Maximo's and Marc de Grazia Selections Wine Dinner

Join us at Maximo's Italian Grill with Anne Zakin, president of Marc de Grazie Imports USA, for a dinner featuring an outstanding selection of wines from the portfolio paired with Chef Thomas Woods creative cuisine. 

We're taking you on a tour of Italy presenting wines from the Veneto, Campagnia, Sicily, Tuscany and Alto Adige with a mix of obscure and well known grape varieties while Chef Woods' regionally inspired menu provides the perfect pairings. 

Date:
Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Time:
6:30pm Cocktails (cash bar), 7:00pm Dinner

Cost:
$95 per person, tax and tip included (prepayment is required with reservation)

Where:
Maximo's Italian Grill, 1117 Decatur Street

Reservations:
504.304.0635


Tonight's Menu

 

Wild mushroom veloute with confit green apple 

and shredded ham hock
2009 Kofererhof Kerner, Alto Adige


Marinated grilled sardines with baby arugula, capers, heirloom 

tomato and shredded Reggiano

2010 Cantine Antonio Caggiano Greco di Tufo Devon, Campania

 

 

Veal Napoleon with roasted red bell pepper marinara 

and braised fennel
2008 Mazzi Valpolicella Classico Superiore Sanperetto, Veneto

 

House made crushed red pepper fettuccini served with duck confit, spinach, sun dried tomatoes and baby portobello, tossed in a mascarpone duck demi-glace

2007 Azienda Agricola Dei Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Toscano
 

Brown sugar pork belly accompanied by spicy whipped sweet potatoes 

topped with a black cherry compound butter

2009 Terre Nere Etna Rosso Guardiola, Sicilia


Braised farmers market peaches with toasted walnut and aged 

gorgonzola, accompanied by a vanilla gelato  

2007 Azienda Agricola Gini Recioto di Soave Col Foscarin, Veneto

Who says 2002 was not a good year for Barolo?

We've been storing the 2002 Einaudi Barolo for a few years and decided to open it last night with a big, juicy steak.  Unbelievable!  We sold this wine for a ridiculous price when it was in stock so those of you who were lucky enough to get a few bottles, let me tell you that it is just singing right now! 2002 was a tough year - too much rain, not enough sun and a violent hail storm right before harvest meant that many skipped the vintage altogether or made very small amounts of wine.  But this wine is an excellent example of how really good producers can make a great wine even in a tough year!

Beautifully silky palate with rich dark cherries, earthy, baking spices and herbal notes with enough tannin to make the fat in the steak simply melt in your mouth.  We grill our steaks rare and serve them Tuscan style by pouring freshly fried sage, rosemary and olive oil over the sliced meat, and the combination was exquisite with this wine.  What a treat!  We don't have any more but if you can find it at a good price buy it!

current artist

Swirl Wines is very active in the local arts community and supports new and established artists working in various mediums.  Each month we feature the work of a new artists and hold an opening reception the first Friday in conjunction with our Friday Free for All wine tasting. The events are free and open to the public.

Featured Artist, September 16-October 31, 2011

Mitchell Long

Opening Reception, Friday September 16, 6 to 8pm

About the Artist

I paint scenes I observe around New Orleans, most often on site. Through this direct (plein air) method, I hope to capture the essence of light, atmosphere and hour of day -- a moment in time.

I’ve always been interested in drawing and feel the structure of drawing has strengthened my work. In fact, linear structure never dissolves, even as my work becomes more abstract.

The scenes I paint are familiar ones to me, a part of my everyday life, but I try with each work to look at them in a new way. This pushes me to investigate new techniques, from high-key to monoprint to panoramic perspective. So while I remain true to the core traditional elements of painting -- perspective, light, value, key, color and paint viscosity -- I am always driven to explore.

Mitchell Long

The Intriguing, Complex and Delicious Wines of Antonio Caggiano

My first introduction to the wines of Caggiano was in the fabulous "Ristorante Il Ritrovo" in the little hilltop town of Montepertuso overlooking Positano and the Bay of Salerno.  The restaurant was recommended by Chiara, the owner of our villa, as well as the Slow Food Guide to places to eat in Italy.  Chiara's brother Francesco oversees the wine program at the restaurant and during our recent visit, chose the wines for our dinner.  My only direction was for him to pick his personal local favorites to pair with our multi-course meal.  All of his selections were fantastic, but the wine that really stood our for me was the 2010 Caggiano Bechar Fiano di Avellino. All I could think of was how I was going to get this wine in the store so that I could enjoy it on a regular basis and of course share it with our customers!  I needed to find out more about this producer...

Well when we got home I was very excited to find out that the Caggiano wines were part of the Marco di Grazia portfolio, and that the other huge proponent of southern Italian wines in the city, Chef Josh Smith at a Mano, had also discovered the Caggiano wines on his recent trip to the region.  But Josh was one step ahead of me and had already contacted our friends at Uncorked about bringing in some of the wines.  So I was ecstatic to find out that the 2009 Caggiano Devon Greco di Tufo and the 2007 Caggiano Taurausi were already in the city!  And when I got to taste them last week while we were selecting wines for our upcoming dinner at Maximo's, I was totally blown away by the quality of these wines.  They are bringing in the Bechar Fiano for me next week, as well as more of the Devon Greco and the Taurasi is already in the shop.  These are "must try" wines and I'll probably do a little discount if you purchase all three once they come in.

There very few producers who capture my attention to this level, where each wine is so intriguing, complex and delicious that you can't wait to taste what is coming next.  The quality for the price in each of these three wines is outstanding, and they made me want to learn more about who Antonio Caggiano is and how he has come to make such great wine.

But just a little regional background first.  Caggiano is in Campagnia, my latest wine region obsession.  Located around the famous city of Napoli, to me this area is nothing short of paradise.  Incredible mountain vistas provide the backdrop for stunning coastal towns with the clearest aqua blue ocean waters I've ever seen, while Mount Vesuvio dominates the landscape and delivers the perfect soil for grape growing.  Land of bufalo mozzarella, San Marzano tomatoes and a wine history that dates back to the ancient Greeks, it is a food and wine lovers dream come true.  Campagnia is known for its aromatic white wines like Falanghina, Fiano, Greco di Tufo, Coda de Volpe, but it the red wines made from Aglianco that really put the region on the map.

Architect, photographer, and grape grower, Antonio Caggiano's estate is located in the village of Irpina in Taurasi, the birthplace of the Aglianico vine.  At its best, Aglianico yields wonderfully complete, structured wines capable of extended cellaring.  The Taurasi region is often referred to as the Barolo of the South because its Aglianico wines are stunning and built for long aging. Like many of the other great areas for winemaking, Taurasi is comprised of high altitude vineyards of volcanic soil. Hot days and cool nights allow for slow, long, growing seasons providing grapes with the perfect ripeness balanced by bright and refreshing acidity.
 
Caggiano is famous for his reds, as Robert Parker says "Antonio Caggiano makes some of the most delicious and accessible Aglianicos in Campania, making his wines a great choice for readers who want to explore one of Italy’s most fascinating grapes." He makes three different Agliancos and the flagship Macchia dei Goti Taurasi, is currently available.  Stephen Tanzer says that "the Macchia dei Goti Taurasi has to be considered one of the benchmarks for this DOCG, and for the aglianico variety as well."  I tasted the 2007 vintage of this wine a few weeks ago over at Uncorked with a group of other wine nuts and we all fell head over heels for it.  Ripe dark fruits, exotic spices, tobacco and mocha with smoky minerality, every time I put my nose in the glass something different emerged.  I can't wait to cook a meal around this wine...

But my first introduction to Caggiano was with his white wines, which I think are some of the best I've tasted from the region.  Rich, extremely aromatic and complex, these wines make your mouth water for the fresh seafood of Campagnia.  His Fiano di Avellino is named Bechar after a locality in the Sahara desert where Antonio Caggiano carried out a photo essay.  Although it is all stainless steel fermentation, it has a richness on the palate that I've not really tasted in other Fianos, luscious and full-bodied apricot and honeyed wine but still dry and focused. And then there is the Greco di Tufo named Devon after a photo essay he did in an area of the Arctic Circle.  Plush tropical fruit, peach and almond blossom but dry, fresh, balanced, it still has all of the acidity and minerality you want from a Greco.  This wine will be in lineup for our upcoming dinner at Maximo's.

Caggiano uses organic and sustainable viticultural practices and the estate takes part in a program sponsored by the Campania Region for integrated insect and disease control. The bureau provides subsidies to estates practicing organic agriculture and using techniques that reduce their environmental impact. Strict inspections ensure progress and results. Sulfur and copper-based products are used in accordance with organic guidelines to combat mold and pests. The soil is analysed regularly and, when needed, only organic fertilizers are used.

So as you can tell, I'm a little more than excited by these wines and am anxiously awaiting the arrival of the whites.  The Taurasi is in stock now and I should have the others in a week or so.  And while I do find these wines spectacular, I would be remiss if I didn't mention my other favorite producers in the region.  Alois, San Gregorio, Mastroberardino, Taburno and Benito Ferrari all make exceptional Campagnia wines and you know if you pick up any bottle produced by them at any price level you will be assured a high quality wine. 

Here are a few of the reviews I found on the Caggiano wines we currently have access to:

2007 Cantine Antonio Caggiano Taurasi Vigna Macchia dei Goti (RP 92pts)- "The 2007 Taurasi Vigna Macchia dei Goti is a huge, exotic wine that bursts onto the palate with masses of super-ripe dark fruit, incense and tobacco. I am not certain how this unusually supple, opulent Taurasi will age, but it will deliver immense pleasure along the way. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2025. Antonio Caggiano makes gorgeous wines that show the more refined side of Campania's indigenous grapes."

2010 Cantine Antonio Caggiano Fiano di Avellino Bechar (RP 91pts)- "The 2010 Fiano di Avellino Bechar is fabulous. The aromatics alone are breathtaking. Smoke, flowers and ash are some of the notes that emerge from this rich, textured white. The aromas and flavors meld together beautifully in this generous, sumptuous yet beautifully balanced Fiano di Avellino. Anticipated 
 maturity: 2011-2015."

2008 Cantine Antonio Caggiano Greco di Tufo Devon (WS 92pts) - "Dried pineapple and ash aromas follow through to a full body, delivering lots of mineral character. This has a citrus peel and apricot aftertaste, with layers of fruit. Drink now. 1,500 cases made."

Artisan American Cheese & Wine Pairing Class - 7 Spots Left!!!

Join Sommelier Michelle Gueydan and Casey Foote of Saint James Cheese for a night of Artisan American Cheese and Wine!  More and more people are getting turned on to artisan American cheeses. Cheesemakers are popping up around the country, developing innovative American originals which are rivaling the great European cheeses in flavor, quality and popularity.  Casey has just returned from touring some of our countries' best dairies and we'll be tasting his favorite finds that will be arriving in the city this week! This is a don't miss event!  Wednesday August 31, 6-8pm, $25. Reservations and prepayment required to hold your spot, 504.304.0635.

Wines:
2010 Anne Amie Cuvee A Muller Thurgau
2010 Lioco NoCo Chardonnay
2008 Moises Holmes Hill Pinot Noir
2009 Vending Machine Winery Horror Show
2008 Bonny Doon Vinferno 

Cheeses:
Capriole Crocodile Tears
Hook's Cheese Company Hook's Blue
Uplands Cheese Company Pleasant Ridge Reserve
Meadow Creek Dairy Grayson
Hahn's End Creamery City of Ships

Selecting the Wines: Dinner at Maximo's

Selecting wines for our dinners with local restaurants is one of my favorite things to do.  And believe it or not, there's a lot more to it than just opening up a bunch of bottles we like and designing a menu around them.  It is a process that involves the input and collaboration of quite a few individuals who all have a vested interest in you having a great wine and food experience.

I've been to dinners where it was obvious that there was not much communication between the wine people and the food people.  The latest experience, believe it or not, was in Tuscany. And as bad as the event was, it was actually very good for me to see what happens when proper planning is obviously not involved. Food comes out without wine or wrong wines in your glass when the food comes out and little or no thought going in to the actual food and wine pairings which means neither the wine nor the food really gets to shine.

Anne Zakin

Now onto our upcoming dinner at Maximo's...We are working on an event in late September when Anne Zakin, President of Marc De Grazia Imports USA, will be in town to host the dinner and present the wines. I met with sommelier Michelle Gueydan, who has been working with the staff at Maximo's, Chef Thomas Woods, General Manager Eric Solis, and Nick Selby from Uncorked, at his office to put our heads together to make the selections.   And I am really excited by the line up!

Chef Thomas Woods

We wanted a wide range to show case the depths of the portfolio and Chef Thomas' diversity in cooking styles.  We needed interesting wines but with good acidity and structure to pair with foods and even turned down a wine that we all fell head over heels for because we felt another would better fit our purpose (more on that wine later...). And although we tend to want to taste higher end wines at these dinners, it is important to present selections at various price points to show that not all wine needs to be expensive to be good.

So we decided to take you on a tour of Italy, presenting wine and food from the Veneto, Campagnia, Sicily, Tuscany and Alto Adige with a mix of obscure and well known grape varieties. The list is now in Chef Thomas' hands and it is up to him to create some culinary magic in the kitchen to pair with the wines.  The dinner is Wednesday September 21 and menu and pricing will be coming soon, but here's a little information on a few of the wines we selected:

2009 Kofererhof Kerner - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 93 pts:  The 2009 Kerner bursts from the glass with an exciting array of mint, flowers, passion fruit and crushed rocks. This is a beautiful, vivid white that takes shape in the glass, continuing to show off its remarkable class. A textured, creamy finish rounds things out in style. The estate’s Kerner is one of the great, great wines of Alto Adige, and the 2009 is nothing short of breathtaking. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2015.





2007 Az Agr Dei Vino Nobile di Montepulciano - Robert Parker's Wine Advocat, 90 pts:  Dei’s 2007 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is wonderfully soft and expressive in this vintage. Bright red cherries lead to subtle notes of earthiness and pipe tobacco as this sexy, radiant Vino Nobile opens up in the glass. Fine, silky tannins frame the long, beautifully articulated finish. This understated, delicate Vino Nobile is a gem from Dei. 


2008 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso Feudo di Mezzo, Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, 92 pts., (RP 93 pts) - Good deep red. Delicately smoky, penetrating aromas of redcurrant and crushed rock, with a liqueur-like nuance; seems a bit less intense than the Guardiola. Supple, creamy and sweet, which is typical for this vineyard bottling, but with very good acidity and a recurring rocky quality nicely complementing the berry and smoke flavors. Finishes with sweet but mounting tannins and notes of aromatic herbs. This has the structure to age but also offers considerable up-front appeal, though the tannins are such that I'd suggest laying this away for another couple of years.

Pasta with Fresh Lemon, Cream and Chanterelles

I saw a recipe in Lidia Bastianich's cookbook and have just been waiting for the right opportunity to make it.  Hers uses lemon juice and zest with rich heavy cream with a fresh tagliatelle pasta.  But when I was shopping at the Hollygrove Market yesterday I got one of the few remaining bags freshly foraged chanterelles and decided they would be perfect addition to her recipe.  Not to mention they had a few pints left of the to-die-for Rocking R Dairy fresh cream, making my decision even easier.

Today was a long bike ride for us, so there was no time for fresh pasta. But I find the next best thing is the Bionaturae brand of egg pasta, and we just happened to have a package of the papparedelle in the pantry.

Ingredients
    * 3 tablespoons butter
    * 4 teaspoons Lemon zest, finely grated (about 2 lemons)
    * 1 teaspoons salt (her recipe calls for 2t, use 1t and then adjust)
    * 1 cup dry white wine
    * 1 cup chanterelles, slice the big ones vertically into strips
    * 1 cup heavy cream
    * ⅓ cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed (about 2 lemons)
    * 1 pound tagliatelle or pappardelle
    * 1 cup pecorino, freshly grated, plus more for passing
    * extra-virgin olive oil, best quality, for serving

Servings: This recipe yields 6 servings.

Directions

Put your pot of water for the pasta on the stove and begin to bring it to a boil. As you are waiting for your water, begin the recipe.

Drop the butter into the big skillet, and set it over medium heat. As the butter melts, scatter in the grated lemon zest; stir it around until sizzling. Add the chanterelles and gently stir them to coat with with butter. Pour in the white wine and lemon juice, add the salt, stir, and bring the liquids to a bubbling simmer. Cover the skillet, and let cook for a couple of minutes.

Uncover the pan, and slowly pour in the cream, whisking it steadily into the simmering wine and lemon juice. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquids reduce to a saucy consistency you like, 2 or 3 minutes more.

After whisking in the cream, start cooking the pasta until al dente. This about 4 minutes for fresh pasta or the bionaturae pasta.

With the lemon-and-cream sauce at a simmer, taste for seasoning and add salt if needed.  Remember that your cheese will add some salt as well.  As soon as the pasta has finished cooking, quickly lift out with tongs and drop it all into the skillet. Toss the pasta until well coated, loosening the sauce with a few spoonfuls of hot pasta- cooking water if needed.

Turn off the heat, sprinkle a cup or so of grated cheese over the linguine, and toss well. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil, toss again, and heap the pasta in warm bowls. Serve immediately, with more cheese at the table.

La Pazza Giornata In Amalfi Coast

Ride from Ravello to Amalfi with our driver Vincenzo Fusco, so much fun! For excursions and transfers on the Amalfi Coast, contact him at info@taxidriverpositano.com. Tell him le cinque donne di New Orleans sent you!

How to Open a Bottle with a Sabre, Barrachi Vineyards

I've seen this done before, but have never tried it myself, so when Benedetto Barrachi asked me if I wanted to learn of course I said yes!  My first attempt didn't go so well, but my second was a success (!  Thanks Benedetto, we had a wonderful time and Barrachi was absolutely stunning!  I'll do a post on our visit later as it was one of the highlights of the trip!

If you double click on the video it will take you to you tube where you can view it in a larger format.

Cooking Like Locals

One of the things we really enjoyed about our recent trip to Italy was cooking the local fare at our villa using only the freshest ingredients as all good Italians do.  On the Amalfi Coast seafood is king and you eat in every which way from raw to marinated, grilled or stewed, it is the star of every meal.  So much so that we got a little meat craving one night and decided to cook at home.

Enoteca Cuomo, one of our favorite stops.

 Not wanting to do anything that would take too much time, we stopped at Enoteca Cuomo on our walk up from one of our forays to da Adolfo.  They sell many different cuts of meats and meat products, so we opted for their house made sausage and also some parmigiano cheese and a few bottles of wine.  Next stop was the alimentari (small neighborhood grocery) where we picked up fresh veggies for our insalata and some locally made pasta.

Fresh veggies brought in daily at the alimentari

Now for the most important ingredients we had to look no further than the garden at the villa.  Chiara and Giuseppe, the wonderful owners, have a beautiful vegetable garden that they allowed us to pick from for our meals. We gathered up fresh San Marzano tomatoes, lots of basil, lemons and lemon leaves for the meat preparation.  I had decided to try to make a version of a typical southern Italian dish, meatballs wrapped in lemon leaves. I didn't have a recipe, but kind of pieced on together from different versions I found and was very happy with the results.

San Marzano tomatoes in the garden

One of many lemon trees in the garden

One of the things that made this work was the simplicity of the sausage; it was only pork, white wine, salt and white pepper, so I'm not exactly sure how it would be with our version of Italian sausage, but it is definetly worth trying to find out!  Also, since I didn't have a recipe, these are not exact measurements, but it would be pretty hard to mess up if you follow what I did...

I also made a fresh tomato sauce using one of Lidia Bastianich's tried and true recipes that was absolutely delicious and very quick once you peeled the tomatoes.  This recipe will follow the meatballs.

Meatballs on Lemon Leaves
Serves 6

Ingredients
2lbs Pork Sausage casing removed
1 egg lightly beaten
2 1/2 handfuls of plain breadcrumbs (I grated some day old ciabatta bread we had left over)
Grated peel of 1 lemon
1-1/2 handfuls of grated parmigiano cheese
salt & pepper
2 T. chopped parsley
24 lemon leaves washed and dried completely
olive oil

-Pre-heat over to 350 degrees
-Combine sausage, egg, bread crumbs, lemon peel, cheese and parsley, mix with your hands until everything is well incorporated.
-Heat a little olive oil in a pan and make a small patty to test for seasoning (the amount of salt you add will depend on the saltiness of your cheese and sausage).  Quickly fry it, taste and adjust accordingly.
-Roll the mixture into small cigar shaped patties, wrap with a lemon leaf and secure with a toothpick.
-Brush the leaves with olive oil and put on a baking sheet.
-Bake for 20-30 minutes, check at 20, you want the meat to be moist but not pink.

Fresh Marinara Sauce
Serves 6

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
8 garlic cloves, peeled
3 pounds ripe fresh plum tomatoes, peeled and seeded (click here for instructions on peeling fresh tomatoes), or one 35 ounce can Italian plum tomatoes (preferably San Marzano), seeded and lightly crushed, with their liquid
Salt
Crushed red pepper
10 fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces
Parmigiano cheese for garnish
1lb cooked pasta

-Heat the oil in a 2- to 3-quart nonreactive saucepan over medium heat. Whack the garlic cloves with the flat side of a knife, add it to the oil, and cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes.
-Carefully slide tomatoes and their liquid into the oil. Bring to a boil, and season lightly with salt and crushed red pepper. Lower the heat so sauce is at a lively simmer, and cook, breaking up tomatoes with a whisk or spoon, until sauce is chunky and thick, about 20 minutes.
-Stir in the basil about 5 minutes before sauce is finished. Taste sauce, and season with salt and red pepper if necessary.

More Figs Anyone?

I just couldn't resist.  My last run in Cortona took me past Frances Mayes' house, the infamous villa from Under the Tuscan Sun.  On the road right near her house was a wild giant fig tree and since I have been wanting a cutting from Cortona to add to my collection, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to get one.  A quick snap of a tiny branch and I was on my way down the hill with a little piece of Tuscany in my pocket.  I hope I am as successful with this as I have been with the Sicilian cutting, that as you can see by my photo below, has started to produce some deliciously sweet figs.  I'll keep you posted!

Day Tripping to Brunello di Montalcino

Kerry and Antonio picked up our rental cars this morning and we hit the road for our first winery visit. But this wasn't just any visit, as we were heading to one of the most famous wine regions of the world, the gorgeous hillside slopes of Brunello di Montalcino.



Our host today was Count Alberto Marone Cinzano, current owner of one of the largest landholding estates, Col D'Orcia. Having run into some major traffic jams on the route, we showed up more than a bit late and were quickly whisked off to the large tasting room by Nicola, the property manager. The count himself guided us through the tasting of 8 wines that included a red blend from his Chilean estate, a super Tuscan, 2 rosso di Montalcino, 3 Brunellos, and their single vineyard cabernet and merlot. From the softer juicy light summer style reds to big powerful riservas, it was an impressive lineup thoroughly enjoyed by all of our guests.









Next up was lunch, in their beautiful reception room where we were treated to a variety of dishes made mainly with products grown on their property. Panzanella salad, bruschetta,prosciutto, freshly made pasta from their own wheat, lamb, fried peas and fresh veggies from the garden accompanied by their estate made olive oil. And of course bottles of each of the wines were set out for us to try with the different foods.



As do most producers in the region they also make 4 different grappa, as well as a beautiful dessert wine, that were also brought out for us with a delicious apple tart for dessert.






At this point, most had over indulged a bit, so we kept the tour a little short. As this would normally take place before the tasting our late arrival mean switching the order of things. But we did go to the barrel room where Nicola poured us each a sample of the very young 2010 Brunello.



We said our goodbyes and loaded everyone in the cars to explore the hilltop towns of Montalcino and Pienza, famous for it's pecorino cheese production. The most gorgeous ride back took us through the sepia toned Tuscan countryside, dotted with fields of olive trees and grape vines and beautiful villas as we winded our way back to Cortona for dinner.



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Exploring Cortona

Wanting to keep the pace of this trip a more relaxed, New Orleans style experience, we scheduled a lot of time for just hanging out and exploring different areas.




In front of our little apartment.

Having done some serious toasting and celebrating the night of our arrival, everyone had the morning to do what they what they wanted. Some went to Sunday mass, others slept in and hung out at the villa, I went for a run and and had a little breakfast at the apartment Kerry and I are staying in just up the hill from the villa.



The villa is a 16th century home, that is also a historic landmark in the town due to the fact that the famous Renaissance painter, Petro Berrittini, was born there. It has a huge, beautiful garden over looking the valley where we are serving our meals. Today we had freshly made spinach and ricotta ravioli that Antonio sautéed in butter and sage, salad, mixed cured meats antipasta platter and fresh fruit served with a few bottles of delicious sparkling Franciacorta wine.



We spent few hours in the Etruscan Museum, as Cortona was one o the original Etruscan settlements with it's origins dating back to pre Roman times. Afterwards, veryone then went off on their own, visiting the great small shops, ducking in and out of little hidden alleyways and streets, seeing the many churches, and of course we continued our afternoon gelato and espresso tradition!



Tonight's dinner was at Trattoria Dardano, owned by the Castelli family, who serves meat and game from their own farm. We dined on bruschetta, fresh made pici pasta with a duck ragu, a platter of freshly grilled rabbit, pheasant and duck, insalata and the most delicious rosemary potatoes, cooked in the fat of all of those meats on the platter. An array of desserts was accompanied by owner Paolo's incredible house made bay leaf amaro.


As we walked ourselves up the very steep hill to the villa, everyone was completely stuffed and ready to fall into bed. No late night parties tonight as all needs to awake early for our trip to Montalcino and be ready to drink the famous Brunello wines of Col D'Orcia....
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Bellisimo Cortona

Coffee this morning is in one of the many enotece in the beautiful Tuscan hill town of Cortona. The views here are much different than those from Positano, but none less breathtaking! The photos below are from my jog this morning.









This is the "work" part of the trip where Antonio Molesini and I have arranged a wine and cultural tour of Tuscany for 8 of our customers, using his home town of Cortona as a base.

We'll be visiting wineries, beautiful hilltop villages, museums and traveling around this stunning countryside while immersing ourselves in the food, wine and culture of the region.



Today is an easy day exploring Cortona, while tomorrow will be a trip to Montalcino and their famous Brunello wines. I can't wait!

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Another fabulous view...

We have arrived in Cortona! Wifi access won't be quite as easy, but I'll try my best!

A presto!


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5 Reasons to Eat at Ristorante Da Adolfo

When I told importer Marco di Grazia that I was coming to Campania he said that I had to go to his friend Sergio's restaurant, the best on the whole Amalfi Coast. While I haven't eaten at enough places here to make that claim, I can tell you that Da Adolfo has been my favorite so far, and for many reasons other than the delicious food!





Reason #1 -  access from the road to the restaurant is difficult, so a handsome, suntanned Italian guy picks you up in a little wooden boat at the dock in Positano and takes you a few coves over and drops you on the tiny beach that Da Adolfo shares with a hotel.





Reason #2 - you sit in an open restaurant right on the beach, so the dress code is about as casual as it gets, bathing suits!





Reason #3 -since there is no storage, seafood is brought in by boat daily and you are served platters of the freshest mussels, clams, octopus, the catch of the day plus all locally produced





cheeses, wines, fruits, pasta and vegetables prepared simply with traditional recipes of the region.










Reason #4- no menus, just let the crazy Italian guys who work there pick for you. Trust me, you couldn't go wrong with anything they bring you!





Reason # 5 - when you are finished eating you have to wait for the handsome Italian guy to take you back in the boat and since you are dining in your bathing suit, you step down to the beach and take a swim in the crystal clear, sea foam green waters. Kids, adults, tourists and locals hang out, snorkel, swim, jump from the rocks and enjoy the moment.





Kerry and I snuck off by ourselves here the other day, so today, sadly our last, we're bringing the other girls. I can't wait!!





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Dinner at Trattoria Il Ritrovo

This time we all took a motorized vehicle to Monte Pertuso, as the next item on our agenda is dinner at Il Ritrovo, one of three restaurants near the tiny piazza. Recommended by slow food's guide, "Osterie & Locanda d'Italia" it was the only restaurant in the vicinity they felt truly captures the areas cultural and culinary traditions.



Located high on the mountainside above Positano, they make it easy for you to get there by sending a complimentary car to pick you up and take you home from the restaurant. This allows you to drink copious amounts of wine and still safely make trip down the winding twisty roads to your villa!



Far away from the nice but touristy places on the beach, Salvatore and Teresa Barba's trattoria is casual and humble with most of the vegetables and white meats come from their own land, farmed by father Domenico. Chiara's brother, Francesco, is the wine guy and we had a great conversation about local wines while I was waiting for the girls to come up on the bus earlier that morning.

They have a few set menus with multiple courses at varying prices and amounts of food or you can or items alla carte. Francesco recommended the $35 euro per person menu, so we all decided on that and I asked him to pick all local wines based on the menu.




I can't tell you how much I've been enjoying the white wines from the region! Refreshing, clean with great minerality from the volcanic soils and mouthwatering acidity, they beg for the fresh regional seafood dishes! Tramonti is one of the local doc's so we began with that; a blend of falanghina, biancolella and ginestra by Colle Santa Marina.




We had this with the antipasti, three platters full of grilled tuna and octopus;




fresh tomato bruschetta with fried shrimp and;




an assortment of different vegetables from their garden.




Next up was Francesco's favorite Greco di Tufo by Benito Ferrari paired with our primi piatti,




platters of freshly made pasta with porcini mushrooms, langoustine tails, housemade ravioli in a fresh tomato sauce and their local clams in butter and garlic.




Lastly we had the Bechar Fiano di Avellino that has by far been my favorite wine of the trip!




And our secondi was a beautiful local redfish poached in a light tomato and garlic broth.




Then there were the two platters of house made desserts accompanied by local liquors also made in house, but by this time I've eaten so many things that I can't even remember what we had!

Needless to say, we rolled out of the restaurant and back into the van that picked us up, miserably but deliciously full, and fell into bed!


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The View from Above

Our day of hiking in the Lattari Mountains above Positano proved to be even more challenging and rewarding than anticipated! I had bought a book by Julian Tippett that was a great guide for adventure and helped us plan our day away from the tourists and into the forest.




This series of stairs, alleyways and stone pathways line the coast, connecting the countryside to villages and towns, and provides an amazing look into how the people of the region have historically moved themselves and supplies from place to place. They are extremely well made, but not well marked and you may find yourself walking straight up a hundred or more stairs only to end up at the gate of a residence!




Using the book as our guide, the plan was to take a bus from Positano to a small hillside town above called Monte Pertuso where we would start the hike. But I was so anxious to begin that I decided to instead also do the hike up the mountain to meet the bus in Monte Pertuso. After a few wrong turns I found the right set of stairs to begin my ascent. Now I have been challenging myself by running these steep stairways since I got here, but this climb definitely took my heart rate to new heights and left me having to stop and catch my breath between segments. Not many switchbacks, just ancient stairs heading straight up from sea level to 1200 ft!



Already dripping with sweat at 10am, I waited for the bus to arrive with the rest of the girls. We had decided on three hiking segments that would takes us deep into forest to different landmarks and towns and eventually back to Positano.



Something we all learned from the book is that if it says strenuous, they mean it! The first segment was labeled as such and provided an hour and a half's worth of climbing up another height gain of 1300 feet. Rock lined stairways, cliff hugging paths and sensational coastal scenery made for quite an adventure as we wound our way up the mountain to our first destination, Caserma Forestale, literally an old stone house in the woods perched atop a cliff that gave us place to rest for a minute while we prepared for the next segment.



The 1.5 mile walk from there to the village of Santa Maria de Castello, was a much easier trek, traversing across the mountain side, threading it's way through beautiful cypress and pine trees dotted with wild rosemary. The village consisted of a few homes, a bar, restaurant and of course a church, so we ordered a few panini and rested a bit before we headed down a dizzying descent back to Positano.



The 1700 ft descent here was very steep and difficult and the rough condition of the pathways made it quite the challenge.



And the fact that it was in the hottest part of the day with no shade didn't help, so needless to say we were ready to finish! We made our way down through town and decided to go straight to the beach, with a dip in the cool clear water offering the perfect reward!



A little gelato, a shot of espresso and all of the sudden it was 4:30 and we had to get ready for our next adventure, dinner at Il Ritrovo, but that is an entry of it's own....

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An afternoon on the Amalfi Coast

I awoke to another clear morning and sat on the balcony with my coffee, this time accompanied by slice of that delicious almond cake Chiara gave us. I took a different route for today's run, starting my ascent at the Fornella beach and climbing straight up an ancient set of steps to the top of the town, then winding through the tiny alleyways to the main road. There is an amazing network of pathways, steps and streets here built centuries ago into the steep hillsides to give the villagers access the sea.



We hired a boat and driver today to take us up and down the amalfi coast. Mauro and his young son Aldo picked us up at the main pier and gave us both a history lesson as well as our best slice of the dolce vita since we arrived. We slowly made our way in and out of coves and crevices, viewing the stunning coastline from Mauro's perspective, someone who has been here all of his life and knows full well that he lives in paradise. We checked out the cave of the emerald grotto, stopped to swim in the sea foam green waters of the shoreline, ate our homemade panninis, drank some local wine by one of my favorite producers and basked in the southern Italian sun. We even got to see Sophia Loren's villa, perched atop a cliff near the town of Amalfi. As we were sitting there a helicopter touched down on her private helipad, leaving us fantasizing about what famous visitors were arriving.



We needed a little snack so they let us out at the beach where we wondered up on to the deck of one of the snack bars. The contrast between what would be served at the same sort of place in the US and what was served here says so much about the difference between our two cultures. Instead of the normal beachside fare of hamburgers, hotdogs and French fries, we oohed and awed over fresh melon and prosciutto, grilled mozzarella on lemon leaves, insalata del mare, fresh figs and cured meat. Healthy, local ingredients prepared freshly and simply that were absolutely divine!



Around 4pm we said goodbye to our captains and wandered up the beach for one of the other Italian specialties, gelato. Vowing to eat it daily due to all of the calories we were burning with walking around this beautiful place, it is served on most street corners and is always delicious. As we made our way back to the villa we picked up a few things for a simple dinner, a caprese salad, some leftover Pannini, olives and salami and spent the evening on the balcony enjoying the view and each other's company.



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Tonight's view, the moon is almost full...