Montepulciano dAbruzzo with Bagel Bites & Mac-N-Cheese

My Friday night Wine Adventure includes some frozen, microwavable food and an Italian red wine with a twist off cap. I was inspired by the fact that sometimes a girl just wants bagel bites and microwavable mac-n-cheese but still wants to feel fancy. Don’t judge me! It’s been a long week!

I chose a 2016 La Valentina Montepulciano d’Abruzzo from Abruzzo Italy to pair with my Ore-Ida bagel bites and Stouffer’s microwavable macaroni and cheese. Typically, a Montepulciano is a great choice to pair with pizza. However, the bagel bites made the wine seem bitter. I checked the wine notes from the wine maker for suggested food pairings. I was surprised that pizza was not on the list. La Valentina suggested dishes like Pasta Aglio E Olio which includes garlic and olive oil but no red sauce. (Which by the way sounds yummy! I will be trying that recipe one day soon!) Maybe this is a wine to try with white pizza!

I assumed that all Montepulciano wine was aged in oak. La Valentina Montepulciano d’Abruzzo was aged about 18 months, 80% of the wine refine in stainless steel tanks while the remaining 20% aged in oak Slavonian barrels and in 2nd passage barriques.  Wine aged in oak tends to have more characteristics of vanilla and spices whereas wine aged in stainless steel tanks have more fruit characteristics.  Maybe this has something to do with why the La Valentina Montepulciano d’Abruzzo didn’t pair well with my bagel bites. 

Though I was rather disappointed, I found an easy solution to my not-so-good food pairing! I immediately finished my bagel bites and mac-n-cheese and saved the wine for later! (Which I have been drinking while writing this story.)

Thank you for sharing my wine adventures with me! Cheers!