The relationship between Italians and food is a great love affair; at the table with friends they exchange recipes, restaurant recommendations, and stories about the best wines they’ve tasted. While any occasion is an excuse to spend time together, it's a must to get together with family and friends to celebrate Christmas and New Year. The perfect wine for celebrating is sparkling, and the Italian sparkling wines par excellence are Ferrari Trento bubbles. They have been accompanying the important moments since 1902, the year the winery was founded. Its Trentodocs are made in a mountainous region, at the foothills of the Alps, strongly suited to viticulture, and are bottle fermented according to the Metodo Classico production, which confers the wine the ideal structure for being paired with any meal.
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What tradition says
On Christmas Eve dinner, on 24 December, Italians are used to eat “di magro” (sparingly, or meat-free). Therefore, the menu is often entirely fish-based: starters are classic canapés with salmon, prawns, with tuna or lumpfish roe, while the first courses offer lobster or clam linguine, fish soups, lasagna with salmon or vegetable and seafood risotto. In southern Italy, eel and gratin of mussels are among the favorite second courses, whilst in the North, creamed salt cod with polenta or a more sophisticated, baked fish is preferred. For Christmas, on the 25, tortellini in broth, baked pasta or filled pasta are essential, enjoyed after appetizers made from cold cuts, stuffed vol-au-vents, veal with tuna sauce or gourmet panettone. The second course is often a sophisticated meat, such as guinea-fowl, or large roasts of red meat with sides of oven-roasted vegetables. The most classic Christmas desserts conclude the gathering, like panettone, pandoro, ricciarelli, nougat or candied fruit. On New Year’s Eve, you can eat either meat or fish, but you can’t go without cotechino and lentils, when the clock strikes midnight.
Tips from the chef
We asked Edoardo Fumagalli, chef of the Michelin-starred restaurant Locanda Margon and executive chef of Ferrari Trento for some tasty tips for holiday recipes. “For Christmas with a contemporary touch, I’d recommend to cook a classic lasagna, flavored with orange and lemon zest, grated between layers followed by a salmon filet with dill mayonnaise; for New Year’s, I’d suggest a capon stuffed with chestnuts and dried fruit, like hazelnuts and walnuts and, at midnight, zampone to be served with a cold lentil salad, topped with diced crunchy, refreshing raw vegetables.”
Wine pairings
For the fish menu, the perfect pairing is Ferrari Brut Trentodoc, the winery’s historical wine which generations of Italians have toasted with. Despite its long tradition, this label has been accompanying the most fashionable moments like the Emmy Award, for many years. A pure mountain Chardonnay, it is aged for at least 20 months on the lees and has a fresh, intense flavor with notes of Golden apple, wild flowers and crusty bread. For meat-based dishes, try pairing a Ferrari Rosé Trentodoc, a cuvée of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay, which knows how to impress with its aromas of hawthorn, currants and wild strawberries.