The Pecorino we are concerned with here is the grape and not the cheese. Pecorino (pecora = sheep) is not only the name of a number of Italian cheeses made from sheep's milk (of which Pecorino Romano is the best known) but also an early ripening white grape grown mainly in Central Italy. I bought this from (of all places) Marks and Spencers. Many would not imagine this chain store to be a place of vinous discovery, but for me they hold a special place in my heart. After all, it was over 20 years ago that my sister bought from them (in London) a bottle of Chablis 1er Cru Beauroy, the first dry white wine I grew to love. (You see, I started drinking wine with Liebfraumilch and the likes of Bereich Johannisberg and Niersteiner Gutes Domtal.)
Well there is another connection with my earlier experience too. The Pecorino turned out to be a dry minerally white with acidity aplenty, which is not unlike a Chablis 1er Cru in a softer focus. Nowadays, Chablis has tended to become softer, fruitier and occasionally even with a hint of wood, all of which de-emphasizes its original typicity. Yet there are times when the food and especially the mood calls for less piercing acidity and austerity (of the Chablis of old), without sacrificing the crisp minerality. I think Pecorino could be a good alternative!
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