Another cool thing about this year’s Vinitaly was the expanded food component.

I spent most of my time at the fair tasting wines and meeting with winemakers and grape growers. But I also managed to break away and hit up the Sol&Agrifood pavilion where Italian producers where joined by counterparts from Morocco, Iran, Greece, and many other international entries.

One highlight was a vinegar made from a blend of Nerello Mascalese wine- and cooked-must vinegars by Romano, an Etna-based olive oil producer. Their oils were extraordinary as well. But the vinegar, produced for Romano by Acetaia Guerzoni in Modena province, really blew me away with its balance of acidity, sweetness, and nutty flavors.

Wine professionals spend so much time parsing over the nuances of fermented grape must. But relatively little attention or energy are devoted to one of the grape’s ultimate expressions — vinegar. Like wine, vinegar can achieve greatness when produced expertly and thoughtfully (and patiently).

Why do we spend excessive amounts of money on wine at dinner in a fancy restaurant and then dress our salads with industrially produced crap? (Similarly, we serve grass-fed slow-smoked $21-per-pound brisket on hydrogenated-oil white bread. What’s the point? as an Italian food colleague asked me the other day.)

Another compelling taste came in the form of Sugoli d’Uva, a grape pudding obtained by thickening Ancellotta grape must with flour.

It’s a nearly forgotten traditional dish from Emilia where it was typically produced during the grape harvest. It represents yet another way to capture the essence of the vine and prolong its utility and deliciousness.

Older Emilians still remember grandma making the pudding in the fall when the grapes were picked. I was thrilled to see that my friends at Acetaia Guerzoni have revived it.

You eat it with a spoon by itself, they said. But many across the internets suggest serving it with crumbly Torta Sbrisolona. Either way, I don’t think you can go wrong with this dangerously moreish sweet!

Coming away from this tasting, I thought about how important it is to remember that viticulture is part of larger agricultural and nutritional system. To focus solely on wine would be to eclipse so much flavor from your world! [Wine and] food for thought…