Continuing on the "thank God it's actually fall-like now" theme from last week, as soon as the weather changes, you can count on two things. 1) I'm going to require OTC allergy meds and 2) I'm going to want duck. I couldn't find fresh at my supermarket last week, so bought some pre-made duck confit. And I found a pretty good match for it in my cellar: Famiglia Castellani Chianti Classico Riserva 2014.

As I learned on my trip to Italy back in 2018 — when you could go places and do stuff — sangiovese is the primary grape in Chianti Classico. Riserva means it’s aged longer. By Italian law, they must be aged for a minimum of 24 months, with three in the bottle, compared to 11 months for just Classico. Don't worry though, Riserva doesn’t necessarily mean super expensive! I paid about $14 for mine.

I got a nice burst of cherry on the nose upon first opening. And not like cherry Coke; this is that almost perfectly ripe cherry, not too stony, not overly sweet. That carried on into the palate, along with some dark toasty spice.

Fruity is a super classic pairing with duck; think cherry brandy or ruby port sauces. This went well with the slightly smoked roasted duck leg that I'd heated up under the broiler.

I highly recommend this pairing and this wine. Great quality for the price!

If you need any tips or suggestions on wine and food pairing, hit me up!