Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Superiore with Grilled Summer Squash with Blue Cheese and Pecans

Tasting notes

Unique elegance, it has a ruby red color and a complex and bewitching bouquet, you can distinguish notes of licorice, cocoa, vanilla, red fruit jam with cherries and plums as the master, tobacco, spices and leather. In the mouth it is surprising, a distillation of pure emotions that only great fine wines can give: a full, intense, elegant and above all very long sip.  I am still in love with this vintage. It just has so much depth and complexity. Absolutely lovely. 96 Points, Venus

A fine Venetian wine that gives unique emotions, to be drunk immediately or to rest for years in the cellar, a monumental bottle like Quintarelli has accustomed us.

What is there to say about Quintarelli? Isn’t it enough just to say the name itself? Valpolicella’s answer to Alfredo Prunotto or Domaine Romanée-Conti, Quintarelli is arguably the first and last word in the region, the flag-carrier of Amarone, and the area’s most powerful claim to first-rank worth and prestige in the area.

It all started in 1924, when Silvio Quintarelli, who had been cultivating vines in a mezzadria (a form of sharecropping) elsewhere in Valpolicella, founded his own winemaking company in the reputable village at the heart of Valpolicella Classica, Negrar. The winery trundled on peaceably well, and when the time came in 1954 control of it passed to his son, Giuseppe, and nothing would ever be the same again.

Over six decades, Giuseppe Quintarelli would become the most famous and succesful winemaker in the history of Valpolicella, a genuine icon, who inspired generations of winemakers (including his longtime apprentice, Romano Dal Forno, now famous for his own eponymous brand).

What was Quintarelli’s secret? The altitude undoubtedly helps, avoiding the valley fog and helping the organic-only vines gain maximum sun exposure. It’s also true that Quintarelli age their wine in oak on average for longer than anyone else in the region (in general at least 8 years). But if it’s anything it must be the near-fanatical attention to detail and refusal to lower standards. Only 13 hectares are under vine, producing only 60,000 bottles a year – and that’s if they even produce, given Giuseppe’s notorious habit of not even releasing a vintage if he deemed it not up to scratch. Other secrets? They will have to remain secret – Quintarelli do not even have a website, let alone anywhere to spill their jealously-guarded secrets.

Giuseppe sadly died in 2012, with the winery passing to his daughter Fiorenza and her husband Giampaolo Grigoli, who have continued Giuseppe’s tradition of exacting standards. With their distinctive bottles and large prices (the highest in Valpolicella), Quintarelli have certainly the look of a cult-winery, but the real joy is that what’s in the bottle really backs it up. Valpolicella’s brightest star contines to shine bright as ever, a beacon in the region, a myth worthy of its status.

Wine experts think this Italian Amarone wine would be a match made in heaven with this dish. Buon appetito!

Blue cheese

Most blue cheeses are made from cow’s milk, blue cheeses may be soft and creamy or crumbly in texture, with a characteristically sharp, spicy flavor. They are often quite salty but should not be overly so, nor bitter. The blue mold found in is blue cheese is often penicillium roqueforti, a fungus whose name originates from the town of Roquefort, where Roquefort cheese is produced. A secondary popular blue fungus used in cheesemaking is called penicillium glaucum, and the two molds are often inoculated into the milk in tandem at the beginning of the cheesemaking process. Recent studies hypothesize that the origin story of penicillium roqueforti in cheese is linked back to a plant pathogen of rye, which made its way into the flour and then the baked bread that was left near sheep milk cheese in an aging cave in Roquefort. The fungus is also widespread in nature - it can be found in soil, decaying matter, and plants. In cheese, the blue mold only starts to grow when exposed to oxygen, which explains the signature spearing of holes through blue cheese wheels before they are aged in open air in a cave.

 How to Serve Blue Cheese

It is always recommended to let your cheese come to room temperature before you enjoy it. The experience is so vastly different, it is a shame to do otherwise.  

Grilled Summer Squash with Blue Cheese and Pecans

Ingredients

1/2 cup pecan halves

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

Kosher salt

Pepper

2 pounds mixed zucchini, summer squash and pattypan squash

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest plus 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon thyme leaves

2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled

Grilled bread, for serving

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375°F. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the pecans with the butter and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and roast until fragrant and browned, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely, then coarsely chop. Quarter the zucchini and summer squash lengthwise and cut off the soft, seedy centers. Cut any large patty pans in half lengthwise—you'll want all of the pieces to be roughly the same size. In a large bowl, toss all of the squash with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Thread the pattypan squash onto metal skewers for easy grilling. Light a grill. Grill all of the squash over moderately high heat, turning once, until lightly charred and tender, about 10 minutes. Cut the zucchini and summer squash into 2-inch lengths; transfer to a large bowl. Remove the patty pans from the skewers and add to the bowl. In a small bowl, whisk the lemon zest and juice with the honey, thyme and the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Add the lemon vinaigrette to the grilled squash and toss. Transfer to a serving bowl and top with the crumbled blue cheese and toasted pecans. Serve with grilled bread.