Zucchine Marinate

During our annual trip to Campania this year, we had the privilege and pleasure of visiting Cantine Antonio Caggiano, one of the most highly regarded producers in the Taurasi region.  This ruggedly beautiful area sits just east of Mount Vesuvio, benefiting from the volcanic soils that produce the best Aglianico grapes in the world. 

Lunch with Antonio Caggiano, beside me at the head of the table

We spent a wonderful afternoon with Antonio, his son Pino and winery manager Angelo (click here for my post on our visit to Caggiano), touring the winery and having a relaxing 4 course lunch under the arbor in the Aglianico vineyards.  While all of the food was spectacular, these was a contorno (side dish) of marinated zucchini that was just really fresh and delicious, made with the tender baby zucchini from their garden.  We all loved it and I've been thinking about it ever since, so here is my attempt at recreating it!  That day it was served with the Caggiano Greco di Tufo which was a match made in heaven.  

Marinated Zucchini 

-2 medium or 6 baby zucchini thinly sliced on a mandolin

-kosher salt

-1 garlic clove crushed

-3 T. of lemon juice

-3 T. of high quality EVOO

-2 T. chopped fresh mint

Slice the zucchini as thin as possible, sprinkle with salt and let stand in a strainer for 20-30 minutes.  In the meantime make the marinade using the lemon, olive oil and garlic with a little salt and pepper to taste.  When the zucchini are ready, rinse and dry them, then put in a bowl with the marinade.  Refrigerate for 4 hours, giving the lemon enough time to soften the zucchini.  Remove the garlic, add the mint and adjust the seasoning.

Serves 3.

Vini del Cuore, Antonio Caggiano

Our visit to Cantina Antonio Caggiano was a most amazing day, one that leaves an impression on your soul not easily forgotten. Because while the wines are some of the best of southern Italy and the area rustically beautiful, it is the man himself that makes this place so special. Architect, photographer, and wine producer Antonio Caggiano is one of the most charming, artistic, visionary people that I've ever met! He believes in living life to its fullest, adores women and has more love in his heart than 10 people. He spent the day with us and everyone was totally taken with him, even chef Richard and our friend/driver Vincenzo who helped interpret for the winery manager Angelo as they didn't speak much English.



The incredibly rustic and beautiful winery was designed and built by Antonio and his son Pino in 1990. Constructed to be harmonious with the look and feel of the landscape of the Taurasi region, they delved three floors deep underground to create the amazing and extensive cellars carved out of local stone. Every piece of furniture in the winery, including the light fixtures and railings are made from barrels, the tops and the metal rings that surround them. They also practice organic agriculture and using techniques that help to reduce their environmental impact on their prized Taurasi vineyards, all of which by law are planted with 100% Aglianico vines.


One of the other things that made our connection with him complete is that Antonio visited New Orleans in 2004 and absolutely fell in love with our city. As soon as he found out where we were from he put on a big smile and the mardi gras beads he had saved from his visit, and wore them both the entire day. He brought out his photo album with a menu from Herbsaint and lots of photos from his visit which was during mardi gras. He placed his hand on his heart and kissed his beads when he began to talk about New Orleans, It was his favorite city on his US tour.


I've been writing about his wines for a few years now as I discovered them on my first trip here in 2011, so I won't go in to the technical aspects that you can read in previous posts. But it was an amazing treat to share some of my favorite wines at lunch seated beside the man himself! We drank the 2012's of two of the whites named after photo expositions he did in the Sahara desert - Bechar Fiano di Avellino, and the arctic - Devon Greco di Tufo both of which were stunning and the 2009 of the Macchia dei Goti DOCG Taurasi which is an approachable but very young Aglianico. The real treat for me was the passito wine made with 50% greco and 50% fian, a beautiful, honey, appley, not to sweet dessert wine that I've never tried before.



We spent quite a bit of time there, as our four course "light lunch" was over 2 hours outside looking at the Aglianico vineyards. An incredibly comfortable relaxing afternoon with Antonio, Angelo, Pino and great friends that somehow ended with all of us smoking cigars...But it was just us, in the middle of nowhere in this gorgeous place with truly special people who love wine, food and life - I've always loved the Caggiano wines but now, knowing the man behind them, I'm a fan forever!



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Antipasti for Nic's Birthday

Our friend Nicole celebrated a birthday yesterday and we were lucky enough to be invited to dinner.  Other friends in from Atlanta were doing the cooking, so I offered to bring some appetizers and of course, the wine.

We've been eating so much Indian food lately, I was happy to dive back into Italy and do some real traditional bites.  All of these are simple and take little preparation but pack a lot of flavor.  The key, as in all good cooking but especially Italian, is fresh, good quality ingredients.

Fichi con Formaggio e Speck

The first was Fichi con Formaggio e Speck (figs with cheese and speck).  Speck is a smoked, cured meat from the Alto Adige region of Italy that looks similar to prosciutto as it is from the same cut of meat, the hind leg of the pig.  To make speck, a boned pork leg is cured in salt, and spices like laurel and juniper, then intermittently slow-smoked, using pine or juniper wood for several months. I get it from St. James Cheese, but I'm sure Whole Foods probably carries it as well.  If you can't find it, you can substitute Prosciutto, but be sure it is freshly sliced.

Take fresh figs and slice in half length wise.  Add a small spoonful of a fresh goats cheese, I used one of the Cypress Grove Chevre from the shop, a sprinkle of chopped, fresh rosemary, a dollop of honey and short piece of speck (about a third of a slice) scrunched up and sat atop the cheese. A wonderful bite of salty, sweet, creamy deliciousness, I served these with the Avissi Prosecco for a nice little starter...

Grilled lemon leaves with mozzarella, Da Adolfo Positano

Next up was our first attempt at recreating one of our favorite appetizers from our trip to the Amalfi Coast.  Due to the abundance of lemon trees and the fact that Campania is THE home of the Mozzarella di Bufala DOP (Denominazione di Origine Protetta, or Protected Designation of Origin), Foglie di Limone alla Griglia con Mozzarella (Grilled Lemon Leaves with Mozzarella) is on the menu of almost every restaurant in the region, but really never seen elsewhere in Italy or anywhere for that matter.


As simple as this is, the key is fresh lemon leaves and good quality mozzarella.  When grilled for a quick 30 seconds, give or take a few, the lemon leaves impart the most delicious citrus flavor to the mozzarella.  But the older the leaves, the less flavor you are going to get.  We have a Meyer Lemon tree in the backyard so I picked a handful of the biggest leaves I could find just an hour or so before we would use them.

Hand tossed mozzarella and fresh lemon leaves

 I got some really nice hand tossed mozzarella from Whole Foods that was not as good as the buffalo version, but the fact than it was handmade gave it a really nice flavor.  The cheap, stringy, everyday mozzarella you buy in the grocery will just not give you the same outcome.  Again, the food you make is only as good as your ingredients...


All you do is cut about 1/4" thick slices of mozzarella, place it on a lemon leaves, and then put over indirect heat on a grill using a grill pan to place the leaves in.  It literally takes about 30 seconds for the cheese to start melting.  But be careful, our fire was too hot and our first attempt, while still tasted delicious, did not get to spend enough time on the fire.  Guess I'll just need to practice this one more...

San Marzano tomatoes on the vine @ Villa Le Sirene, Positano

We also needed the grill for our Bruschetta al Pomidoro (Tomato Bruschetta), another staple on the Amalfi coast since Campania is also the DOP of San Marzano tomatoes.  You know, those delicious, deeply flavored plum tomatoes that we are only fortunate enough to get in cans.  But a quick lesson on bruschetta; it is pronounced bru-SKE-ta and bruschetta refers to the bread, not the topping.  The best bread for bruschetta is a stale, dense loaf like a sour dough or country style bread. The bread is cut into slices, grilled, and brushed with good quality olive oil then rubbed with fresh garlic cloves.  There are many recipes you can make to top your bruschetta, but the pomidoro is a classic.

To make the topping:
-4 medium sized ripe tomatoes cut into 1/4" dice
-2 cloves of garlic minced
-10 fresh basil leaves torn into small pieces
-1/2 to 1 teaspoon coarse salt
-few turns of the pepper grinder
-a pinch or two of peperoncino
-2 tablespoons of good quality extra virgin olive oil

For the bruschetta:
-12 slices of dense, stale bread, no more than 1" thick, and about 3-4" long
-olive oil 
-1 clove of garlic cut in half

Mix the topping ingredients, stir to combine and set aside.  Using indirect heat on a grill (again ours was a bit too hot...) quickly toast the bread slices until the edges get slightly dark.  Remove from heat, brush on some olive oil and rub with the clove of garlic.  Add the topping and consume immediately!

I served the lemon leaves and bruschetta side by side and poured the perfect wine, the Caggiano Devon Greco di Tufo.  An unbelievable wine that brought our all the best flavors of the dishes!

Now the Atlanta cooks were at the grill and in the kitchen, making a fabulous beef tenderloin, gorgeous salad of avocado, fresh tomatoes and mozzarella, rosemary roasted potatoes and grilled asparagus.  We brought the 1997 Manzoni San Stefano Barolo to have with the meat, and they were about as perfect together as a pairing could be! 

We ate like Italians, slowly, taking time to savor each delicious bite of food, sip of gorgeous wine and enjoy each other's company.  A truly delightful evening, thank you Nic for inviting us to celebrate your birthday!

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."