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

Bucatini Arrabiata with Fresh Gulf Shrimp

Our trips to the beach with our friends R&T always involve shared cooking responsibilities with each couple taking their turns at creating fabulous meals. After a day on the beach, we all look forward to our evening cocktail hour (or two...) while one pair relaxes and the other takes over the kitchen and we all chat and gossip, trying not to delve into anything too serious. We all marvel at the incredible food we eat on these trips and how lucky we are to share this time together. I usually don't want to work too much while we are there, but I did do a better job at documenting what we ate and how we prepared things so this week I will share our main meal, Kerry's Zucchini Salad and next week R's.

I knew I wanted to cook something with 2 of my favorite ingredients, fresh gulf shrimp and, of course, pasta. There's a great little family owned seafood place on highway 180 heading to Fort Morgan called Fresh Market Seafood that we buy our shrimp and fish at every time we come so we picked up a few pounds of shrimp and got to work.

I'd been thinking about this dish for awhile as we've had a big package of bucatini in the pantry for a few weeks just waiting for the right opportunity to use it. Bucatini is one of my favorite dried pastas as I love the texture and way it really soaks up the sauce. It is popular in southern Italy especially in Lazio where the famous Roman dish, Bucatini alla Matriciana, originated. My version of the Roman classic, which mixes the pasta with a light sauce of tomato, pancetta and red pepper flakes, is the base for this recipe with the fresh shrimp adding a Gulf coast twist.

As for the wine we drank, I needed another excuse to open up a bottle of the 2007 Pietradolce Etna Rosso which went wonderfully with the meal.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
1 pound of Bucatini
1/4 pound of pancetta sliced in 1" pieces
1/4 c. white wine
2 lbs head on, fresh gulf shrimp
Medium shallot, diced
3 cloves of minced garlic
1 (28) ounce can of whole San Marzano plum tomatoes, diced
3 tablespoon of olive oil
Torn fresh basil leaves
1/2 t. pepperoncini (hot pepper flakes)
Bread crumbs (if needed to thicken sauce)
Grated fresh Pecorino

Directions:

Fill a 10-quart saucepan with water over high heat for the pasta. Add the pasta during the last 10 minutes of the preparation process to the boiling water.

Prep shrimp by peeling, leave on tails, removing the heads and deveining, rinse and pat dry.

Pre-heat a saucepan to medium heat with 1 T. of olive oil. Add the pancetta and sauté until the bacon is browned but not crispy (3-4 minutes). Quickly add the shrimp and the wine and saute for a minute or two, just until shrimp begin to turn pink. Do not fully cook them at this time.

Use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon and shrimp and set aside on a plate. Add the a little more oil to the pan, heat and then add the onion and garlic and lightly fry for a few minutes until translucent. Add the tomatoes, basil, and hot pepper flakes and simmer an additional 10 minutes. Add in the shrimp and pancetta and simmer for a few more minutes, but be careful not to overcook the shrimp.

Combine the al dente pasta with the saucepan ingredients and simmer for a few more minutes, adding a little bread crumbs if you need to thicken the sauce. Transfer the completed dish to a large serving bowl. Top with pecorino cheese.

Tutti a tavola a mangiare!

Wine of the Moment, Farnese Montepulciano D'Abruzzo

My love for Italian wine keeps me constantly on the look out for lesser known wines that represent great values and easy drinking. After our food and wine tour of Sicily, southern Italy is where it's at for me right now. And while Abruzzo is just barely considered part of the Mezzogiorno, its mountains have shielded it from the northern influences, aligning its culture, cuisine and wine making styles more closely related to that of the south.

If you head due east from Rome, you'll run into the region of Abruzzo, bordered by the Appenines Mountains to the west, the Adriactic Sea to the east and home to the Montepulciano grape. Montepulciano is one of Italy's most important grapes, and it is the defining variety for Abruzzo just as Sangiovese is for Tuscany and Aglianico is for Campagnia.

Stylistically you have two different wines that are produced from the Montepulciano grape; the young, more common fruit forward type seduces the palate with velvety mouthfeel balanced by a rustic edge that keeps it intriguing and the more tannic, ageworthy style from the Colline Teramane zone.

This young, easy, Farnese Montepulciano D'Abruzzo is the former and made by a prodcuer that’s been making wine for over four centuries in the Colline Teramane zone. An incredible value, it brings ripe, luscious fruit, satin-textured bramble, black cherry and wild berry flavors with soft leather and a touch of earth. This wine will be an ideal pairing with the Creole Daube featured recipe this week!

A steal at $12.99!

Swirl Unfiltered: A16 Food + Wine Review

Ok, so I think you've all figured out by now that I am crazy for anything Italian; the food, wine, people, history and culture are a never ending source of fascination and excitement for me. I love to discover new indigenous varietals (there are over 800 by the way...), great regional recipes and I could travel there every year of my life and still not get enough. Did I ever mention that I think I was Italian in another life? Well, that's a whole different post...anyway I've written a lot about my favorite Italian wine bible, Gambero Rosso (see my post Italian Wine, Love at First Sip), that I use when I’m looking for very specific information on a certain wine and its producer. And my other go to book has always been Vino Italiano by Joseph Bastianich & David Lynch that explores each region's predominant grapes, winemaking styles, major producers and the history and culture of the region. Great to curl up with on the sofa with a glass of Italian wine!

Currently I am totally captivated by a new book, introduced to me by another blogger, called A16 Food + Wine by Nate Appleman and Shelly Lindgren. That authors are the chef/owner (Nate) and wine director/owner (Shelly) of the acclaimed A16 restaurant in San Francisco named after the Italian motorway that runs from Naples to Puglia. The restaurant uses the food and the wine of southern Italy as its inspiration and the book beautifully expresses that focus. I can't get of this area, as I find the bold rustic flavors of the south a refreshing change from the more refined popular wines of central and northern Italy

Shelly Lindgren tells the first half of the story as she takes you on a journey through each of the regions south of Rome, including Sicily and Sardinia and talks of their history, key producers, predominant varietals and food pairings. My heart starts to pound faster as I read about the once nearly extinct varietals like Pallagrello Bianco and Coda di Volpe in the Campagnia section while the more familiar Primitivo and Negroamaro highlighted the Puglia chapter make my mouth water for their inky dark fruit.

Nate Appleman takes over in the second half of the book with an intro to the "must haves" of the the Italian pantry, the core ingredients that make these bold, rustic foods shine. And in case you don't have access to these carefully chosen items, he has a resource section in the back of the book. Ingredients like Calabrian Chiles, "00" flour, are discussed as well as recipes for preserved Meyer Lemons, homemade Ricotta Salatta, Brodo (a light broth)and more.

The heart of the book is the recipes made from fresh local ingredients that reflect the essential element of southern Italian cooking: simplicity. The opening page discusses the culinary heritage of the south having been much poorer than the north and that the "la cucina povera" or peasant cooking was born of necessity. "Just as southern Italian winemakers cherish their indigenous grapes, southern Italian cooks are rooted in the past, nearly to the point of obsession with preserving the old ways."

The food chapters are divided by type such as antipasta, pasta, vegetables, seafood, with a heavy emphasis on meat and poultry due to the route the A16 takes through the hilly inland regions. The chapter on Neapolitan pizza is fantastic with great instructions on making the perfect dough, grilling pizza (one of my favorite preparations!), and using sparse, traditional toppings. Recipes like Summer Vegetable Cianfotta (Campania summer stew), Braised Halibut with Pistachios, Preserved Meyer Lemon and Capers, Cavatelli with Ragu Bianco, Wild Mushrooms and Pecorino and Monday Meatballs (pictured above, photo by Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times) are all well written, with easy instructions and most have relatively shorts lists of ingredients. And every recipe comes with a wine pairing from southern Italy, beautifully done!

Gorgeous photography by Ed Anderson, easy to follow recipes, in depth information on wines and their regions and a great resource section for hard to find items, this book is a must have for any Italian food and wine nut! You can order a signed copy directly from their website: A16sf , or from Amazon by clicking here: Amazon.com


Also, if you're like me and still can't get enough, Saveur magazine just did a great piece on Basilicata in their May issue.

Having just poured my self a cool refreshing glass of Falanghina from Campania, chapter on Calabria awaits...