2009 La Stoppa - GUTTURNIO - Vivace Emillia-Romagna ITALY - (sparkling natural)

And if you can't drink La Stoppa Gutturnio Vivace Frizzante 2007 alongside mouthfuls of gamey salami, then consider other earthy options - a proper risotto, chunky terrine, chicken liver crostini - to wash down with this blend of barbera and bonarda. We poured some into a simple risotto made with onions, chicken stock, parmesan and loads of butter. "The flavours coming off this are extraordinary," cried the cook as she stirred. The risotto was, too. If we'd used a more commercial, fruity wine, it would just have tasted of soapy alcohol and a little vacant.

The wine-making traditions of the hills of Piacenza date back to Etruscan times, even though eating grapes were already cultivated in this area in prehistoric times. Gutturnio’s ancestor, Kilkevetra, was also appreciated by the Romans, so much so that Pliny included it among the eighty best wines in Italy. During the Renaissance the wines of Piacenza appeared on the tables of Popes, noble houses - from the Sforza to the Visconti - and artists of great fame: Michelangelo Buonarroti loved them to the point of never being without them.

Gutturnio, so-called because of the archaeological find near Piacenza of a “gutturnium”, a silver goblet or cup from Roman times, is an important addition to the table: its intense colour already reveals its clean, slightly sweet taste, which makes it harmonise perfectly with the culinary traditions of the Piacenza region. The vines which produce it are Barbera and Bonarda, which came to the hills of Piacenza from the Piedmont.