Fabulous Farro

                               Farro with Butternut Squash, Goat Cheese, Arugula & Walnuts

I’m in Italy with a group of Wine-Knows at a Renaissance villa in Umbria.  Tomorrow we head to Tuscany for the week at a stupendous 10,000 square foot villa on the sea.  Farro is one of both Tuscany and Umbria’s classical foods, however, until recently it has played second fiddle outside of central Italy to pasta.  Now it’s becoming the latest culinary craze on this side of the Atlantic.

Farro is an ancient grain.  It is not a wheat but a plant and a grain all its own.   A grain of farro looks and tastes somewhat like a lighter brown rice.  In Tuscany the grain dates from the Neolithic era.  Etruscans ate farro.  Farro fueled the Roman armies. But, the grain did not originate in Italy.  Research indicates that farro came from the Fertile Crescent of Mesopotamia.

Farro is a light starch, but with a big texture and an almost nutty taste.  It has a distinctive texture that I love.  It’s also extremely versatile.  Like pasta, it can be eaten plain, in a soup, or even in a salad.  Farro contains a starch similar to that found in the rice used to make risotto, releasing a creamy, binding liquid when cooked.  But, unlike risotto, farro doesn’t become gummy.  Each grain of farro has a protective layer of bran.  This means that every little morsel retains a tender but distinct bite…ever after it sits for days in your frig after preparation. 

Rich in fiber, farro also offers magnesium, as well as vitamins A, B, C and E.  It grows best in barren, high-altitude terrain, hece, is almost grown without chemical pesticides or fertilizers.  More good news:  because it is so easily digested and so low in gluten, farro can often be eaten by those who are normally gluten-intolderant.  

I've had farro in many preparations, but here is one of my faves:

Farro with Roasted Butternut Squash, Walnuts, Arugula & Goat Cheese

Ingredients:

1 C farro

1.5 cups cubed squash

1 C arugula

½ cup crumbled goat cheese

1/3 cup chopped alwanuts

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon walnut  oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vineyar

Salt & pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Peel and cut squash into ½ inch cubes, toss with olive oil and a pinch of salt.  Put on well oiled baking sheet and roast for 20 min.

In a saucepan bring 2 cups of water with salt to boil, add farro, cover and summer until faro is tender with a slight chew (15-20 min).  Remove from heat and drain.

In a large bowl toss farro with squash, add walnut oil and balsamic, arugula, chopped nuts and goat cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

Note:  can be served either hot or cold

Buon appetito!

Why Sagrantino Should be on Your Radar

                                                 

     Sagrantino pairs perfectly with Umbria's grilled meats, game and Pecorino

If you're a wine lover and you've been to Umbria then most likely you know wines made from the Sagrantino grape. If you've dined in an Italian Michelin star recently and you've asked the sommelier to pick a "hidden gem" red wine, there's a good chance he/she may have uncorked a bottle of Umbrian Sagrantino. These impressive, complex and long-lived wines should be known. 

Many of you may be asking why you haven’t heard of the wine? Sagrantino, thought to be native to Umbria, has been cultivated since the Middle Ages in this central province contiguous with Tuscany.  Typically used by the monks for a sweet sacramental wine, it fell out of fashion as a dry table wine. By the 1960’s it was was almost extinct until one of Umbria’s most influential winemakers recognized the grape’s virtues for a dry wine. Today, there has been a renaissance---25 boutique producers now grow the grape on about 250 acres. Because production is limited, the wine is not well known outside of Italy. But that may be changing.

Sagrantino is now Umbria’s flagship wine and the appellation of Sagrantino di Montefalco is its premium district. This zone surrounding the medieval town of Montefalco, has the most stringent rules for growing and making Sagrantino. For example, the maximum yields per acre are one of the lowest in Italy. Also, wine must be aged for 2.5 years before it can be released…of which a minimum of one year must be in oak. These wines are so distinctive that in 1992 the Italian government awarded Sagrantino di Montefalco its own D.O.C.Q., a coveted demarcated section of quality.

So how does this wine translate into one’s glass? First, Sagrantino di Montefalco is an enormously full-bodied wine, with huge muscular tannins. When poured into a glass one is immediately taken by its deep inky color---nearly an opaque deep garnet. On the nose, there’s an aroma of blackberries and black plums, with often subtle scents of violets. Next, the flavor profile which ranges from black cherries to ripe blackberries with secondary spice and savory earth characteristics. Both the nose and the gustatory elements reflect its mandatory aging in oak with spices such as cloves, nutmeg, vanilla and even chocolate or mocha. Bottles with some age on them are best so that the powerful tannins are tamed. Decanting several hours before is also helpful to soften the tannic structure.

Foods that pair best with Sagrantino di Montefalco include Umbria’s grilled meats, game or hearty stews. Heavy tannins cut through fat, so the wine works beautifully with Umbria’s Pecorino. Heavier pastas (with a hearty tomato sauce or a rich cream sauce) also perform perfectly with Sagrantino. A well-aged Sagrantino also works well with Umbria’s culinary specialty, the black truffle.

If you buy Sagrantino to drink now, make sure to purchase one of the following vintages:  2005, 2007 or 2008.  If you're buying it to age for a couple of years think 2004 or 2006.  If you're planning more than 5 years of aging get the 2010.  But, whatever you do, buy a bottle of this gem of a wine.

Italy’s Premier Bubbly

I remember the exact moment when my love affair with Ca Del Bosco began----which is saying something as it was 20 years ago.  I was at a two star Michelin restaurant on the Amalfi Coast and my dining companion and I were served a flute of sparkling wine while we were contemplating the menu.  The bubbly was divine.  When the waiter returned to take our order I learned that the wine was Italian, made by Ca Del Bosco.  I was so impressed that I ordered a bottle of Ca Del Bosco’s still Chardonnay, and fell in love all over again.

From this night forward, I have been a raving fan of Ca Del Bosco.  I’ve taken two groups to visit the winery, located between Milan and Venice in a wine district called Franciacorta.  I’ve ordered too-many-cases-to-count over the years…thankfully, Ca Del Bosco is readily available in the U.S.   Furthermore, the story of how the winery came about is a charming one.

Maurizio Zanella was a precocious Italian teenager during the 1970’s.  Once he graduated from high school, his well-connected family sent their son to Champagne to work in the vineyards…they were hoping that changing his environment and friends might set him on a better path.  It worked.  Maurizio developed a love for wine-making, straightened out, and returned to Italy with a fervor for replicating Champagne in northern Italy.  Coincidentally, the Zanella family just happened to own a farm in the woods where grapes were being grown nearby.  As they say, the rest is history.

The young Zanella took over the farm and its small house, planted vines and began his quest to produce the best bubbly in Italy.  He has achieved that and more.  Ca Del Bosco (which translates to “house in the woods”), is one of the most successful wine-making estates in Italy.   Moreover, Zanella has now become President of the vintners association.

My final connection with Ca Del Bosco came in Sicily in 2008 when I brought a Wine-Knows group to the private villa of Count Marzotto for three days.  Count Marzotto (who owns a group of mover and shaker companies such as Missoni and Valentino, along with several wineries on the mainland), flew down in his private jet to meet the group.  I was stunned when he served Ca Del Bosco as a sparkling aperitivo.    When I spoke with the Count, I learned that he had just bought a large share in Ca del Bosco, however, Maurizio Zanella remains the winery’s CEO.

If you haven’t tried Ca Del Bosco, you should.  Look for it online or in a high-end wine store.  While the winery makes several sparklers, my favorites are the Annamaria Clementi Cuvée and the Dosage Zero.   That being said, their non-bubbly Chardonnay is also lovely.   And, if you're one of the fortunate persons coming on the sold out trip to Sicily this October, you'll be staying for 3 nights on Count Marzotto's estate.

Deruta---Nirvana for Pottery Lovers

There are > 200 ceramic workshops in the town of Deruta, Italy---that’s one shop for every 40 citizens living in the Umbrian village of 8,000.  Before even arriving in the city limits of Deruta one recognizes the importance of pottery when a large, colorful sign welcomes visitors to the “Town of Ceramics.”   Once inside the medieval hill-town, however, evidence abounds on why it is one of the most important centers in all of Italy for hand-painted pottery:  streets are lined with factory showrooms which spill their vividly-colored contents onto sidewalks; street signs are hand-painted in flamboyant Deruta patterns;  names of bakeries, cafés and delicatessens are announced in vibrant pottery signage.  Ceramics are the heart-beat of Deruta.

Production of this glorious terracotta began in the early Middle Ages, however, Deruta reached its artistic pinnacle in the 16^th century.  Taking inspiration from Renaissance master painters such as Raffaello, Deruta artisans of the 1500’s were considered the best in the country.  To this day, this town’s masterpieces are coveted not only in Italy, but are prized throughout Europe, the U.S., and Asia.  Unfortunately, Deruta has become so renowned that prices have dramatically increased.  It’s not unusual for a coffee mug to cost >$25 in the U.S.

Those who will be coming in June 2015 for the Umbrian villa rental (there are only 2 spaces remaining) will have the opportunity to visit a Deruta workshop that has been owned by the same family for nearly 70 years.  You’ll be able to watch the entire process from the unformed clay, through the shaping process, to the painstaking hand-painting, then through the firing and glazing.  There will be plenty of time allowed for shopping…and most showrooms will ship purchases back home.  Looking for a bargain?  Some shops have a “seconds” rack where one can pick up an item with a small imperfection for considerably less.

The Super Super-Tuscans

Are you a rule breaker?  If so, you’ll love the story about the birth of Super Tuscan wines.  First released in the 1960’s, these renegade wines shocked the Italian wine industry by blatantly breaking the country’s highly regimented wine laws.  The story goes something like this…

                                                                               

In 1944 the owner of well-regarded winery in Tuscany visited his friend Baron Rothschild in Bordeaux.  He returned to Tuscany with cuttings of the Baron’s Cabernet Sauvignon, Cab Franc and Merlot vines.  After > 20 years of experimenting with the French varietals, the wealthy Italian decided to sell this wine.  But, there was one huge problem.  The wine laws of Tuscany prohibited selling any wine that was not made from Sangiovese grapes.  The only way around the laws was something unthinkable at the time.

In the 1960’s only Tuscany’s lowest level wines were exempt from the “only Sangiovese” rule.  These poor quality wines were called “table wines.”   The only way to market another varietal was to declare the wine a “table wine.”   In 1968 the iconic winemaker released his French varietal wine for today’s equivalent of $100 per bottle.  The Italian wine industry went nuts.  A lowly table wine for 100 bucks? Few of even the highest rated wines in Italy at the time commanded such a price.

Shortly after the release of this rule-breaking wine, a wine journalist from England flew to Tuscany to cover the inconceivable story.  He dubbed the rebel wine “Super Tuscan” and the name stuck.  In the 1970’s three other of Tuscany’s top wine producers released their versions of Super Tuscans made from grapes other than Sangiovese. Today, there are too many Super Tuscans to count.

A lot has happened in the Italian wine world since the 1960’s.  Super Tuscans have won just about every award given internationally, including the Wine Spectator’s number one wine in the world.   The Italian government even amended its wine rules by creating a special category for the Super Tuscans called I.G.T. Super Tuscans have also given rise to renegade wines in other parts of Italy such as the Super Venetians. 

So other than a non-Sangiovese wine, what else is different about a Super Tuscan? Super Tuscans represent an international style of wine-making.  They are boutique blended wines made in small quantity, and are usually aged in new French oak barrels.  They are also expensive.  Some of my faves include Masseto, Saffredi and Ornellaia.  Should you be coming on the 2015 private villa tour to Tuscany you will have ample opportunity to taste several Super Tuscans.

The Original Kiss Was Italian

Baci  is Italy’s word for “kisses”  and who other than the Italians would invent the first kiss in chocolate?   While Baci’s have been produced by the esteemed Perugina chocolate company since the early 1900’s, the legend of the first chocolate kiss goes back to the Renaissance. 

As the story goes, Romeo was banned from seeing Juliet by her parents for fear that these teenagers were too young to be in love.  But, Romeo was not about to take no for an answer.   He knew Juliet’s maid and he asked the maid if she would sneak in some small pieces of chocolate for Juliet.  The maid did so and the rest is history.

What the maid did not know is that Romeo had written love notes inside each piece of chocolate that was covered in a beautiful metal wrapper.  Perugina reinvented the story nearly 500 years later by including a love note in each of their covered chocolates and named them Baci and to this day love notes are included inside each foil wrapped piece.

Many of you have had a Baci, a gorgeous little piece of paradise composed of chocolate and hazelnuts.  Now a ubiquitous item in every gourmet emporium in the USA and in every country of Europe, they’re exported around the globe.  If you’re coming with us on the 2015 private villa tour to Italy, however, you’ll have the grand opportunity to actually visit Perugina’s factory where the Baci are made and have all of the kisses you wish---chocolate, that is.

To learn more about the 2015 trip of staying in 2 luxurious private villas (1 week in Tuscany, the other week in Umbria...home of Perugina chocolate), check out the tour:  http://www.wineknowstravel.com