Selections, I picked up a bottle of 2004 Pelerin Roero Arneis. Roero Arneis is a white wine that hails from the Piedmont region of Italy. It also has the distinction of being the first white wine that Robert ever enjoyed. A few years ago, Robert was in New York for the Macworld conference and, while he was there, he happened upon a tiny, speakeasy-style bar called Single Room Occupancy. The ladies behind the bar were really excited about this new wine they had gotten in, Cascina Chicco Roero Arneis, and they convinced him to try it even though he didn’t like white wine. Well, he ended up liking it a lot so we started looking for Roero Arneis whenever we were shopping for wine. Robert has since gone on to try and like many other whites but, whenever we see a bottle of Roero Arneis, we usually pick it up for sentimental reasons.

I’ve heard Roero Arneis described as “light, delicate and perfumy” and, conversely, as “robust; a red wine disguised as a white wine.” I think the Pelerin Roero Arneis probably falls more toward the robust side but, sadly, it was a bit oxidized. It tasted a bit more like sherry than wine which usually indicates oxidation. Oh well. It’s bound to happen every once in a while.

Although Roero Arneis is not a very well-known wine, the Piedmont region is home to some of Italy’s most famous wines including Barolo and Barbaresco. The Piedmont is also known for having some of the best cuisine in Italy. This is, after all, where the slow food movement started. Influenced more by neighboring France than Southern Italy, the Piedmontese prefer butter and cream over olive oil. Rice and polenta are favored instead pasta dishes here. Piedmont is also home to the famous white truffle.

For my winesday meal, I decided to focus on the foods of Piedmont. In keeping with the Piedmontese preference for rice dishes, I made Risotto con Finocchio (Fennel Risotto.) I also made a vegetable dish inspired by a very famous recipe from this region, Bagna Cauda. Bagna Cauda is a mixture of olive oil, butter, anchovy, and garlic that, as with fondue, is kept warm over a low flame. Italians dip bread cubes and raw vegetables into it. I, instead, drizzed it over lightly steamed vegetables. I also made Grissini which are very long, thin breadsticks. Grissini originated in Torino, Italy but are found virtually everywhere in Northern Italy. They were very fun to make. My baking stone wasn’t quite large enough, though, so I had to twist some of my Grissini into wild, curvy shapes in order to get them to fit!