by whitney on August 8, 2010
Us On The Lamb ladies were hired to put together a Puglian wine tasting yesterday. Puglia! The clients had just returned from an amazing trip to the Southern part of the region and wanted to celebrate and remember the adventure. Since I just traveled there a few shorts weeks before them, it was right up my alley (or should I say, vicolo.)
I chose 4 wines from Puglia to taste and Rachel threw down some delicious food pairings for the most spectacular aperitivo hour ever. In history. My friend Ginger just happens to be the importer for Castel di Salve which is the winery these fine folks actually visited and fell in love with while in Puglia. How perfect! I presented 3 of their wines along with a Malvasia from Vinosia.
The pairings! Let’s get to it:
- Prosecco toast with grape & rosemary focaccia. Also house pickled walnuts and zucchini with lupini beans, olives, rosemary and orange peel to nibble on.
- Wine 1: 2007 Vinosia Malvasia with peach and burrata caprese topped with chiffonade of basil and Puglian olive oil.
Wine 2: 2009 Castel di Salve Santi Medici rosato (100% negroamaro) with zucchini fritters topped with arugula ricotta cream, heirloom tomato, fried scallion and key lime zest (tomato and key lime foraged from the client’s backyard!)
Wine 3: 2009 Castel di Salve Armécolo (80% negroamaro, 20% malvasia nera) with homemade black olive, onion & roasted cherry tomato flatbreads complete with fried anchovy.
Wine 4: 2007 Castel di Salve Cento su Cento (100% primitivo) with handmade orecchiette in slow braised lamb ragu finished with 12 yr aged pecorino. I must say- this pairing knocked our collective socks off. And I also must say- I made the orecchiette (with Rachel’s guidance) and am giving myself a rather large pat on the back. The lamb ragu though….damn. I could bathe in that stuff.
Sorry for the lack of more food porn pictures, but I was a busy bee working and the natural light quickly dwindled….but I think it’s safe to say everyone had a great time and, most importantly, full and happy bellies.
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Where to buy: the Vinosia malvasia and Sommariva prosecco can be found at Rosso Wine Shop. The Castel di Salve Armécolo (my fav) can be purchased at Domaine LA, as well as Venokado (they have the full Castel di Salve line-up.)
by whitney on July 3, 2010
This post is my humble contribution to Cory (Saignee) Cartwright’s 32 Days of Natural Wine.
This is Day 15. Follow along for the rest of the voyage naturel!
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June 9th, 2010: Bari, Puglia —> Cagliari, Sardinia by plane. A day of sea and sand and too much liquore di mirto. Dawn the next day: Cagliari, Sardinia —> Sassari, Sardinia by train (and a very infrequent bus I almost missed because I fell asleep.)
Finally, I arrived to the Sassari stazione in the midday heat and blinding sun. It was a scorcher that day. I squinted. And made a fan out of notebook paper. And I waited. For what? For a man. I traveled to Sardinia to see a man. That man was Alessandro Dettori.
He was running behind. He had been in the hospital visiting his wife- who gave birth to their first child, a daughter, the night before. And he was still coming to pick my ass up? Yes, so it goes. With a general feeling of “I am not worthy,” into the car and off to the vineyard we went!
cannonau and a hazy sea in the distance
After some winding roads and chit chat, we emerged from the car in Badde Nigolosu.
Alessandro is young…youthful. Passionate and intelligent. He was excited to show me his land, his farm and his wines. Incredibly proud to be a Sardinian. Sardinian- not Italian. Those are two very different things.
The soil creeped into my weathered sandals. This felt like a happy place. As silly as that may sound. We stood in the Dettori cru where the vines have reached 139 years of age; a number that is hard for me to even wrap my brain around.
leaves burnt by the strong winds. It's OK alessandro says, they protect the rest.
wild asparagus that was growing next to a vine
after a month without rain, the soil remains dark and moist to the touch
Alessandro began working these vineyards and making wine with his grandfather when he was 12 years old. He continues to make wine as his grandfather did, with minimal interference. And to make a “simple bottle on the table”…a “wine for food- 50 years ago there was no Gambero Rosso!” Although I doubt many people could say a Dettori wine is anything but simple. I would understand that in another hour’s time when I sat down for one of the best lunches I’ve ever had.
We continued on and spoke of natural winemaking(“…this is not anything modern or new or future. It is the way it’s always been here.”), biodynamics (“Philosophy is for man- not nature.”) When pressed to define what he does, he considers himself to make honest wine…natural wine. “I make perfectly imperfect wine.”
He says you can either “make wine or an alcoholic beverage. I make wine.” It’s OK if you make an alcoholic beverage, there is a place for everyone. No need to be angry or to compete. Sometimes his wife wants McDonald’s. Once a month, she has the McDonald’s. It’s OK. But, don’t make an alcoholic beverage and pretend it’s wine.
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by whitney on June 30, 2010
In anticipation of my 32 Natural Days post on Saturday, I bring you a teaser of sorts. I spent the day with Alessandro Dettori when I was in Sardinia and had a truly wonderful time. After walking the vineyards and checking out the cellar, he plopped me down in a chair at the family farm table for a 2 hour lunch of Sardinia’s finest dishes. He also opened every wine he produces, but we’ll get to that on Saturday. Now- the feast…aka the lunch of my dreams.
As we approached the kitchen, Alessandro pulled me to the side to show me something. He slid back a massive door to a massive oven. Inside was most of what I would be eating for lunch. He explained that they build a fire in the oven and then remove it leaving the stones within incredibly hot. They then put the food in….and leave it. As simple as that. He said it can stay hot for several hours.
Alessandro recruited his friend, the talented Chef Piero Careddu, to run the kitchen at his agriturismo A Kent’Annos. And Piero definitely delivered; with all ingredients from their farm. And if it wasn’t from their farm, it was from their neighbor’s farm. With that- on to the food!
Antipasti- fresh chopped pepper, pistachio and raisin salad. Eggplant fritelli (little fried balls). Herbed sheep’s milk ricotta (to spread on the fresh baked bread). Cippolini rossi gratinata. Lardo and salami.
Primi- his mama’s zuppa di pane (herbed bread and cheese casserole, essentially). And yes- it was made by his mom, who also works in the kitchen. A sheep’s broth is used to season the dish and it is used in many dishes in Sardinian cuisine. We were also served a pasta dish that was delicious- maltagliati castrato (the dish in the background of the photo above.) The meat comes from a castrated sheep. How this differs from a sheep with fully intact family jewels- I have no idea. But it was pretty darn good.
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by whitney on June 23, 2010
Cagliari, Sardinia.
I awoke from a much needed nap to the sounds of church bells and breezes. A day of travel and strong beach breezes left me tired. I dressed and met my new friend Alessandra down the street for an early evening stroll through the old town. We window shopped and gazed with mouths watering at everyone’s cones of soft ice cream. It seems as though 7 PM was the magic hour for a cone in Cagliari that night. Ale’s cousin Omar and his friend joined us on our walk…which ended at a wine bar. Of course it did. Salumi and cheese was shared as was Sardinian rose.
9:30 PM and stomachs rumbling, Omar places a call. An important call. To his mama. Did I want to have dinner at their home? A typical Sardinian meal? Duh. Yes- in a hurry. We arrived 30 minutes later with wine in hand (2007 Cannonau and a Sardinian frizzante) to the scent of grilled prawns wafting through the night air from the outdoor kitchen. Lucia had outdone herself. A rice dish of fresh grilled octopus, whole grilled fish, grilled gamberi rossi….and a cheese course complete with bottarga. Salt cured fish roe. Which fish? Not the normal muggine, no. Tonight it was swordfish bottarga.
The swordfish bottarga hidden in a sea of cheese. The saltiness is overwhelming. But intoxicatingly overwhelming (in a good way.) A few crumbs is sufficient. After a fashion show of every large and colorful hat in Lucia’s closet and it’s matching glove pairing, it was time for something sweet.
Lucia returned from the kitchen with 3 chilled bottles of homemade liquore. We must try them all, she demanded! You don’t have to twist my arm…the offerings: the traditional Sardinian mirto (berries from the myrtle plant- like blueberries…sort of), limoncello and to my surprise- bay leaf.
2:30 AM Eyelids heavy and bellies beyond full and aching from guffaw-like laughter it was time to say goodbye. My most sincere of thanks to Lucia and Omar for being such generous (and entertaining) hosts. And to Alessandra for showing me how and why Sardinians do it better. A kent’annos!
