Mead, ad hoc glasses and the right wine for Sienese desserts with Wine&Siena 2023
Mead, or rather the oldest fermented drink in the world, explained by a Sienese who was the first in Italy to write a real manual on this subject. And then the secrets of Sienese sweets and wine pairings. Once the wine has been chosen, however, it is necessary to choose the glass, because each glass has the ability to enhance the wine in a different way, in short, each product is perfectly fine only in some glasses.
The Wine&Siena Masterpieces of Taste is a journey into excellence. Indeed, Siena confirms itself as the location for the first major wine event of the year in Italy thanks to the event that returns to the city from 27 to 30 January ’23, as per tradition, to start the wine year and kick off a whole year of appointments signed The WineHunter. About 600 labels to taste from all over Italy and beyond. And then there will be around 60 products including chocolates, cheeses, oil, meats and cured meats, beer, cured meats, pasta, rice, cereals, grappas and liqueurs, beer from all over the country.
Among the products, there is mead, the oldest fermented one already known by the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. This will be discussed in the Sala San Ansano, at Santa Maria della Scala, on Saturday 28 January, at 11.30 with “The colors of mead – Discovering the oldest fermented product in the world”. Marco Parrini, who has always lived in Siena, will accompany us in the discovery of this product. He, passionate about fermented products and homebrewing, is the first in Italy to have rediscovered the secrets of mead, the fermentation times, its characteristics and its production techniques. It’s all in a manual that Parrini published a few months ago and which traces the knowledge acquired during many years of work, study and experimentation. Strictly at home. And rigorously the first in Italy to write about the production of this nectar. What you don’t do out of passion, in short. Parrini, in fact, in his “normal” life works in a bank. What you will discover is that there are many different types of mead. There is the traditional one which has only honey, water and yeast. Then there are the melomeli, i.e. fermented products with a fruit base. There is no shortage of spicy ones and specials, which can be those hybrid drinks between beer and mead.
In which glass are the characteristics of mead most exalted? What if instead of mead it is wine? Sunday 29 January 2023 in the Sala Sant’Ansano at Santa Maria della Scala, at 11.30, we will be able to discover it with “To each wine its glass: the shape that counts” by Marco Mezzetti of Cristallerie Mezzetti. For a sweet wine, which glass is needed? And for a fruity wine, where are the aromas most exalted? This is the journey into which wine lovers will be projected.
A journey that at 2 pm on Sunday 29 January, again in Sala Sant’Ansano, continues into the magical world of Sienese tradition with “The secrets of Sienese sweets: how to recognize authentic panforte and ricciarelli from imitations, the best pairings with wines”. The protagonist is the Fabbrica del Panforte, a company of great research and artisan quality. The WineHunter will choose the most particular wines that enhance Sienese desserts, from vin santo to Moscadello. And then who knows.