Wines for the Feast of the Seven Fishes: 2023! (Italian-American traditions, The Bear, celebrations with family by blood and family by friendship, great seafood wines)

Show Notes

Episode 102: Wines for the Feast of the Seven Fishes: 2023!  00:00

Hello! And welcome to The Wine Pair Podcast. I’m Joe, your sommelier of reasonably priced wine, and this is my wife and my wine pairing partner in crime, Carmela. And we are The Wine Pair! 

Ok, a quick orientation for those of you who may be new to the podcast - in each episode we learn about, taste and review three wines that are reasonably priced - meaning under $20 - and should be easy for you to find. Our goal is to have some fun, learn about some new wines, and talk about wines in a way that regular people like us can understand. And we are regular people, right Carmela? And we are proud to say we  are officially recommended by the editors of Decanter Magazine, who call us fun, irreverent, chatty, and entertaining. 

Last year about this time, Carmela, we did an episode on wines for the Feast of the Seven Fishes, which is a tradition that many Italian American families celebrate on Christmas Eve. I decided to bring it back this year for another shot at finding some great wines for that celebration or Holiday celebrations in general, but I brought it back this year for one really specific reason. Do you know what that reason is?

That’s right. We brought it back because our favorite TV show The Bear had an outrageous and amazing episode called Fishes, which is based on the Feast of the Seven Fishes, in Season 2 - that, by the way I think should be awarded many prizes for - and Jamie Lee Curtis in particular needs to win an award for that show - but I digress. What I wanted to do in this episode is just talk for a little bit about some similarities and differences between our Feast of the Seven Fishes and that episode, just so our Americano friends will know what’s real and what’s fantasy. Just for fun. 

And then we are going to talk about three wines that we picked out for this episode that we think should be really fun and really cool choices for that celebration, or really any Holiday celebration, especially one that may focus around seafood dishes. I don’t know if there are other cultures that do something similar, but I’m sure there are.

One reason I am sure there are is that there are a lot of regions of the world where there are a sizeable number of Catholics, and for Catholics, it is very common to abstain from meat the day before a major celebration or as an observance of doing without during certain times of the year as a sacrifice, like not eating meat on Fridays during Lent. However, Italians are not super good at making abstinence from meat a sacrifice, and instead it is a huge party with tons of food - hence the title Feast of the Seven Fishes.

And Seven is the operative number because there are literally seven, or at least seven seafood dishes served. We talked about this last year, but seven is an important number in Catholicism and in Christianity, which is one of the reasons why there are seven fishes in the Feast of the Seven Fishes. 7 sacraments, 7 days of creation, Jesus said to forgive 70 times 7, you get the picture. But mostly there are seven fishes because Italians like to eat, and we hate to do things small. We hate it when there isn’t three times as much food as there is needed to serve the people who are coming. 

And, if you come from a culture that is very different from ours, but in a culture where there is a tradition of eating seafood at certain celebration we think this is a good fit and you will enjoy it.

So, this Christmas Eve, like every Christmas Eve, there will be a big party, this year at your Aunt and Uncle’s house, but next year, maybe at our house?!?

Alright, let’s get down to it because we have a lot to talk about, and we have three very different and unique wines to taste and review - including a sparkling red wine! - that are all Italian wines as is appropriate, and should offer you some fun alternatives for any upcoming Holiday parties or meals especially where fish is served . . .


But first . . . we have to do our shameless plug, right Carmela? 

Thank you so much for listening to us, and if you haven’t had the chance to do so you, we would appreciate you subscribing and following our podcast, and, as a Holiday gift, a nice rating and review on our website or Apple podcasts or Spotify would be amazing and Santa will be sure to reward you for being good. 

You can also follow us or reach out to us on Instagram at thewinepairpodcast or contact us on our website thewinepairpodcast.com where you can sign up for our world famous newsletter.

And, as we do every week, we’ll tell you someone we think you should tell about The Wine Pair Podcast, and this week we want you to tell anyone who loves the show The Bear. And, by the way, if you have not watched The Bear yet you are totally missing out. It is chaotic and crazy and over-the-top at times, but it is also one of the best written and acted shows I have ever seen, and we absolutely love it. 

I also want to just see if there is anyone out there in listening land from Tappahannock, Virginia. We are getting a lot of downloads from the area, and we’d love to know more about you!


ARTICLES and LINKS

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feast_of_the_Seven_Fishes#:~:text=The%20Feast%20of%20the%20Seven,but%20rather%20a%20grand%20meal.
• https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/articles/feast-of-the-seven-fishes 

Topic: How Does Our Feast of the Seven Fishes Differ from the Version on The Bear? 09:38

So, I want to spend just a couple of minutes on how our Feast of the Seven Fishes is similar to and different from The Bear. And, look, if you don’t know the episode or are still not sure what the Feast of the Seven Fishes is, don’t worry. I promise, this will be enlightening and entertaining, because, afterall, that is what our podcast is, am I right?!? Plus, many of you probably have traditional family and friend get togethers during the Holidays that you will be able to connect to this story.

First, let’s talk about the people attending the festivities. Like any good family party, there are people there who are family by blood, and people there who are family by friendship. And, in both The Bear and our family, there are both blood relations and friend relations, although in general when it is at your Aunt and Uncles, there are a lot more friends that show up. It is very common in Italian-American families that some of those friends get titles like “cousin” or “uncle” that are honorary family titles. Me and your brother and some of your cousins and our friends were actually known as The Cousins in high school. And I remember being very confused early on in our relationship on exactly who were your uncles versus those who were honorary uncles.

Regardless, the number of people is usually pretty big, and that changes the dynamics quite a bit. These get-togethers tend to be loud, and there are people who show up that you have not seen for a long time. Most of the time, and in our family, that is actually a good thing. In The Bear, it seems like a nightmare.

Second, let’s talk about the food and the preparation of the food. The first thing I will say is that the preparation of the food at your family meals is way less chaotic than on The Bear. In your family, the day starts with a bunch of people showing up at the host’s house helping to prepare. In The Bear, almost everything that was being made was being made by the mom Donna, and her preparation was one of the craziest things I have ever seen. So, while your family is loud, there is nowhere near the drama that is in The Bear.

Second, the dishes seemed a little different in The Bear. For instance, Donna, the mom, was making lobster, which is something I have never seen. She was also making Branzino, which is a very Italian fish also known as sea bass - but you would never say that in front of Italians - that is usually served as a whole fish, head and all, but we do not serve that. They also mentioned Rockefellers, which is a type of oysters, and we definitely serve those, although they are not universally loved. But, and I am not being snarky, I did not see seven fishes in the episode. I can name maybe because I think I got just a quick view of some crab legs, but hey, it’s TV, all right?!?

In our version, there are usually appetizers out of smoked salmon and calamari, then the waves of foods come out of the kitchen, starting with baked clams, then there is the wave of oysters, then there is the wave of shrimp, then the wave of clams and mussels, then the wave of crab.

Then, the meal culminates with a buffet dinner set on yet another table, that consists of things like pasta or lasagna, breads, salads, and all sorts of other foods. In The Bear, Donna the mom says she makes additional food, like the gravy which is tomato sauce for pasta, because no one eats the fish, but that is not true in our family.

And then, of course, there is the table full of deserts that people sort of troll all night.

Third, the serving of the meal. One thing that was definitely different about The Bear episode was that the whole family sat down at one time to eat the meal. And that dinner table scene is one of the most amazing, crazy, stressful scenes I have ever seen in my life. You just have to watch it to believe it. Or not believe it. And that was probably part of the reason it was so chaotic - because they forced everyone to sit together.

In our Feast of the Seven Fishes, there is no place for everyone to sit down, so people are sort of scattered into groups throughout the house of whoever is hosting. And, another big difference is that the food is served in waves rather than one at a time. There is a table where the food is served, but no one is sitting, and we have a fun callout where we say “eat and fall back” so that the same people aren’t just hogging the space.

Alright, I think that is enough about the comparisons. All I am going to say again, though, is that you have to watch this show and see this episode called Fishes. Holy crap. 

What is most important, is that we have wines that should go great with seafood, so on that note I think it is time to learn a bit more about the wines we chose for this episode. 

ARTICLES and LINKS

• https://www.vulture.com/article/the-bear-season-2-episode-6-recap-fishes.html 
• https://screenrant.com/the-bear-season-2-seven-fishes-christmas-meal-meaning/ 

Wines We Chose This Year for The Feast of the Seven Fishes 19:05

As usual, all of the wines we have chosen for this episode are reasonably priced and therefore under $20. And all of them should be relatively easy to find because I bought them all on wine.com. Now, I am not sure that you will be able to find these exact wines at your local wine shop or grocery store, but you should be able to find versions of them at any decent sized shop or one that specializes in Italian wines. 

I also wanted a decent cross-section of Italian wines, so there are two white wines, one from Sicily, and a sparkling red Lambrusco which is a fun, festive, and different choice that people will surely talk about. But these should all be pretty different wines. 

The first wine we are going to drink is called Caruso & Minini Naturalmente Bio Catarratto. Now, Catarratto may not be a wine you are familiar with, but you should be! This wine generally comes from Sicily, and it is most often used as a blending grape in Marasala wine as well as Vermouth. But in this case, they make the wine into a dry white wine, not a sweet wine, called Catarratto. 

As you can tell from the name, it is made from organic grapes, and it is also fermented in stainless steel. The wine is usually relatively big bodied, and not super acidic, so this is a good alternative for us, because we usually like the lighter, acidic whites, especially with fish. Maybe for those of you who like bigger bodied whites like Chardonnay, this may be a good choice. 

Interestingly, some people think that Catarratto is a relative or descended from the Garganega grape, which is what Soave is made from, and that is our next wine. 

So, our next wine is the  La Cappuccina Soave. This wine is from the whole other end of Italy, the Veneto region, specifically one of our favorite cities called Verona, and is becoming one of our favorite, go-to white wines. Soave tends to be a crisp, lighter white wine that is tailor made for fish.

The winery says that this specific wine is left on the lees for six months in stainless steel - and again the lees are the sediment left over from yeast and other stuff in the making of the wine that can give the wine nuttiness and creaminess, and in sparkling wine, often gives an aroma of yeast.

The last wine we are going to try today is a Lambrusco, which is a wine that can have a pretty varied reputation. We have had Lambrusco before on our podcast. I will note that Lambrusco is a red sparkling wine that can vary a lot in how it is made. It can be sweet or dry, it can be fizzy or sparkly, and it can be light or heavy. It just depends.

This wine is called Pederzana Gibe Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro, and it comes from the Emilia-Romagna area which is in northern Italy, just north and east of Florence, just south of Venice. 

Lambrusco is the name of the grape, but there are actually six different varieties of the grape that the wine can be made from, and usually they are a blend of different varieties. However, this wine is made from 100% Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro. The area where this wine is from, which is just south of the town of Modena, is the smallest wine-producing region in Lambrusco.

The wine is fermented on the skins for three days, and fermented in stainless steel tanks. This will not be a bone dry wine, so I am expecting some sweetness, and like most Lambruscos, I am expecting a fuzzy or fizzy wine, called frizzante in Italian. It should also be acidic and at least medium bodied, so could be not only a good complement to seafood, but a fun wine that even red wine drinkers will like. 

Ok, so I think we are ready to try these wines - what do you say? This should be really fun, and I am expecting each of these wines to be pretty different from each other. I am excited to try them!


ARTICLES and LINKS

• https://rockjuiceinc.com/products/2020-caruso-minini-sicilia-catarratto-naturalmente-bio 
• https://www.wine-searcher.com/grape-90-catarratto
• https://www.lacappuccina.it/en/wine/smart-wines/soave 
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lees_(fermentation)#:~:text=Lees%20are%20deposits%20of%20dead,wine%20after%20fermentation%20and%20aging. 
• https://viaswebsite.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/website/wp-content/uploads/20220210220056/Pederzana-Gibe-Lambrusco-DOC.pdf

Feast of the Seven Fishes Wine Pairing Tasting and Reviews 26:14

Wine: Caruso & Minini Naturalmente Bio Catarratto (Click here to find this wine on wine.com. Affiliate link)
Region: Italy, Sicily
Year: 2022
Price: $19.99
Retailer: wine.com
Alcohol: 13%
Grapes: Catarratto
Professional Rating: JS 92

What we tasted and smelled in this Caruso & Minini Naturalmente Bio Catarratto:

• On the nose: Vanilla, creamy, butterscotch, apple, Harry & David pear, almond, nut, tropical fruit, pineapple
• In the mouth: Medium-bodied, some heat, maybe it needs to age? Good for people who like Chardonnay, lemon, citrus, Asian pear, pineapple juice, some sweetness, Sour Patch Kids, honey, caramel, butter

Food to pair with this Caruso & Minini Naturalmente Bio Catarratto: Good with fish with garlicky sauces, spaghetti and clams, grilled shrimp, oysters, very versatile wine, could go with pasta dishes as well, good for the whole meal, baked clams, cracked crab
 
As a reminder on our rating scale, we rate on a scale of 1-10, where 7 and above means that we would buy it, and 4 and below means that we are likely to pour it down the sink, and a 5 or 6 means we are likely to drink it and finish it, but we are probably not going to buy it. 

Caruso & Minini Naturalmente Bio Catarratto Wine Rating: 

• Joe: 7/10
• Carmela: 8/10

Wine: La Cappuccina Soave (Click here to find this wine on wine.com. Affiliate link)
Region: Italy, Veneto
Year: 2021
Price: $17.99
Retailer: wine.com
Alcohol: 12%
Grapes: Gargenega
Professional Rating: V 90

What we tasted and smelled in this La Cappuccina Soave:

• On the nose: sweet, lemony, citrus, stone fruit, peach, nectarine, stone 
• In the mouth: Tart, very lemony, clean, acidic, crisp, crunchy, like a lemon candy 

Food to pair with this La Cappuccina Soave: Any kind of fish, fried fish, spicy seafood, fried calamari, frutti di mare, any fish dish you would add lemon to 

La Cappuccina Soave Wine Rating: 

• Joe: 8/10
• Carmela: 9/10

Wine: Pederzana Gibe Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro (Click here to find this link on wine.com. Affiliate link)
Region: Italy, Emilia-Romagna
Year: 2019
Price: $16.99
Retailer: wine.com
Alcohol: 12%
Grapes: 100% Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro

What we tasted and smelled in this Pederzana Gibe Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro:

• On the nose: Wood, herb, flowers, grapey, plum jam, lavender, earthy, bramble, soapy, hospital gown, Band-Aid
• In the mouth: Fizzy like soda pop, Band Aid, bitter, grape skins, strong aftertaste, black olive, briny, dry, not sweet

Food to pair with this Pederzana Gibe Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro: Grilled or charred fish, fried fish, but not great with light fish, fish with lemon butter sauce, ok with pasta or lasagna, good appetizer wine, good with stinky cheese


Pederzana Gibe Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro Wine Rating: 

• Joe: 5/10
• Carmela: 5/10

Which one of these are you finishing tonight?

• Carmela: La Cappuccina Soave
• Joe: La Cappuccina Soave

Taste profiles expected from Catarratto, Soave, and Lambrusco   44:16

• Caruso & Minini Naturalmente Bio Catarratto
  • JS: Aromas of waxed apples, grilled lemons, honeysuckle and praline. Some crushed stone minerality, too. It’s juicy and vibrant on the palate with fresh, fruity character and refreshing acidity. Medium body. Creamy and attractive.
  • Rock Juice: Sunny and breezy with crisp yellow apple, Meyer lemon and almonds balancing white flowers and apricots, and a kiss of acid on finish. This wine carefully walks the line between raciness and heft, and straddles it perfectly.
• La Cappuccina Soave
  • Winery: Bright straw yellow in color with delicate notes of flowers and almonds on the nose. Dry, well-structured and fruity, with the hint of bitter almonds
  • V: Vividly fruity yet floral and wickedly fresh on the nose. It blends candied lime and salty minerals with sour melon nuances, all driven by juicy acidity. A tropical flourish comes forward through the finale as this tapers off with a lovely tension, leaving the mouth watering for more. This spicy Soave will be best enjoyed soon to take advantage of its zesty character.
• Pederzana Gibe Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro
  • Winery: A lively red with purple highlights, persistent mousse with a lovely lilac-pink hue. Fresh and fruity, with a broad, inviting bouquet. Notes of ripe black cherry, macerated plum, wild strawberry and licorice
  • Bottle Bar East: Once the nice violet color was in the glass, we were able to enjoy the deep dark flavor of overripe cherries. This wine started with the typical bitterness you'd expect with Lambrusco, and finished with sweeter plummy notes.

Outro and how to find The Wine Pair Podcast 48:45

Ok, so, Carmela, it is just about time for us to go, but before we do, we want to thank you very much for listening to us - and if you haven’t done so yet, now would be the perfect time to subscribe to our podcast and also a fantastic time to leave us a nice rating and review on our website or Apple podcasts or other podcast service - and it is an awesome and free way to support us and help us grow listeners.

We would also love to hear from you about a wine you would like us to taste and review. You can, leave a message for us on our website thewinepairpodcast.com and you can join our email newsletter there, too, or you can just email us at joe@thewinepairpodcast.com and tell us about a wine you are curious about, or curious what we think of it. And, follow us on Instagram and Threads so you can see pictures of all of these wines we are tasting and reviewing. 

Alright, with that, we are going to sign off, so thanks again, and we will see you next time. And, as we say, life is short, so stop drinking shitty wine.