year 22 - number 134 - november 2019 - gamberorosso.it
WINE
T R AV E L
FOOD
the joy of gragnano The lands of Pignoletto An ancient grape resurfaces, conquering winemakers, palates and markets
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WORLDTOUR The World Tour starts from Asia, landing a poker of events for Italian wine
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BIG CHEFS The cuisine of Mattia Spadone, chef of La Bandiera d'Abruzzo, in three signature dishes
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year 22 - number 134 - november 2019 - gamberorosso.it
WINE
T R AV E L
FOOD
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the joy of gragnano The lands of PignoleTTo An ancient grape resurfaces, conquering winemakers, palates and markets
WORLDTOUR The World Tour starts from
BIG CHEFS The cuisine of Mattia Spadone,
for Italian wine
three signature dishes
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Editorial News Wine of the Month The World Tour starts from Asia, landing a poker of events for Italian wine Discovering Gragnano but speaking, for once, of wine and not pasta The lands of Pignoletto surrounding Bologna. An ancient grape resurfaces, conquering winemakers, palates and markets Mattia Spadone Il capanno. Cuisine and the seasons
Asia, landing a poker of events chef of La Bandiera l'Abruzzo, in
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Discover the
Prosecco Doc DreamlanD
There is an entire world of tradition, beauty and style inside every bottle of Prosecco DOC. That’s why Prosecco DOC is more than just sparkling. The Prosecco DOC Dreamland welcomes you to www.prosecco.wine.
What will it take for Campania to take that last, definitive step? It’s certainly not a question of quality, or at least it’s not only that, because it’s already represented by so many outstanding wines (especially whites). And we’re talking about evocative wines full of character, personality, flavor. It’s that flavor that makes Campania a top destination for those who love great food and products made from the heart. And due to its diverse styles and territories, it has everything it needs to transmit all the region’s charm and allure, for the curious and those in search of surprises. And yet this change in rhythm, especially in terms of image, in Italy and abroad, has been slower than thought. We’re optimistic though. In terms of production you need the right dose of ambition, the will to improve day after day and to aim high, to bet it all, even while taking risks, with perseverance, on a simply extraordinary territory. Yeah, we’d like to see a bit more courage, projects of greater scope capable of projecting a new vision, to open the region up to the world and even cast doubt on certain cardinal rules of enology ( for example the centrality of Aglianico and certain, set ways for approaching it). Moreover, we’d like to see more wineries focused on a certain direction and appellation. It’s not obligatory to cover all typologies, maybe sourcing grapes to do so. The idea is to probe the longevity of Campania’s great wines, of its Fiano di Avellino, its Greco di Tufo, its surprising Falanghinas and Taurasis capable of dazzling even 40 years after vintage. Finally, we’d like to see its enology conversing more directly with its gastronomy, as part of a tourism and hospitality initiative that’s still, unfortunately, unable to get past its initial stages. In the meantime, we’ll let the wines do the talking: some 23 Tre Bicchieri were awarded in this edition. Among the new entries we point out an absolute first for Bosco De’ Medici, a winery operating on the slopes of Vesuvio, with an aromatically sophisticated and original Pompeii Bianco made with Caprettone grapes. From there, continuing with whites, we go from the smoky, thrilling and complex Fiano di Avellino VentitréFilari to the marine profile of Abbazia di Crapolla’s Sireo, and Vallisassoli’s 33/33/33, with its intense sensations of peat and pepper. When it comes to the reds, we make note of the carefree scents of rose and pomegranate offered by Giuseppe Apicella’s Piedirosso and the potent, vibrant rhythm of Regina Viarum’s Falerno Primitivo. — Lorenzo Ruggeri
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NEWS
2020 FOOD TRENDS: WHAT WE’LL BE EATING ACCORDING TO WHOLE FOODS by Michela Becchi basic products of West African cuisine. A gastronomy that’s starting to intrigue chefs and enthusiasts, and that we will probably find more and more of among local menus.
THERE'S THE MEAT SUBSTITUTES, BUT WE ALREADY KNEW THAT. AND THEN VEGAN SNACKS, ALTERNATIVE FLOURS BUT ALSO WEST AFRICAN FLAVOURS: HERE ARE THE FOOD TRENDS OF 2020. Greater attention is being increasingly paid to the vegan world, and not just with fake meat products, recently landed in Italy as well: it seems that the food trend of the future is focused on a more conscious and responsible consumption. Little meat, lots of vegetables, lots of alternatives to dairy products: international buyers and experts from Whole Foods Market, US food company purchased by Amazon in 2017, reveal in advance what the food trends of 2020 will be.
September issue on young people in agriculture. Land management practices designed to preserve the soil and reduce CO2 emissions: this is the agricultural goal for 2020. A new cultivation model to improve biodiversity and contribute to the fight against global warming.
FOOD TRENDS FOR 2020
ALTERNATIVE FLOURS. It seems that consumers are increasingly looking for flours that differ from the traditional ones: green light, therefore, for teff flour, banana flour, cauliflower or tigernut, a tuber originating in Spain.
Regenerative agriculture. We’ve talked about it several times, with an in-depth study of the biointensive method and an investigation in the
WEST AFRICAN FLAVOURS. Moringa, tamarind, sorghum, fonio, teff, millet: these are just some of the
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VEGAN SNACKS. The vegan diet has been raging for years now. But there’s a new awareness now: in addition to vegetarians and vegans, in fact, there are many consumers who choose not to abandon meat entirely, but to rather minimize their consumption. Less and of better quality. Responsible for this are also widespread intolerances such as in regards to lactose, so sweet vegan snacks, such as granola bars, are also increasing, soon available in a fresh version for the fridge, with fruit and seeds. VEGETABLE-BASED DAIRY AND EGGS. More vegan food, but not only based on soy: many companies are trying to imitate the texture of yogurt, cheese and eggs through other ingredients such as avocado, hemp, watermelon and pumpkin. VEGAN BUTTER. Butter made from pumpkin seeds, nuts, cashews, almonds, chickpeas, watermelon seeds or tahini sauce. Ingredients that can be transformed into spreadable sauces perfect with bread for breakfast or to use in preparations. CHILDREN’S MEALS. Kids’ menus are expanding trying to meet the needs of the consumers of the future, experimenting with food and overcoming the classic concept of “children’s” dishes. In short, no more pasta with tomato sauce and schnitzel, but rather fermented foods,
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spicy flavours, pasta made with alternative flours and quality organic meat. Taste education starts at a young age.
top italian restaurants
ALTERNATIVE SUGARS. Not restricted to flours, but also different sugars: fruit syrup reductions such as from pomegranates, coconut and dates can be ideal solutions to add a little sweetness in recipes. To replace honey or molasses, there’s syrup made from sorghum starch or sweet potato.
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MEAT SUBSTITUTES. Impossible Burgers, Beyond Meat… fake meat, a vegetable-based meat substitute, was one of the most discussed topics of 2019, especially following the arrival of Beyond Meat in Italy. And it seems that even in 2020 we will hear more about it.
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ts ran berorosso.it/restau
Mocktails. Non-alcoholic cocktails are the current fashion in bars: sophisticated drinks designed to recreate mixology classics without alcohol, so that they can be enjoyed even by those who follow a particular regime or do not like the intense taste of spirits.
www.gamberorosso.it/restaurants/
GAMBERO ROSSO
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OCTOBER 2019
NEWS
SHOPPING ON TAP: THE ADVANTAGE OF BUYING UNPACKAGED by Michela Becchi
ONE GOES TO THE STORE WITH ONE'S OWN CONTAINERS, CHOOSING THE NECESSARY FOODS AND PLACING THEM DIRECTLY IN THE BAGS. WITHOUT PLASTIC OR OTHER PACKAGING. IT'S THE NEW (OLD) CONCEPT OF SHOPPING ON TAP, WHICH IS BACK IN FASHION: HERE ARE ALL THE PROS. BUYING ON TAP: AN OLD (NEW) HABIT There is talk of trend, fashion of the moment, but in truth shopping on tap is the oldest thing around. In addition to the new loose, unpackaged product shops, in fact, there are the shops of the past, of a time when buying without packaging was the norm. However, a new awareness is emerging, an eco-friendly conscience that goes beyond fighting single use plastic (“plastic-free” is perhaps one of the most abused terms of the year) and points to an overall reduction in waste.
ZERO WASTE: REDUCE, NOT DISPOSE There is often talk of the Zero Waste movement, but eliminating packaging altogether is almost impossible. However, we can (and must) rethink our way of food shopping, look for more sustainable options, alternative solutions and, above all, refuse many of the single-use packaging that we are used to seeing in our grocery store carts. You can choose not to buy or do it with more pre-planning.
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SHOPPING ON TAP, WHY IT’S IMPORTANT From pasta to cereal, meat, fish (even the paper used by butchers and fishmongers is lined with a thin layer of plastic), cold cuts, cheese, up to even pre-packaged vegetables and fruit: the kitchen is one of the areas that generates the most waste (not counting the age-old issue of food waste). Starting with ready-to-eat foods: the latest poll by Nielsen Osservatorio Immagino, which analyzes consumption habits, records a remarkable increase in sales of socalled food to go. PACKAGING ALTERNATIVES Yet, there are alternatives. Think markets, specialized shops, organic shops, on tap stores, and more: even
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at the supermarket, fruit and vegetables are sold loose to be placed in biodegradable plastic bags (another thorny issue on which we will return to focus another time). A little more programming would be enough before shopping: less impulse purchases, especially less disposable packaging. Prefer a larger package instead of many single portions wrapped one by one, for example, this is a microscopic gesture that can start making a difference. THE ADVANTAGES OF ON TAP GROCERY SHOPPING In addition to the lower environmental impact, however, what are the advantages of shopping on tap? We gathered them in a list, trying to break up various clichés that revolve around the topic. COST SAVINGS: By entering a store that sells loose food you could be held back by the higher price of cereal, legumes, spices: but they’re almost always organic products, which on average cost more, regardless of the packaging. Quality that increases the price, not the absence of packaging. On the contrary: usually the ingredients on tap have a lower price.
high standard of living. But living in a sustainable manner is not elitist, it’s not for the few, on the contrary: it’s a philosophy focused on simplicity, minimalism, dictated by the ability to make do with what’s essential and reject excess. There are not only shops on tap with biodynamic and niche products: you can buy loose, unpackaged products by going directly to the farms, farms, orchards, in the countryside. And yes, the value saved is considerable. QUALITY: Not an automatic consequence of shopping on tap. There are good loose unpackaged foods and others that are mediocre, just like in the case of packaged goods. But in some cases there’s a gain in taste: with milk on tap, for example, sold raw on farms or in the various points of sale scattered throughout Italy (found online at Milk Maps). If you decide to buy it, remember to boil it first. SAFETY: Who said that shopping on tap is risky? Just go to any specialized shop to closely observe the cleanliness of the containers. The same goes for the product origin:
REUSE OF MATERIALS: Many containers are needed for loose product shopping, starting with the jars. In this way, the many glass containers of legumes, pickles, jams, honey, anchovies, capers and the like can be recycled. All glass that would otherwise end up in the garbage. COST SAVINGS (AGAIN): It’s appropriate to clarify this point. Often environmentalism – like veganism or vegetarianism – is associated with a
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if it’s not marked on the dispenser, you can ask the staff. Of course, if lentils, even without plastic, hail from far away, then the concept of sustainability is lost. The important thing is to evaluate each time: when we talk about the environment, the themes and variables to keep in mind are many. (RE)DISCOVER UNKNOWN PRODUCTS: Applicable to the majority of food artisans and vintage shops. Leaving aside large retailers for a moment, you can learn about (or rediscover) new (or ancient) foods, different products, unusual spices but also alternative use of some ingredients. HUMAN TOUCH: Again, it doesn’t depend much on the loose product, but on the tiny and authentic size of the shops. Whether it’s markets, butcher shops or tea shops, a trusting relationship is established with the merchant when they visit similar places, who becomes first and foremost a counselor, a confidant, dispenser of funny stories and anecdotes. And then also a seller.
NEWS
LAMBRUSCO AT THE RESTAURANT: RED, SPARKLING, FULL OF ENERGY. GUIDELINES FOR RESTAURATEURS by Giorgio Melandri of the most important American importers, “Italian producers meet, they drink Burgundy and Champagne and dream of a future for their territories, those outside the restricted list of the big names. And so instead they legitimise the already established ranks and remain on the list of those who perhaps one day… ” Exactly. So to think of it, that dinner led by Beppe Palmieri became a masterpiece of courage, the strongest witness that a territory can give.
LAMBRUSCO IS BACK IN ITALIAN RESTAURANT WINE LISTS THANKS TO NOVEL STORYTELLING THAT INVOLVES TERRITORIES, HIGH QUALITY WINES AND A PERFECT GAME OF ROLES BETWEEN LARGE AND SMALL PRODUCERS. THE EMILIA THAT WE HAD FORGOTTEN IS ONCE AGAIN THE PROTAGONIST!
LAMBRUSCO HAS A STARRING ROLE AT THE RESTAURANT A few years ago, Beppe Palmieri, the absolute champion somm and protagonist at Massimo Bottura‘s Osteria Francescana in Modena, paired the dinner of a group of influential foreign wine writers with an extraordinary selection of Lambrusco wines. Only Lambrusco, from beginning to end. And he paired lambrusco with dessert, too. Bottles of a few years, of both
artisans and large wineries, ancestralmethos and classic method. I remember the astonishment of journalists: Lambrusco paired with an absolute high cuisine, among the best in the world. Amazement became an occasion for Lambrusco, one of the great unsung heroes of Italian wine: a new, authentic story can be told, which has deep roots and travels through territories, collecting diversity and, finally, great quality. “There’s a strange phenomenon in Italian wine” ironises one
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THE MODENA CAMPAIGN. IDENTITY OF A TERRITORY So, to continue playing, let’s try to think of a November day in the Modena countryside: fog, yellow leaves on the ground, vineyards reddened by autumn and in the distance river embankments marked by majestic poplars. We arrive in a country house, there are a couple of butchers at work, a cauldron on the fire to make ciccioli (fried pork lardons) and two women kneading meats to be cured. You, the wayfarer who has travelled there, what wine would you open? Well, in short it’s not difficult, a Lambrusco. Naturally, right? And then, if someone in that house didn’t open a bottle of Lambrusco everything would seem useless. That whole scene, in short. The butchers, the rezdore women, the peasants. And so it must be. “Wines with an identity as strong as lambrusco are rare”, comments Michele Palermo, a Neapolitan wine expert and a great collector of old vintages. “And they are modern wines, to be opened on every occasion to recover that daily relationship that has always fed our wine culture. A rela-
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tionship of confidence that is being lost and that Lambrusco can help us recover”. And to do so, it needs to be included in all the dining scene’s wine lists. “It will not be difficult”, underlines Marco Tonelli, journalist of Spirito di Vino, “the communication of wine is increasingly oriented towards showcasing the relationship with food. And Lambrusco, on this, has an advantage”.
GUIDELINES FOR LAMBRUSCO AT THE RESTAURANT In short, a return to wine to be enjoyed every day, of good quality, but above all owning a strong personality. “Italy can amaze the world with its wide features, the world wants to discover new things. It happens to me to more frequently to taste extraordinary and unknown wines around the floor and Lambrusco is one of them. There is a huge work to be done, perhaps starting in Italy itself. WE have to set a good example!” This quote is by Nelson Pari, sommelier of 67 Pall Mall in London, the most exclusive club dedicated to wine in the world. So let’s start with the 10 golden rules to propose Lambrusco at the restaurant, a precious decalogue for those who want to get out of the stereotypes of the “usual” territories. 1. Always have at least two different labels on the wine list, better if they are two different Lambruscos. It’s a beautiful opportunity to talk about diversity and territory. 2. Serve at the right temperature: 14 degrees for dark Lambrusco, 10 degrees for Sorbara and rosé. 3. Having at least one label on the by-the-glass rotation, Lambrusco is “unknown” and some prejudices need to be overcome. 4. Use a classic method Lambrusco as an aperitif. It’s a welcome novelty that will amaze for the quality expressed. 5. Pay a visit to the area and to some local wineries. Emilia is extraordinary and the story can feed only on direct experience. 6. Speak of territorial specialization. It requires training but returns credibility. 7. Preferably using dry wines, they are the most suitable for pairing with food and therefore ideal for the Italian drinking style: food and wine together! 8. Mark-up the wines correctly and don’t take advantage of the virtuous value for money ratio of Lambrusco. 9. Propose some pairings with wines by the glass, it’s a way to induce customers to discover interesting wines. 10. Prefer DOC wines, they are important for the representative story of Emilia.
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OCTOBER 2019
NEWS
WINE OF THE MONTH È ISS TINTORE PREPHILLOXERA ‘16 TENUTA SAN FRANCESCO Fraz. Corsano Via Solficiano, 18 Tramonti (SA) Fraz. Corsano Via Solficiano, 18 Tramonti (SA) Average retail price: 25 euros The Bove, D’Avino and Giordano families founded this winery in 2004 with the aim of protecting and promoting Tramonti’s historic wines. This is one of the most unforgiving areas of the Amalfi Coast’s different sub-zones. The vineyards, on steeply sloping terraces ranging in elevations from 300 to 700 meters, are planted with ungrafted, local varieties trained on traditional arbors. They give life to austere, powerful reds of Tintore, Piedirosso and Aglianico, such as È Iss or Quattrospine, and to fresh, sapid whites of Falanghina, Pepella and Ginestra that unite in Per Eva. For the first time their E’ Iss Tintore Prephilloxera took home Tre Bicchieri. The 2016 is dense, flavoursome, full of nuances and spicy sensations. On the nose earthy tones stand out amidst roots, crispy peppers and freshly ground pepper, while the finish comes through juicy and full of fruit.
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CAMPAIGN FINANCED ACCORDING TO (EU) REGULATION NO. 1308/2013
Heart and Time, fundamental elements for writing a great story of life and wine
www.umanironchi.com
GAMBERO ROSSO X UMANI RONCHI
New cellar for Abruzzo wines Umani Ronchi focuses on “new” vineyards The route begins in the year 2000: 35 hectares of vineyards cultivated organically mostly in Roseto degli Abruzzi, with some rows stretching in the territory of Morro d’Oro. Today, about twenty years later, the Abruzzo project of Umani Ronchi reaches another significant milestone: the launch of the Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Centovie ‘15: «It’s the conclusion of a wine project that we’ve been working on for a long time explains Michele Bernetti, owner of the company - In 2000 we decided to invest here in Abruzzo and we did things gradually; then we decided to combine some historic labels always produced on this estate (such as Montepulciano Jorio or Pecorino Vellodoro) with a new range that represents a sort of selection of our best Montipagano grapes». Thus the Centovie range was born, from the name of the small village that rises a few hundred yards from the company vineyards: in 2017, the debut is with an impressive Pecorino ‘15, refined in its aromatic stratification, as surprising and clear in its gustatory expression. Today comes the Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Centovie of the same vintage, always 2015, launched last April during the 53rd edition of Vinitaly. «A circle closes - explains Michele - now the Centovie line is complete: a Pecorino, a Rosato and finally also Montepulciano, the truest soul of this Abruzzo land on which we decided to focus». Umani Ronchi today covers 200 hectares of vineyards on three welldefined territories: 110 hectares in the Castelli di Jesi area, 65 in the
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Conero, and the Abruzzo vineyard of which we have just spoken. Three souls that are lived to the fullest and each enjoy specific peculiarities. As for example the Conero and Abruzzo, linked by the grape but certainly different: «With a distance of over 100 kilometers in latitude, in Abruzzo we have conditions of radiation and higher thermal summations. Also from the pedological point of view there are differences: the Conero limestone gives finesse and aromatic characteristics, while in Roseto we have a medium mixture with significant presence of sand and fine gravel. The consequence is grapes slightly more sugary and with a phenolic maturation happening earlier than in the Marche region». Bernetti continues: «Always in the vineyard, let’s not forget that part of our Abruzzo vineyard is, in addition to the classic row, also in tendone system; while in the Conero we use the espalier with the most important plant densities
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to produce less grapes per vine and favour its complete maturation». And then a novelty: in Roseto, work will soon begin on the new cellar: «In recent years we have always supported third-party cellars. But a structure was necessary to take care of the production details and to centralise part of the production phase, such as aging. It will therefore be a cellar of about 500 square meters, very integrated into the surrounding landscape, with an aging area and a part dedicated to tours and visits, tasting and everything related to wine tourism, with a splendid view of the Gran Sasso and the sea Adriatic at the same time». And in the meantime how are things in the Marche? «I would say good; we have consolidated our classic territories, the Castelli di Jesi and the Conero, with the selection of wines that have been created for some years, increasingly refining the details and nuances, fundamentally looking for an increasingly defined person-
GAMBERO ROSSO X UMANI RONCHI
1. The vineyard of Umani Ronchi in Abruzzo, which from Roseto degli Abruzzi stretches towards Morro d’Oro 2. The Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Centovie 3. Michele Bernetti, owner of the Marche winery who decided to focus a lot on the neighbouring region
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Centovie 2015 The vineyard from which the grapes of the Montepulciano Centovie originate is planted on a clay-free soil, sometimes sandy with a good presence of fine gravel, with south-east exposure and located at approximately 200 meters above sea level. The grapes are destemmed and lightly pressed; then fermented in steel vats for 12/14 days, thus favouring the development of the structure and the aromatic notes typical of the grape variety. Subsequently, the wine undergoes malolactic fermentation, which always takes place in steel tanks, before moving on to the aging stage: part in large oak, part in smaller casks for a period of 12-14 months. After bottling, the Montepulciano Centovie is further refined in the bottle for about 6-8 months. Dense in its garment, it opens the olfactory range at first with precise shades of marasca cherries and black plums, then weaving spicy sensations and subtle smokey memories. The mouth is dense and generous, fleshy, rounded by the alcohol content, but firm in the tannic texture. «For the label - says Michele Bernetti - we chose a small symbol, a lemon tree. It’s a plant that has always struck us for its prosperity, and it’s the one we found close to the old farmhouse in the centre of the property. It has always been linked as a symbol of the winery, also not too common in its health and vigour».
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ality in the various THE WINERY selections; I would IN NUMBERS say that this is the hectares of most difficult part of our job, which re- vineyards quires an open mind 110 Verdicchio, to question certain 65 Conero, details that were 35 Abruzzo always given as immillion bottles movable. There is an important idea that of the market we are developing in Italy for Verdicchio and it’s linked to aging capacity; but it’s still too early to talk about it, but I think there will be some medium-term news. Great satisfaction instead came from the affirmation of the classic method line: the three wines have gained a very strong personality and style»
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Umani Ronchi - via Adriatica, 12 - Osimo (AN) - 0717108019 - umanironchi.com
GAMBERO ROSSO
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NOVEMBER 2019
THE WORLD TOUR STARTS FROM ASIA, LANDING A POKER OF EVENTS FOR ITALIAN WINE Great enthusiasm in the first Asian stages of the tour, with the push of export and ever increasing quality Italian dining
Words by Lorenzo Ruggeri
EVENTS
TRE BICCHIERI EVENT IN TOKYO In the aftermath of the 2020 Wine Guide in Rome presentation, the Tre Bicchieri World Tour starts again in Tokyo. The tour will stop in the major cities of the world until June. Last 31st of October, more than 1,500 people flocked to the main event hall of the Ritz Carlton Hotel and were able to taste the wines of more than one hundred wineries present. In addition to the main tasting, which has always been fruitful both for companies that want to consolidate their market, and for those seeking positioning in the nation through new importers, the event featured three seminars. The first was dedicated to the 11 special prizes of the 2020 Guide (a now unmissable meeting in the Tre Bicchieri tour stops); the second was organized with the Lugana consortium, while the third with the Prosecco consortium. Assisting speakers of Gambero Rosso Marco Sabellico and Giuseppe Carrus, was Isao Mihashima from Tokyo, a long time resident of Italy, fine taster and great connoisseur of Italian wine. Wine producers: “With the agreement, Japan is an even more attractive market”
TOKYO CAPITAL OF ITALIAN CUISINE
With the start of the international tour, the awards ceremonies for the best places for authentic Italian flavour around the world included in our Top Italian Restaurants guide commence once again. Tokyo is once again confirmed as one of the most competitive cities in the world. The Restaurant of the Year of the 2020 edition is, in fact, Ristornate Luca Fantin, for 10 years a benchmark for signature cuisine in Asia in the Bulgari Ginza Tower, Tre Forchette of impulse, alongside Heinz Beck Tokyo, who confirms the highest recognition thanks to the talent of resident chef Carmine Amarante. Among the traditional kitchens, the Tre Gamberi bestowed to Icaro for the first time, confirming the extraordinary ability of Japanese chefs to methodically and rigorously re-propose our regional recipes. Among the new entries in the Guide, we point out Trattoria dei Paesani, Due Gamberi, as well as Cuore Azzurro, next to the Sardinian inspired restaurant S’Apposentu in Aki, gaining Due Forchette. Also the pizzeria scene is extremely competitive, a great confirmation for Giuseppe Errichiello’s Napoli sta’ ca’’, Tre Spicchi for one of the best pizzas in the world, while the upgrade for The Pizza Bar on 38th, Daniele Cason’s boutique pizzeria arrives inside the Mandarin Oriental Hotel..
LUGANA DOC CONSORTIUM Lugana speaks for itself, even in Tokyo. The Lugana tasting highlighted the particularity of the terroir which best enhances the characteristics of the turbiana grape variety, a particular clone of trebbiano, the most widespread white grape variety in Italy. It was a real journey through time through eight labels where all the drinkability, elegance and, above all, longevity of the famous northern Italian wine emerged. Particular sign of the evolution is that note of white pepper and saffron that enhances a very elegant picture. The production, we remind you, can only take place in the provinces of Brescia and Verona, on the southern shore of Lake Garda.
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WORLDTOUR
SURGIVA TASTE & DESIGN AWARD
For the third consecutive year Surgiva Taste & Design recognizes the merit of those places that combine rigour in flavours, a particular attention to details, furnishings and warm Italian hospitality. In Tokyo the recognition goes to Etruschi, a refined restaurant with creative cuisine, well-presented dishes, professional service to say the least, pasta and risotto cooked to perfection, fine ingredients and aesthetic sense. And a very impressive cellar.
“The Tokyo leg of the tour is a consolidated and successful one,” says Angela Piotti Velenosi, of the Velenosi winery from the Marche region “Japan should not be considered in the same way as other Asian markets, because it’s a mature that’s been ready for many years: there is great interest in Italian wines”. According to Velenos it’s also a historical market, since frequenting it for 15 years. “With our importer”, Ms Velenosi continues, “we grow year after year, a small but constant and programmed growth, so that now Japan for us is one of our best customers in the world. The abatement of duties can only be positive news for Italian wine and, especially in anticipation of the 2020 Olympics, there will be much work in this country”. And in this regard, Velenosi concludes: “We are even studying a specific label for this world-class sporting event”. So much optimism regarding the zeroing of duties is also manifested by Giovanni Dimitri, present in Tokyo as representative of the Producers of Manduria: “There is no doubt that the news of the duties was welcomed with
JAPAN AT ZERO DUTY: THE JEFTA
VILLA SANDI
OPENS THE MARKET From February 2019, European bottled wines are benefiting from the elimination of heavy tariffs (in force until last 31 January): 31% on sparkling wines, 15% on bottled wine and 19.3% on bulk wine under 2 litres. Rates were canceled with immediate effect as soon as the agreement was enforces. There’s more. Other stimulus and facilitations are expected, such as authorization of oenological practices, previously not recognized by the Japanese legislation, and the elimination of the costs associated with the registration of European Ig in the Japanese market.
CONTEMPORARY WINE LIST AWARD Among the novelties of the 2020 edition, is a prize in every city for the most current, fresh, contemporary wine list, the result of research and curiosity, of excellent usability, good value for money and brilliant pouring. In Tokyo, the Villa Sandi Contemporary Wine List Award honours Bar & Enoteca Implicito, a well-stocked wine bar that offers a very extensive and incisive serving of the day, including niche wines with a strong territorial imprint, from natural wines to historic labels, with a strong knowledge of the subject.
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EVENTS
PROSECCO DOC CONSORTIUM Prosecco DOC great protagonist in Tokyo, with a masterclass that focused attention on the best-known Italian bubbles in the world, but which comes from a specific Doc area and, at the same time, has specific characteristics. Never confuse Prosecco Doc with any type of spumante sparkle we’re presented with, it’s the quality in the glass that speaks for itself. As a reminder, the Prosecco DOC includes 9 provinces between Veneto and Friuli and grapes are glera, the perfect white berried grape for the Italian method: fruit fragrance, lightness, versatility, cleanliness on the palate. All weapons that make the denomination successful, with impressive growth numbers from year to year: Prosecco Doc is increasingly the first calling card for Italian wine abroad.
EXPENDITURE With around 3.2 million hectoliters, Japan (according to Oiv data) is in 15th place in the ranking of global consumers, after the Netherlands and before Belgium. On the other hand, if we look at per capita expenditure, the 2018 figures place this market in 21st place, with an average of 3.2 litres of wine per year. great favour by us all. This is a clear positive fact, but we will have to be good at knowing how to capitalize on this opportunity in the right way, and make the most of it to increase our presence and our role in the market”. And indeed, this is an aspect on which all the wineries present at the Japanese stage agree upon: on the one hand there’s the maturity of the Japanese market (undoubtedly posi-
tive, but which also suggests a form of saturation, given that so many wineries have been present here for so many years), on the other the abolition of duties in the last treaty with the European Union. And there is no doubt that every company is implementing its strategy. Flavio Geretto, export manager of Villa Sandi, a leading company for Prosecco, brings his example: “With the abolition of duties we immedi-
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WHAT IS UMAMI, EXACTLY? It’s difficult for us Westerners to explain it precisely. We know well which are the four flavours our palate perceives (salty, sweet, sour, bitter) but umami (for the Asians considered as the fifth taste) is difficult to decipher. Certainly we know that, in soy sauce, used a lot in Japanese cuisine, umami is present. In Tokyo we met Yumi Tanabe, an elegant lady from Tokyo, who has worked for many years in the world of wine in Japan. Sommelier and taster, Tanabe is the creator of the Sakura Award, a recognition uniquely linked to the world of wine declined for women. “Umami is minerality” she tells us with conviction, linking the term to some perceptions of wine. “When in a red or white we taste mineral sensations, different from the savoury, acidic and bitter ones, we are sensing umami! Yumi continues, “in Japan there are no tomatoes, for example, but some notes of tomatoes, especially those that grow in soils rich in mineral salts, have umami. In Japan we know this taste well because in our cuisine a soup, or rather a broth, is made with dried mushrooms and other ingredients rich in umami and form a base for many recipes, especially if added with soy. It’s something that makes us think of the earth, of the soil, of extremely natural flavours found underground”. Mrs. Tanabe, we’re curious – given her 360 degree knowledge of the world of wine – is there an Italian wine where umami is recurrent? “Of course” she replies, “in Amarone della Valpolicella. A perfect mix of sweet tendency, freshness given by acidity, flavour, tannic sensation and, finally, umami!”.
WORLDTOUR
BERLUCCHI AND… ETRUSCHI
The presentation dinner of the great cuvées of Guido Berlucchi & C. was a great success, which the franciacorta maison organized with Gambero Rosso at the prestigious restaurant Gli Etruschi in Tokyo last October 29th. The occasion was to present to the Japanese press and distributors the Franciacorta Nature 61 ’11, the Bubbles of the Year recipient for 2019 in the Vini d’Italia guide. The 30 guests were received in the elegant Tuscan-style villa in the neighborhood of Aoyama by Paolo Ziliani, Marco Sabellico and Isao Miyajima (translator and collaborator of Gambero Rosso Wine Guide), as well as by Andrea Carta, Berlucchi brand ambassador for Japan. Under the careful direction of Yutaka Suda, restaurant director, the evening took place in the name of taste, great gastronomy and Italian lifestyle. “Great food, authentically Italian, but above all great wines” commented Yumi Tanabe of Wine and Wine Culture “The real surprise was the vertical of three vintages of Nature 61: 2009, the 2011 awarded and then the preview of the excellent 2012”. “Truly a great winery” added Makiko Morita, editor-in-chief of The Daily Wines and Spirits, “tasting great labels like Nature or Palazzo Lana Extrême 2008 combined with great dishes really gives you the measure of their importance and their complexity”.
ately saw an increase in the market. In the case of Villa Sandi, the increase was felt more in the trade channel, where the
brand must be valued, not just the price. In the world of Prosecco that is very sensitive to price policies, it’s an important
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change because it can make us talk about Premium Prosecco and therefore allows us to position our product higher.”
PHOTOGALLERY TOKYO
EVENTS
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EVENTS
WORK IN PROGRESS CHINA. A MORE MATURE MARKET? by Giuseppe Carrus TRE BICCHIERI IN SHANGHAI Shanghai is now an obligatory stop for Gambero Rosso: the city experiences an absolute level of food and wine hype (also confirmed by the first Tre Forchette restaurant awarded by our Top Italian Restaurant guide) and many young people are approaching the world of sommelierie for future employment in the wine world. The Tre Biccheri event, organized in the beautiful Hotel Wanda Reign, in the Bund – beating heart of the city – saw the participation of more than 60 companies that presented different labels, starting from the award-winning one, to over a thousand guests including importers, distributors, sommelier and journalists. Hence a strong consolidation of the numbers, if compared with last year’s event. “We have been present for several years on the Chinese market,” says Michele Montresor of the Ottella winery. “When we arrived we had the sole purpose of understanding what the mechanisms for having a constant and not occasional presence here could be. We immediately realized that the fundamental thing was
ABRUZZO WINES CONSORTIUM. FROM ABRUZZO, THE SHANGHAI MASTERCLASSES In Shanghai, Marco Sabellico and Giuseppe Carrus conducted a lesson dedicated to Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, its artisanal character and its potential for aging. Certainly, every year the tastings of the Vini d’Italia guide confirm the extraordinary quality/price ratio of this wine that has found a great commercial boost on the international road. A wine that very well encompasses a territory between the sea and the mountains, between regional parks and incredibly intact landscapes. Colour, structure, rhythm, for a whole meal red, capable of very different variations, with that tone of dark fruits and graphite that made it famous throughout the world. Very appreciated also in Shanghai..
ENOTECA REGIONALE EMILIA ROMAGNA At centre stage in Shanghai also the extraordinary variety of wines from Emilia-Romagna, punctuated by incredible vines and territories. The protagonist is the Enoteca Regionale Emilia Romagna, an association that brings together over 200 subjects, from small winemakers to large cooperatives. Mauro Sirri, owner of the Celli winery in Bertinoro, has no doubts about the opportunities of the Chinese market: “Coming here under the name of the Gambero Rosso is fundamental. These seminars demonstrate China’s interest in quality Italian wine. Here we can also talk about native vines and the various denominations and sub-areas that are in our nation and that allow us to produce highly territorial wines. ”A true invitation to travel to visit the mecca of every true gourmet: Emilia-Romagna.
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WORLDTOUR
to make Italian wine unique. Uniqueness due not only to the characteristics of the vineyards or vines, or to the quality of the labels, but above all to the culture of our society, to our history, to our art. Making companies known at 360 degrees is the real key. I think,“ Montresor continues, ”that at this moment if producers become cultural ambassadors of our nation, the space for great Italian products in China is vast. In this context Gambero Rosso,” concludes the Ottella manager “has had and still has a key role in the import of Italian wines, above all because it enjoys a high reputation even in public environments and this is very important here.“ The Tre Bicchieri rating, in fact, is now well known and considered essential to certify the quality of Italian wine in China. DEBUT IN CHENGDU From Shanghai we flew to Chengdu: a debut for the Gambero Rosso who decided to land in the capital of Sichuan for the first time with as many as 59 wineries belonging to the Top Italian Wine Road Show. There is no longer only Eastern China in the World Tour, but we moved towards the West, in a city with 20 million inhabitants, and that is growing at a dizzying pace. Chengdu owes its fame to high-level technological hub and hosts dozens of universities, many of which specialize in Internet Technologies. But gastronomy is not far behind. According to UNESCO it’s one of the most important gastronomic cities and boasts cuisine of great tradition, based on the strong use of local spices and on bold and spicy flavours. In full agreement with the Italian wineries, here we are - with copies of the Guide translated into Chinese in our hands, which here also has the worth of a certification - at the first event in the land of pandas. And who would have
BEST ITALIAN RESTAURANTS IN SHANGHAI Italian cuisine in Shanghai is at a turning point. During the Tre bicchieri event in Shanghai, the best restaurants were awarded, showcasing a city that in a few years showed very clear growth, in terms of quality of the proposal, ingredients and research. First time winning the Tre Forchette recognition, the highest recognition in the fine dining sector: is Da Vittorio Shanghai (pictured). In a few months, the Cerea brothers’ venue has proposed itself on levels of absolute excellence thanks to the talent of chef Stefano Bacchelli. Rewarded with Due Forchette is Otto e Mezzo Bombana and Il Ristorante Niko Romito housed inside Bulgari, respectively led by chef Riccardo La Perna and Davide Capucchio. Una Forchetta goes to the young chef Natalino Ambra, new arrival in the kitchens of Scena restaurant inside the Ritz Carlton. The same recognition goes to Va Bene, one of the historic venues in the lively Xintiandi district, well directed by manager Daniele Baldo. Among the traditional eateries and taverns, Da Marco stands out as a true pioneer, awarded with Due Gamberi, while Mammamia (758 Julu Road) is the only pizzeria reported as a guide with Uno Spicchio. Finally, D.O.C. Gastronomia Italiana wins the Villa Sandi Best Contemporary Wine List award for a fresh, lean selection, accessible at very honest prices. The Top Italian Restaurants guide is available for free here: www.gamberorosso.it/restaurants
expected more than 500 guests tasting hundreds of wines in the beautiful JW Marriott Hotel in the city centre for seven hours straight? Who would have bet on so much curiosity for the three masterclasses divided between wines from the north, central and southern Italy? Grand results, therefore, but now is the time to give
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continuity to stages like this and also to start discovering the fine Italian restaurants to select for our Top Italian Restaurants Guide. For now we have limited ourselves to eating excellent spaghetti with tomato sauce at the Casamosaico restaurant, but we are sure there are several places to keep an eye on.
PHOTOGALLERY SHANGHAI
EVENTS
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PHOTOGALLERY CHENGDU
WORLDTOUR
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EVENTS
SEOUL DRINKS (AND EATS) INCREASINGLY ITALIAN Beyond China. The Gambero Rosso Roadshow, in its tour of the Far East, also made a stop in Seoul. On November 4th Gambero Rosso’s Top Italian Wines, now in its 13th edition, returned for the eighth time in Seoul, in the Grand Ballroom of the Mercure Hotel in Dragon City: first with the masterclasses conducted by Marco Sabellico and Giuseppe Carrus, who illustrated the most stimulating oenological routes of the Peninsula, and then with the tasting of 250 labels of 60 Italian producers. At the end of the event more than eight hundred presences were counted. “It’s always a great experience,” says Sanjoo Choi, tutor of the Wine and Spirit Education Trust, a very active association in Korea, “Italian wine is the symbol of biodiversity, and you can’t fail to be fascinated by unique aromas and flavours like these”. The Italian ambassador, Federico Failla, recalled in his keynote speech how relations between our two countries are consolidating, especially after President Moon’s visit in October 2018. Vincenzo Calì, head of ITA - Italian Trade Agency for Korea, underlined how the exchanges between the two countries are growing, and how wine and Italian lifestyle are increasingly involving Koreans, a figure confirmed by the growth of tourism and the presence of students from Korea in Italy. In 2018 Italy sent 29 million euro of wine and 5.7 million litres to Korea, with respective increases of 14.5% and almost 12%. The current year shows even higher growth, with values increased by more than 19% between January and July, to 20.3 million euro, and quantities that have grown by 18% compared to the same period last year. Let’s keep in mind that the Korean economy is one of the rampant economies of South East Asia, based on electronic and automotive industry and
IN SEOUL, REGIONAL CUISINES FOR THE WIN Much excitement in the capital of South Korea as far as Italian flavours. The big news is the first Tre Gamberi in the city rewarding the strong identity and solidity of Ciuri Ciuri, by Enrico Olivieri and his wife Fiore, a delicious bistro with an authentic Sicilian flavour, with perfectly prepared arancini, parmigiana and caponata and artisanal pasta cooked with great sensitivity. Remaining on the osteria theme, entering the Guide for the first time is Marco Caverni’s Al Choc Osteria, a small and cosy restaurant with a Venetian accent. As for the fine dining section, Paolo de Maria stands out, an authentic pioneer of creative cuisine in Asia, next to the sought-after Ristorante Eo, also awarded with Due Forchette by our Guide. As for pizzerias, Spaccanapoli wins hands down, with excellent pizza maker Giulio Lee, confirmed at Due Spicchi. In Seoul, the Villa Sandi Contemporary Wine List Award awards a very nice restaurant halfway between a specialized library and a wine bar: the Wine Book Cafe owned by the publishing house BaromWorks, with over 700 references and an exceptional by-the-glass selection, and one thousand and one nights wines: a relaxed atmosphere and some vintage touches. The Surgiva Taste & Design Award goes to Volpino, a boutique eatery that manages to combine Italian and Korean products in a happy synthesis, open kitchen, beautiful marble tables, direct and traditional flavours, and a very reassuring and comfortable atmosphere.
rising incomes are paving the way for sophisticated expenditure and western lifestyle. Young people and the internet community, therefore, are close to wine, and despite Chile’s aggressive pricing policies (the second largest exporting country in value), Italian wine - especially if red or sparkling wine - has significant increases and is firmly in third place. France continues to lead. “Italian wine has an extraordinary charm,” said
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Sang Mi Kim, an oenological journalist, who led one of the masterclasses with Marco Sabellico “and, in recent years, we are discovering the infinite possibilities of combining our food with the thousand different Italian wines”. Who knows whether Prosecco and other Italian wines in the long run won’t undermine the primacy of Makgeolli (lightly sparkling rice wine) and beer, for now ahead in consumer expenditure...
PHOTOGALLERY SEOUL
WORLDTOUR
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DISCOVERING GRAGNANO BUT SPEAKING, FOR ONCE, OF WINE AND NOT PASTA Fruit of even unknown vines cultivated by hundreds of small farmers in tiny plots, Gragnano is a wine that is born above 500 meter elevation from plots plunging down in the sea of the Sorrento Peninsula. Cited by Soldati and Totò, it's a young wine (but not nouveau), red, sparkling and chilled. Paired with pizza or panuozzo, perhaps. A strictly terroir wine, considered "minor" but of great pleasure and drinkability. A wine that's definitely not commonplace.
Words by Emiliano Gucci - infographics sy Alessandro Naldi
STORIES
W
e should be able to talk about Gragnano without mentioning Totò in "Misery and nobility," to avoid stigmatizing a literary (and peasant) wine in a single joke, although pronounced by the giant that most spells Naples around the world. Gigante was the surname of artist Giacinto, Neapolitan engraver who in the mid-19th century wrote "the wine of Gragnano, par excellence gave its name to all the Neapolitan wines, so it was enough to say Gragnano to mean a fragrant, limpid, sweet wine (...) and made of the vine, not artificial", and furthermore, "of garnet colour, clear, odorous and you can drink two bowls without going home drunk", but not many would agree with this. Mario Soldati, could we not mention him?, spoke of it in terms of "vinous and country-like scented, sparkling, and when young, even frothy with a foam that immediately falls away and immediately disappears forever; dense but at the same time slippery: like a lambrusco with more body, like a barbera with less body". And again: "despite the colour, it should not be drunk at room temperature, but rather chilled, and cold from the cellar, of course, never from the refrigerator". A few minutes in the fridge, at least in the summer, won't hurt at all, considering how cellars are no longer what they used to be. MONTI LATTARI AND SORRENTO PENINSULA Always young yet never nouveau, it's the wine of the Monti Lattari hills and Sorrento peninsula, of the Valle dei Molini and of semolina pasta, it's the wine of Naples, of pizza and of panuozzo: the dough is the same. In Gragnano it takes the shape of an elongated roll; we remove it from the oven, slice it open and let it cool a little, then stuff it (mostly with sausage and provola cheese) and
1
then cook it again: hefty, but very good. We're talking about the wine of the volcanic soils, which when you open a bottle it's a little like Vesuvius in itself, the nectar of the ancient Greeks who planted the first vines here in Osci era. Today the leading grapes are 60% piedirosso, sciascinoso and aglianico, therefore an indestructible sequence of indigenous varieties such as suppezza, sabato, castagnara and who knows which others that perhaps escaped classification and made the fortune of Gragnano. Which is, above all, the wine of an incredible human network, of the great little winemakers who, from father to son, look after these tiny plots that rarely reach one
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hectare in size, divided by successions but torn from modernity, homologation and harshness of the slopes, often above 500 meter altitude. Here, the Gragnano is a furious and joyful mountain wine, but overlooking the sea, which implies a synergy of strength, up there where it's difficult even to walk, let alone harvest and bring a tractor. THE PERSISTENCE OF SALVATORE MARTUSCIELLO Salvatore Martusciello è a guarantor of this story, a guardian of these custodians. An upright standard bearer of the territory, of the right supply chain, of wine as a cultural concept even be-
GRAGNANO
CHEF MARIANNA VITALE'S 5 FAVORITE PAIRINGS Marianna Vitale, chef at Sud in Quarto, in the Gragnano area, and one of the best restaurants in Campania, shares her favorite flavours to match the red wine loved by Totò and Mario Soldati...
1 Ragù napoletano «It’s my favourite Sunday pairing!»
2 Bread and salami «The simplest and most enjoyable quintessential sandwich: to be eaten in moments of total relaxation away from home. Gragnano is a perfect wine to drink en plein air».
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fore being produced: it's difficult to pronounce the word "sell" because a land is best talked about first. Selling it, one runs the risk of eliminating it forever. His family marked milestones for the wine-growing renaissance of Campania with Grotta del Sole, a winery founded in 1991, important for numbers and quality expressed over time, illuminated by the pioneering visions of his father Angelo and his uncle Gennaro, who studied in Conegliano. «I remember when my mother Elena, the first President of the Women of Wine coming from the South, gathered us for long Sundays of discussions and brimming glasses. My uncle was a real fundamentalist and would hide the bottles
that were being tasted at the table, so that my brother Francesco and I could rely on our taste, the truth of the drink, and not the fashionable labels in the period». They were at a crossroads and decided on "an archaeo-viticulture line", as Salvatore calls it, rather than the idea of investing in areas around Avellino that were already better known and easier to market. «It was therefore thanks to the work of my family that in 1991 three new areas of DOC denominations originated, namely Campi Flegrei with Falanghina and Piedirosso, the Asprinio d'Aversa, and for the Sorrento Peninsula the names Gragnano and Lettere», the latter two twin siblings, identical in terms of grapes and tra-
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Raw red prawns, Iberian ham and mozzarella di bufala «They work extremely well together, and blend well with the lively hints of violet and red fruits found in this wine».
4 Anchovies “in purgatorio” «This is a dish that's currently on the menu at my Sud. It's prepared with marinated anchovies, roasted peppers, cream of three tomatoes and hollandaise sauce: I like to combine Gragnano with the light hint of roast peppers combined with eggs and the iodized flavour of the blue fish».
5 Frittata of maccheroni «With Gragnano this pairing represents two classics, two immortal musts».
STORIES
1. Vineyards cultivated with pergolas in the Gragnano area 2. Salvatore Martusciello and his wife Gilda: after the end of the family winery, Grotta del Sole, they started to produce with their own cellar 3. The Palumbo family, owner of Cantine Federiciane Monteleone 4. Work at the press
it into being and become great», Salvatore still finds it hard to hold back tears. He certainly didn't sit around licking his wounds. With his wife Gilda, who was already working in the company, he started from scratch putting his face and his name on the business, returning to occupy the huge Quarto winery and make pacts with that very humanity from which he had had to part from. Smaller numbers and a philosophy aiming at excellence, «persistent wines coming only from the above mentioned DOCs: I don't sell or buy bulk, I don't produce IGT or table wines, I don't have second brands or relapse lines for more massive yield». And success rewarded him. Settevulcani brings in the bottle the grapes of Falanghina and Piedirosso dei Campi Flegrei, Trentapioli is the Asprinio d’Aversa from alberata system vines (see box); Ottouve, «are tributes to the lesser vines that no one knows», it identifies Gragnano and Lettere, wines that are alive even before they are lively, precise and fragrant, complex beyond the enveloping frankness of the sip. To anchor them even more in the past, Salvatore Martusciello embraces modernity and places a QR code on the label, 3 to launch a video that also mentions the "traffica" of Gragnano, that is the old dition but divided by municipal boundtrafficking between farmers, traders and aries, are different in the glass due to mediators: the young wine, still sweet, exposure and altitude of the plots. would leave headed to Naples in a festive Then came the rigid, restrictive Doc, atmosphere for the agreement found; at long claimed by this sole winery where the time of opening it, it would miracu«everyone produced Gragnano, often sweet lously acquire its magical, irresistible and cheap: there was no longer traceabilfoam. Forget chemistry. ity, or territorial identity». Not surprisingly, the company had for some time FEDERICIANE, TRADITION devised a collar that on the bottle listed AND AVANT-GARDE the names of the winegrowers and grape The Palumbo Group, belonging to the sellers, a definition that sounds reducnamesake family, is located nearby, in tive: «Over the years they have become Marano di Napoli, which with its brands family, with whom I have shared the best boasts a total production of over half a and worst moments of my life». Like, in million bottles per year, in addition to 2014, the demise of Grotta del Sole, «a the hectoliters worked in bulk and on strong blow, given that I had helped to bring tap: a solid reality of the oenology
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STORIES
ASPRINIO, THE DAZZLING LIGHT OF THE DRIEST WINE AROUND Centuries old vines, pied franc system, stubby like trunks that on the haggard, scarred bark, write the history of this land and its seasons, of its men, many of whom are no longer here. Branches like long knotty arms, tentacles in their turn three decades old–– being related to the stems and branches of the elm trees, of the poplars––rise up to erect green walls of vivid leaves of fresh, regenerated light: walls of vines, walls of life, even twelve, fifteen metres high. And from up there shiny clusters, more sparse when young but then tight, bound together, that wink at us because when needing to be harvested, well, ladders are needed to pick them up. The Asprinio alberata system vines are monumental, a white-berry variety that in very ancient times (the origins of which are debated) took root in the Agro Aversano. Monumental as a historiographical icon, a blow-up of the most common "married" vines that were also found in Chianti; monumental as a monument to that viticulture that today is heroic, but once peasant and necessary and nothing more. We visit one in the municipality of Villa Literno, around a plain marked by of sun and urban aggressions, underfoot a more humid volcanic, less clayey soil than nearby, while overhead are the men who climb the scalillo, «about thirty ladder pegs (Trentapioli) hence why I called my sparkling wine like that», says Salvatore Martusciello, who has clasped his hands here to bind himself indissolubly to these people, to this land, and with that name tries to ignite a question in the head of those who drink. They go up and to the narrow staircase they attach the fescina, their high altitude basket, with their knee they set themselves to the highest peg to free the hands that without scissors catch clusters up to where they can reach. And then off, move everything and start again a little further on. «When a tree gets sick, it dies, and the vine survives, it tries to replace it with a pole,» and tendril to the various perpendicular steel cables that with branches create an indestructible net, cloaked by the vigour of ancient but very healthy plants. «Converting to espalier is simpler and more profitable, but history is not the
only to suffer: for sparkling wine alberata is excellent, clusters concentrate less sugar, return less alcohol and increased acidity», especially the one born so many meters above the ground. "There is no white in the world as absolutely dry as Asprinio: no other - wrote Mario Soldati in Vino al vino - barely perfumes, and almost of lemon: but, on the other hand, it's of a total, substantial dryness, which does not one can imagine if one does not taste it". Perhaps a little exaggerated, perhaps experience and winemaking techniques have tamed that dryness a bit, enhanced fragrances of soft flowers, of chamomile, enhancing the citrus note which, however, remains a trademark. The Trentapioli by Martusciello is the only one to claim the Doc "from vineyards planted in alberata system", a wording that by law must be reproduced on the label. It sparkles on its own, the Martinotti method for a single fermentation triggered by autochthonous musts, at least eight months in a tank without added sugar. A bubble for the entire meal, straight, elegant and slender, with a breath of the sea. «The first sparkling wines in Campania were produced by my family over 35 years ago, even with the classic method; now let's wait for mine to be ready, which already rest and evolve in the cellar: I will close a circle but above all I hope to reopen a road for this grape». Awareness and conscience, responsibility for a fair supply chain and a quality end product «that keep the bar high: this is how we can truly bring just value to the territory and protect this heritage that cannot be lost». The Asprinio is also made as a still wine, the production area includes several municipalities in the provinces of Caserta and Naples; few wineries interpret it rigorously, we must mention the I Borboni of the Numeroso family in Lusciano (CE), for Masseria Campito of the Di Martino cousins in Gricignano, for Vitematta of the Eureka social cooperative in Casal di Principe. It's rare to find it on restaurant wine lists, including those of Campania. The rescue is expected: it's impossible to imagine this wine if you havenìt tasted it, and Soldati is always right.
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GRAGNANO
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of the Campania region, which does not struggle to cross regional borders. The high-end brand is Cantine Federiciane Monteleone and the reins are now in the hands of the fourth generation, three young siblings who have well divided their tasks while working in synergy: Luca, oenologist, takes care of the agricultural supply chain («who loves living in the country»), Marco, engineer, production manager («master of the machines»), Antonio who follows the sales including our visit, proudly showing «a relic bottle, the Gragnano bottled by his grandfather», Antonio chimes in, «in the late 80s. Look, it didn't even reach the ten percent degree». Their father is still
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an indomitable worker, often around, «now we count almost 50 agents but he deals with our customers in Ischia...». Still the Gragnano is «the wine that gives us the most satisfaction, the product we mostly run out of for a few months». The output is diligent, already in November you can appreciate their traditional version, «drinkable and fresh, to be enjoyed young: it's the wine of conviviality, of big, populated tables», hints of blackberry and cherry with a sweet opening, juicy mouth. «The new technologies», and the cellar is undoubtedly very equipped in this sense, «allow absolute control over the refermentations in the tank. We are looking for a pleasant, non-aggressive
ADDRESSES
STORIES
Wineries Salvatore Martusciello
Pozzuoli (NA) - c.so della Repubblica, 138 salvatoremartusciello.it
La Contrada di Aversa
Cantine Federiciane Monteleone
Marano (NA) - via Antica Consolare Campana, 34 - cantineiovine.com
Clanio Ristorante
Vitematta
Drengot
Poggio delle Baccanti
Sant'Antonio Abate (NA) via Stabia, 733 poggiodellebaccanti.it Iovine
Masseria Campito
Taverna Estia Casal di Principe Gricignano di Aversa
I Borboni
Lusciano Aversa
Pimonte (NA) - via Nazionale, 46 iovine.com
Fenesta Verde ’E Curti
Salvatore Martusciello
I Borboni
Lusciano (CE) - vico de Nicola, 7 iborboni.it Masseria Campito
Gricignano di Aversa (CE) - via Casolla, 55 0815027540 - masseriacampito.it
Quarto
Brusciano
Marano
Sant’Anastasia Napoli
Pozzuoli
Sciardac
Vitematta
Bacoli
Casal di Principe (CE) - vitematta.it
Poggio delle Baccanti
Cantine Federiciane Monteleone
Restaurants La Contrada di Aversa
Aversa (CE) - p. zza G.Marconi, 14 0818111700 - lacontradaristorante.it
La Fescina
Clanio Ristorante
Sud Ristorante
Aversa (CE) - v.le Olimpico, 124 08119751611
Sant’Antonio Abate Pimonte
Gragnano
Vico Equense Sorrento
La Galleria
Fenesta Verde
Giugliano in Campania (NA) - via Licante, 16 0818941239 - fenestaverde.it La Fescina
Quarto (NA) - c. so Italia, 261 08118464977 - lafescina.it
Fratelli Mascolo
Torre del Saracino Wineries
Antica Osteria Nonna Rosa
Iovine
Restaurants
Sud Ristorante
Quarto (NA) - via SS. Pietro e Paolo, 8 0810202708 - sudristorante.it La Galleria
Gragnano (NA) - p.zza A. Aubry, 20 0818733029 - lagalleriaristorante.it ’E Curti
Sant'Anastasia (NA) - via Padre M. Abete, 6 0818972821 - e-curti.it Sciardac
Bacoli (NA) - via Roma, 156 3334730081 - sciardac.it Taverna Estia
Brusciano (NA) - G. de Ruggiero, 108 0815199633 - tavernaestia.it Torre del Saracino
Vico Equense (NA) - loc. Marina di Seiano via Torretta, 9 - 0818028555 torredelsaracino.it Antica Osteria Nonna Rosa
Vico Equense (NA) - fraz. Pietrapiano via Laudano, 1 - 0818799055 osterianonnarosa.it
12 MUST VISIT PLACES ON THE ROADS OF GRAGNANO AND ASPRINIO In the heart of Aversa is restaurant La Contrada of the Esposito family with Alessio at the helm of the kitchen and his sister Roberta at the pizza oven, the first emerging pizza maker of 2018. The food offer is tasty and refined and the "gourmet" pizzas are remarkable, including the choice of flours and the leavening times and maturation and with quality ingredients. Very tasty montanarine mini fried pizzas with cod and chickpeas as the ones filled with smoked provola and escarole. Equally worth a visit is the Clanio restaurant by chef Angelo Fabozzo (once owner of the small Tabernola il Clanio in the municipality of Teverola) for
Fratelli Mascolo
Gragnano (NA) - p.zza G. Marconi, 9 0818795844 - pizzamascolo.it
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about a year in Aversa. Refined cuisine, balancing creativity, seasonal menus, with attention to ingredients and the territory. The elegant and refined environment and the excellent value for money make Clanio very pleasant. Nothing has changed since 1948, the scent of zuppa maritata and mezzanelli lardiati is always the same as "the ancient flavours" found in all the dishes of the Fenesta Verde in Giugliano in Campania, now at its third generation. Tasty traditional cuisine from appetizers to desserts, excellent products and uber-local, courtesy and lots of smiles make it undoubtedly a place of the heart. At a stone's
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bubble to combine with certain fish dishes, such as fried seafood. I'll tell you, Americans like it too». The supply chain is welltested, starting with «heroic winemakers, with whom we have been collaborating for decades. Visiting them on their steep slopes is always a party. It's a pity that young people often don't want to continue in their parents' footsteps: it's time for us producers to bond together and intervene, encourage and support these family wineries, so as not to lose their heritage». Among the many wines produced, that illustrate the various souls of the Sorrento peninsula, Vesuvius to give inspiration and substance for the revival of Flegreo, a charmat method sparkling wine from Falanghina grapes planted in pied franc: bright, versatile and balanced, a label that was just revised for an elegant tribute to the volcano. LE BACCANTI AND THE SPARTANS OF RAFFAELE LA MURA CFamiliar with the smell of the cellar as a young boy, Raffaele La Mura, on Saturday afternoons, after school, would find himself in front of a «mountain of glass demijohns» to be washed for his 6 grandfather, Raffaele, whom he was throw however, on the edge of the Asprinio territory, is the large table of Taverna Estia of the Sposito family (see box). Moving south, in the area of Lettere and Gragnano, do not forgo visiting La Fescina, a small restaurant in Quarto. Traditional cuisine and good technique starting from the appetizers that follow the formula of "spuzziolando" (small bites). But Quarto is also the kingdom of Marianna Vitale, chef of renowned restaurant Sud, among the most lively kitchens of the Naples province (see box). An address that's not to be missed. Not a simple delicatessen, but a true Mediterranean bakery, Sciardac, for four generations in Bacoli. Excellent sweet and savoury
baked goods, fine selection of cheeses and cured meats and many other excellent products, to be enjoyed on the spot, for take away or to fill the shopping cart in an almost fairytale atmosphere. In Gragnano, instead, we highlight La Galleria, with Giulio Coppola's kitchen that proposes a rich local cuisine between sea and land. And, for the legendary Panuozzo, visit the Fratelli Mascolo pizzeria. Then, so as not to miss the splendid tables, even if a little distant, do hit Vico Equense, with the traditional flavours of Peppe Guida in his Nonna Rosa and with the inventions of Gennaro Esposito at the Torre del Saracino. – Adele Chiagano
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5. The monumental vineyards of Asprinio: from here comes the sparkling wine by Salvatore Martusciello 6. Raffaele La Mura of Poggio delle Baccanti
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THE VINI D'ITALIA 2020 LABELS 1 Cantine Federiciane Monteleone San Rocco via Antica Consolare Campana, 34 Marano di Napoli (NA) federiciane.it fraz.
Penisola Sorrentina Gragnano 2018 Penisola Sorrentina Lettere 2018
2 Salvatore Martusciello Spinelli, 4 - Quarto (NA) salvatoremartusciello.it via
Asprino d'Aversa Trentapioli Brut Penisola Sorrentina Lettere Ottouve 2018 Penisola Sorrentina Gragnano Ottouve 2018
3 Drengot Viole, 12 - Aversa (CE) drengot.com via delle
Asprinio d'Aversa Scalillo '17 Asprino d'Aversa Terramasca Brut
named after: «Rinsing three times with water, and, since he had a refined nose, if I missed one, good-bye weekly allowance» The company had been started by his great-grandfather, Giovanni whom his father was named after, who already produced and sold wine on his own. «After a period of love and hatred for the subject, I decided to enroll in Agriculture Studies at University, in Portici. As my wine technology teacher I had Luigi Moio, who asked each of us to bring a wine produced in the family: our Gragnano was demolished by his judgment, and it was an incentive for me to persevere and give my best to improve it». Now Raffaele is a man, let's say a grownup boy, lively and energetic, a fisherman of «barracuda, tuna, marlin, whatever», hunter and mushroom gatherer. That is, when he has time, since he's also (happily) recently become the father of little Giovanni. And because Poggio delle Baccanti, evolution of that La Mura farm born in the 1950s, grows visibly tightening a pact with the land: safeguarding the typical vines of the area and producing wines that respect its essence. «In 1995 my grandfather granted me the first test of wine-making: once tasted, it was he himself who told me that I would take the important
decisions from the following harvest». And so he did. The following year he pulled a kidney stone out of the hat to escape military service and follow the work himself. In 1997 he obtained the name Gragnano Doc for the first time. He therefore engaged a handful of trusted collaborators, «the Spartans of the vineyards», and with plenty of work and investments, zealous grape sellers, vintages and tanks, the interpretation of his Gragnano became refined, acquiring character and elegance without losing spontaneity. Today in the glass the wine is scented with violets and small red fruits, it has a full, fragrant and juicy, savoury taste of the sea. But it's precisely a version of the Nineties, when his Gragnano refermented only in the bottle, to start a new course. «A few years ago we opened one with my importer from the United States, who grasped its potential and urged me to try making again.» Today's Ancestral Gragnano Refermentation is a more complex and histrionic wine, less sweet, but calls forth to drink and to joy, reminiscent of the territory. «We work more and more naturally, not only for the results in the bottle: when children play with the soil, we want to be sure where they're putting their little hands».
THE GARDEN VINEYARD OF GENNARO AND CICCIO SICIGNANO «OUR BIGGEST FORTUNE IS THIS LAND» Gennaro Sicignano reaches the top of the vineyard with the help of a cane, or rather a cellar tool that's over a hundred years old. He's 87 and almost as many harvests under his belt, because he was born among the vines, along with seven other male brothers and three sisters: today he has about forty grandchildren. He stands there with his back straight and the sea makes his eyes sparkle, just the same colour: «Look,» he says, raises a hand and the Gulf of Castellammare is right at the foot of Sigliano, the town between Gragnano and Pimonte where this vineyard/garden offers its terraces to the sun. It's
cared for to perfection, smoothed road and perfect walls, aligned tendone system vines with all the varieties of Gragnano, among the rows of string beans and corbarino tomatoes, typical of the area. «He always walks with scissors in his back pocket, to cut off what looks wrong,» says his son Francesco Sicignano, Ciccio for his friends, the only one to collect his father's inheritance, same eyes and same cordiality: «Father's art, half learned» as the adage goes, so at a certain point he stopped his youthful wandering and alternating odd jobs here and there, to start afresh from here. Their rough hands,
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their uphill legs, their strong, generous hearts, their simple souls and their lives among these vines, and in that building that «already in 1745 was included in a book on Gragnano», are the guarantee of resistance that this land can boast in the face of progress, abandonment, the desire to build everywhere, to work easier, to sell out to globalization: they smile and appear not to not want to climb down from the summit, as if the mistral wind dried their fatigue, too. At most, Ciccio bends down to pick up a fistful of soil, dark and clayey, he crushes it in his fist and lets it fall through his fingers:
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7. The vineyards of the Poggio delle Baccanti winery in Sant'Antonio Abate 8. Gennaro and Francesco Sicignano (the feature opening photo is of their vineyard-garden): are farmers and wine growers and they give their grapes to Salvatore Martusciello 9. The Iovine family in the Cantine Federiciane
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«At the end of the day, this is our biggest fortune». Peasants, wine growers, once also dairy cow breeders, Gennaro talks of his children, of his youth, of the military draft in northern Italy, of his wife who is waiting for them at home and of the wine when they once made it themselves. Francesco also bottled it and labeled it, only they didn't fit with the costs and preferred making a pact with a serious producer, giving him these coveted grapes, inscrutable in their perfection. It's in a similar family portrait that the secret of Gragnano is enclosed, the one that makes it hard to talk about.
An uncompromising interpretation of the Lettere grape, soon with organic certification, but also Piedirosso and Falanghina, white and red Lacryma Christi, first experiments with terracotta amphorae, new acquisitions on the slopes of Mt Vesuvius where Poggio al Vulcano is born; about 100,000 total bottles and growing, and ideas to involve enthusiasts not only at the time of drinking: "Adopt a row" is an initiative that at this last estate allows us to monitor (soon also with a webcam) the adopted vines, «remaining aware of interventions and treatments, with the obligation to participate in the harvest». And then yes, as a result, the wine was also brought home.
8
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HISTORIC DOC, MODERN WINE Gragnano, a historic Neapolitan doc wine, takes its name from the town also made famous for its pasta and therefore has a good reputation among the public. The territory starts in Gragnano, but reaches the slopes of Mt esuvius. There are the three classic varieties (aglianico, piedirosso, sciascinoso), but there are producers who make it with the different types of grapes historically present in the "ancient" vineyards and then implemented by the disciplinary. The trend is towards a very frothy and sweet wine, to be enjoyed with pizza or with particular hearty traditional dishes. We, who foster a very accurate cuisine with high quality ingredients, would generally need a bit more acidity and more attention to winemaking and the quality of the grapes. I have often paired it with fish soup or white meats. Think of the French Gamay, with its carbonic maceration, or a Fleury with a semi-carbonic maceration: there are similarities. In the end, I consider Gragnano a modern wine that can have its own space. Today we need increased drinkability and freshness, simplicity as long as well-done. I think of the boom of Falanghina in recent years. The same story applies to Asprinio which, I believe, has many possibilities for the future: few believe in it, but I believe it can give good results. Certainly, it's a particular wine, bred with difficult systems, tall tree alberata systems, with grapes hanging at 4 meters: but it's really ideal for sparkling wine, especially if made with classic method. I have these wines on my wine list: I am more than happy to discover and propose microvarieties. As for the Sommarello of a small winery in the Alto Benevento area: it makes 700 bottles, but I'm glad to have it in my cellar and try very special combinations. When the wines are authentic, it's always worth trying! – Mario Sposito, sommelier Taverna Estia
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IOVINE, THE FAMILY AS A BULWARK Talking history and tradition with the Iovine family, which has been producing wines in the Sorrento Peninsula for four generations. Grandfather Aniello made chestnut and local cherry wood barrels, he was a mediator and only later did he focus on the production of wine, which later became a primary activity, growing from year to year, up to the important numbers crunched today. «The management remains however exclusively family, in the strict sense of the term, as is the workforce: always united, in the best and worst moments that this profession entails». Also in this case, three brothers, Giuseppe who takes care of the cellar and welcomes us as the voice of the company, while
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Aniello is the oenologist and Raffaele deals with sales. Andrea, the fourth, who ideally does completely different job, «in his spare time can't help but come here to help us.» The processes are all mechanical, temperature control is the ally that keeps chemistry at a distance, even if the wine is made primarily in the vineyard «and this may sound cliché, but the harvest looks like a birth: everything is suspended, time and attention are entirely dedicated to the grapes that will then give life to our wines», and so we return to talk about Lettere and Gragnano. «We have been offering a classic version for many years, from a single cold-stuck fermentation and then completed in the tank. It's our iconic
GRAGNANO
ASPRINIO, LETTERE AND GRAGNANO IN NUMBERS
HECTARES OF VINEYARD SURFACE
25 53
17 136 AVERSA
NIO D’ DOC ASPRI
PRODUCING WINERIES
Aversa
7 17
YIELD PER HECTARE
90 Q.
120Q. for alberata system vineyards it's 4 kg per square meter of wall
WINEMAKERS IN THE DOC
of yield per hectare in the Gragnano and Lettere sub-areas
Gragnano and Lettere
QUINTALS OF GRAPES PRODUCED HL OF DOC WINE
1700Q. 4129Q.
1159HL. 2853HL.
company wine, it has young fruit and fresh sip», sweet bite and pleasant dry closure. «A step further we find Terra di Gragnano, a second fermentation in the bottle, which dusts off the past in a modern way», with more intense and stratified aromas, more advanced fruit and greater persistence, same drinkability. «After all, Gragnano has many facets but must remain the wine of joy, it has such an enveloping engine that after a few sips immediately creates conviviality and unites strangers like a family», explains Giuseppe Iovine. And it pairs the territory by accompanying its dishes, «Think of simple fior di latte cheese with tomato, our salami, and of course the Panuozzo», because the winery's head-
NA
OLA ENIS
Sorrento
DOC
TI RREN
SO
P
quarters is in Pimonte, a place chock with specialists of this local specialty. On the opposite hill but higher up, much higher up, the splendid Micciano vineyard shines in the rays of the sun for the eponymous red (made from Aglianico and Piedirosso), the only one that's refined in oak and the family's pride, the silver medal Monde Selection in Brussels in 2019 while gold was awarded to the Falanghina 1890. «The last provocation Giuseppe smiles - is the Piedirosso 1890 to be served chilled: extreme maturation on the plant, harvest in November, structure and aromas reinvigorated by the excellent autumn temperature range». The journey ends but we could still meet
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MY CHILDHOOD WINE IS STILL YOUNG For me, Gragnano is a household thing. I like to drink it in good company and paired with pizza, with mozzarella and in the summer... It's the memory of my childhood: my grandfather also made it and I remember the cellar that gave off a very intense and pervasive aroma. The labels I drink today are Gragnano Ancestrale from Poggio delle Baccanti, which reminds me of my grandfather, and the Gragnano by Iovine. I believe that Gragnano is an extremely modern wine, a bit like Lambrusco which is back in fashion: simple, young, sparkling and easy to drink. I see it perfect at aperitifs and at lunch, in summer: a simple and pleasant wine, perhaps trying it the traditional way with a sliced peach in it, like the Spanish do with sangria. For the future, I think it should be vinified in a slightly more dry way: this would certainly be good next to Proseccos. Among other things, it's also very good with cheese and cured meats. – Giuseppe Di Martino, pasta producer in Gragnano
more people, families, stories of vineyards and cellars that convey knowledge, culture, work and passion. A novel territory for a different Naples, far from the usual stereotypes, secluded and peasant in its countryside that kisses the sea but still jovial, tenacious, volcanic like the foam that is so often formed in the glass. Great area, «little big wines» to quote again Mario Soldati. Or, resorting to the photographer Don Pasquale and to the scribe Felice Sciosciammocca: «Make sure it's Gragnano, you taste it... if it's sparkling, you take it, otherwise...» «I give up.» And so we also mentioned Enzo Turco, and above all the timeless Totò. .
THE LANDS OF PIGNOLETTO SURROUNDING BOLOGNA. AN ANCIENT GRAPE RESURFACES, CONQUERING WINEMAKERS, PALATES AND MARKETS A handful of winemakers have found in an ancient local grape a reason for identity and bond with the territory they lived in for generations. A white grape that's not easy to work with, hard to make wine with harmoniously, looked down upon for its bitter finish by the Romans, who knew it well. Today it gives life to original wines, still or sparkling, which are starting to conquer chefs and restaurateurs, also beyond the native area Words by Emiliano Gucci - Infographics by Alessandro Naldi
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S
traw yellow that can turn to greenish, fresh, lively, often sparkling, convivial and drinkable but also refined and elegant, firm, with a strong character in the need to redefine the oenological voice of a territory that is certainly not known as the Champagne of Italy, but that has many cards to play on the roads of excellence. PIGNOLETTO. A LITTLE HISTORY Autochthonous, as we said, certainly with a long history, like other varieties that in recent years have once again reared their heads, battling with the internationals who mark the history of this area. The bishop on the chessboard, however, remains the Pignoletto, protagonist of a revival and of new interpretations. It seems that Vincenzo Tanara, in the Economy of the Citizen in Villa published in 1674, mentioned "Pignole grapes" because they were not suitable for the production of wine, but the name derives from the pinecone shape of the bunch or perhaps from "Pino Lieto", as Pliny the Elder defined it his Naturalis Historia, also turning his nose up at such a sweet wine to be good. Pignoletto is certainly not sweet, indeed its bitter finish is proverbial, which can become an added value if it is well-harmonised. Anyway, maybe to get out of the mess, we went to the bottom of things and researched to find it as a twin of Grechetto Gentile, and so the grape was renamed. A HOUSE WINE Maturing on the vines of the hill, carried on the shoulders of the brentatori (bearers of "brente", full of wine or water in case of fires) it would come down into the city where the wine was made in the household, whether rich or poor. Traditionally, this is what we're talking about: a house wine, for the home, for Sunday but also for Monday and Tues-
MINI GLOSSARY Autochthonous/Native. Grape originating in the area where it is grown, not transplanted from other areas; but also varieties that have lived and adapted in a certain area for centuries. Brente. A kind of small wooden cask flattened in the part that rests on the shoulder, once used to transport wine and must. It was also an ancient unit of measurement for liquids. Clarification. Process by which insoluble matter suspended in the wine is removed (residue, impurities and turbidity) before bottling. Animal or vegetable gelatin can be used, as well as albumin, bentonite, potassium caseinate, sol silica, polyvinylpolypyrrolidone and polyvinylpyrrolidone. Cordon trained. Vine training system, during winter pruning selects 5-7 well lignified and positioned shoots from which the same number of spurs with 2-3 buds will be obtained. This short pruning system is suitable for vines that bear fruit on buds placed at the base of the branches, not recommended for plants with poor fertility or compact clusters. Filtration. Operation of separating liquid from solid residue. The filters can be: vacuum filters, continuous flooding, pad filters made from cellulose fibers, membrane filters, or tangential filtration. Indigenous yeasts. Characteristic yeasts of a given environment. They can be taken and selected in order to induce fermentation. However, they are not synonymous
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with natural fermentation, which indicates a fermentation without the addition of external yeasts of any kind. Microfiltration. A filtration carried out with membrane cartridges or filters with pores whose diameter is between 0.1 and 1.50 microns. This replaces pasteurization (stabilizes) without altering the organoleptic characteristics of the wine (or beer) preserving them during transport and storage. Second or third fermentation. Induction of a further fermentation of wine (generally carried out in the bottle) through the introduction of a certain amount of sugars or sweet must. Sulphur dioxide. (SO2): Antioxidant additive used in winemaking in the form of salt (potassium metabisulfite) or as solution. Its main functions are to inhibit or kill unwanted yeasts and bacteria, and to protect wine from oxidation Tannin. Polyphenol contained in many plants (wood and bark) sold in the form of tannic acid. It has antioxidant and antibacterial functions, and contrasts free radicals. It's also contained in the skin, seeds and stalks of the grape. It has a characteristic astringent taste. Tigelle. A type of bread typical of the Modena Apennines and traditionally made only with water and flour, salt and baking powder or baking soda. The dough is liquid, compared to that of ordinary bread and is cooked in tigelliera (hot terracotta discs or double hot plates). Excellent with cured meats.
COLLI BOLOGNESI
day, gastronomic in the noblest sense of the term because inseparable from local cuisine. Take the sparkling version, for example, and drink it with cured meats and tigelle! Its cradle is the hills of Bologna, at the foot of the Apennines, disheveled and dotted with forests and meadows, gullies and farmland, fruit trees and cattle breeders: this is where Vignola cherries grow and these are (also) the lands of Parmigiano Reggiano and Mortadella. The Pignoletto DOC extends to Modena and Faenza while the DOCG Colli Bolognesi Pignoletto rewards the heart of wine production, partly overlapping with the previous Pignoletto Classic DOCG.
WINERIES The Maria Letizia Gaggioli winery is the voice and beating of this heart. On the hills of the municipality of Zola Predosa, already in the year 1000, the monks of the Abbey of Nonantola produced wine; in 1970, Carlo Gaggioli recovered the Bagazzana vineyard, a sun-kissed amphitheater that today is the protagonist of twenty hectares of vineyard: clayey soils, cordon-trained vines carried out in an integrated pest management regime, non-harmful principals and leguminous green manure, few bunches per plant following the "one bottle for each vine". We met him on his 89th birthday, in 1
great shape with over fifty harvests behind him. He has seen all kinds of situations on these hills, but he prefers to start talking about the future: «First of all, it would be necessary to transplant the heads». He refers to the heads of the winemakers like him, a profession that is already difficult in and of itself, because «if the chef screws up a dish he can throw it away and redo it, but if we mess up a harvest a whole vintage is lost». Individualism and price war (in downward adjustment) over time have undermined the potential of producers who could find strength in unity. «Fortunately the scene has young people who are better and smarter than old folks. And I'm not putting myself in that category». The company expanded to a include restaurant and an agritourism bed and breakfast. His daughter Letizia joined him in the management, although as a young woman she studied medicine like him. «I was a veterinarian, in this land of farms: now there will be twelve bulls scattered among the factories, but at the time I found myself responsible for the health of over 6,000 heads of cattle». And of innumerable fertilizations, since his most sought-after bull was called Duce, 1. Carlo Gaggioli with his daughter Letizia. They are the owners of the Zola Predosa winery carrying their name: their motto, "one bottle per vine" 2. Brothers Cesare and Silvia Lodi Corazza, owners of the family winery In the feature opening, an image of the Orsi Vigneto San Vito cellar: bottles sealed with crown caps let the wine rest on yeasts waiting for the fermentation process to give life to sparkling Pignoletto Metodo Classico
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STORIES
«despite the images of Saint Anthony and Togliatti in the stable». When he took over the truly splendid vineyards, he noticed that «the grapes were very beautiful and that the wine very bad». And that the protagonist to invest in was the pignoletto. «A difficult vine, a grape that matures quickly, that develops alcohol, that's tasty, full. Which when made sparkling offers a fantastic pure spritz». It's also difficult to stand out and compete with low-priced bottles produced on the plains. Gaggioli interprets excellent tranquil versions, take the Lavinio and the Fermo, two Superiori Docg, and then the bubbles with the spumante Il Francia Brut and the DOCG Colli Bolognesi Frizzante, wrapped in a bottle designed and created to identify the territory: rounded and with embossed wording. «Unfortunately only five producers are using it. We return to the starting point: individuality rather than a team». The reason, according to Carlo is that «There are those who say that the Bologna folk have always been besieged, surrounded, and have found a form of defense in individualism. Local restaurateurs didn't offer our wines, many do not even do it now. That's when 2 we exit borders, so that those who drink it THE LANDS OF PIGNOLETTO far from here, then come to look for it in its birthplace». A recipe that, thanks to some calibrated synergy, is now beginning to bear fruitful results. Going back down the hill, in Ponte Ronca di Zola Pedrosa, we found another winery boasting long tradition. It was 1877 when these lands offered the first wines and the family ownership thread was never interrupted: Lodi Corazza is the company insignia that unites Cesare's maternal and paternal surnames, together with her sister Silvia, interpreter of an integrated agriculture that in addition to seeds and sunflowers has 18 hectares of vine-
Modena Bologna
Forlì
Consorzio Pignoletto Emilia Romagna Consorzio vini Colli Bologesi
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yard in the name of biodiversity. And of a perennial selection and protection of native and international clones, always present in the area. «I am a winemaker, I could never call myself a producer. Wine is obtained from the soil and is offered, not produced».Cesare is a sort of rockstar lent to viticulture. We could actually say that he's a true Vasco Rossi, so much so that the famous Italian rockstar's native Zocca is not so far away; plus when he wears a cap, sunglasses and t-shirt, he looks a lot like him. «Winter in Bologna and summer here, with my feet in the vineyard. I graduated from accounting school and started studying contemporary history, but after military service I began understanding that this was my place». That is the slender and precious red soil of Zola Predosa, that must be extracted to the maximum, since «the more you extract from the soil, the more typicality you find», with the idea that the wine then needs its time to mature, improve and last. «Grapes, time and common sense, to quote Walter Massa: these three ingredients cannot be overlooked. And our wine, according to our tradition, must be thought of together with our people, smiles, food and flavours that most represent us».5,000 vines per hectare with spur trained systems, the Pignoletto full on with its qualities and its complexity. «It has a tight bunch, contains little water and many tannins, it would not even be suitable for becoming sparkling but this is the tradition and should be served at its best», so fine bubbles and great drinkability for Vènti Docg CB Frizzante; «If harvested well mature, its aromatic component is enhanced, the typical bitter taste turns into hints of almond and the reduced acidity is supported by strong minerality. After all, we certainly don't have to chase after Champagne and Franciacorta on their land».
GIORGIO ERIOLI, POET OF THE VINEYARDS (AND OF LIFE) Giorgio Erioli is a poet. With poetry books published. But not only for this reason is he a poet: he is so in life, in painting the days, and his works. So much so that Erioli is also a painter, and in this context his career evolved: «But I saw that my artist friends were starving, so I preferred to return to the land». This is how his being a poet, an artist, is fully found in his bottles, in the wines he has decided to interpret. Giorgio lives and works alone, his father recently passed away, yet he often speaks in the plural ("we think", "we do") as if he were still with him. He frees some space on the table covered in sheets, invoices and documents and perhaps some scribbled verses, who knows, maybe the beginning of a drawing. But then he doesn't sit. And start talking. It all started with his great-grandfather, a "grand anarchist", who bought a farmhouse and vineyards once belonging to the Malvezza estate, in Bazzano. It was 1933. Land reclamation had been completed at the beginning of the century. When Giorgio came of age the world had changed, and so had the countryside. Aficionado of aeronautics he joined the Italian air force during his military service, «and I was wrong not to sign on: an excellent salary and soon retired, it would not have been bad». Instead he found himself working in a factory, he got lost in other jobs, for a while he also worked as an advertising graphic designer. And meanwhile he wrote, he painted. He dreamed. "Despite in daily life he proves to be a practical and concrete person–– reads the introduction to his latest poetic essay––he feels the absolute need to remain a great and incurable dreamer". The dream led him «to the unfortunate decision to become a winemaker. At the beginning I was involved in the conventional chain of things, because when money talks, everybody else is silent. Then I found my way». In the vineyard he married biodynamics, in the cellar only traditional methods and natural fermentations, «I don't like the autoclave, you can quote me on that». In the turn of the millennium, when «of the nine wines of the Colli Bolognesi Doc, six were from international grapes», he began to study the old natives. Some had disappeared forever, on others he started a veritable recovery. On Alionza and Negretto he did a splendid job. The former, a white berry, which in his hands becomes the excellent Malvezza, «was already mentioned in the 1300s and has perhaps Slavic origins. Elegant and subtle, with good acidity, it's especially suitable for sparkling wine: in blind tastings it has beaten much nobler wines. The latter has probable Asian roots but resembles some Spanish vines; it has a very black berry and is never easy to make into wine». Giorgio retrieves the original name in the Maiolus label, with a small balance of Barbera, and also interprets it in a tasty passito version. «For me, even pignoletto does its best if harvested late and expected over time, so that it enriches the hints of pineapple and chamomile of youth and becomes softer, more almondy», and in fact his Badanium is gigantic. Giorgio strongly believes in the potential of this grape, «it's good to call it Grechetto Gentile, provided that Pignoletto continues to identify the territory. I have drunk so many white wines, very good and also very expensive, Italian and not. Well, the bottle that keeps surprising me the most was a twelve-year-old Pignoletto». It is not permissible to know if it was of his own production. But it's legitimate to believe in it and keep dreaming. Always.
Every evening bring me a glass / of my favorite wine / and leave it there, / in the shadow of my century-old vine, / my spirit will taste it.
STORIES
ADDRESSES
Lodi Corazza
Wineries Erioli - Bazzano (BO)
Enoteca La Zaira
loc.
San Giuseppe - via Monteveglio, 64 051830103
Piumazzo
Orsi - San Vito
Fattoria Vallona
Castello di Serravalle (BO) loc. Fagnano - via Cantagallo, 37 0516703333 - fattorievallona.it
Castelvetro di Modena
Orsi-San Vito
Valsamoggia
Erioli vini
Zola Pedrosa
Valsamoggia (BO) - loc. Pragatto di Crespellano - via Puglie, 12 051964521 - vignetosanvito.it Lodi Corazza
Zola Predosa (BO) - loc. Ponte Ronca via Risorgimento, 223 - 051756805 lodicorazza.com
Trattoria del Borgo Fagnano
Maria Letizia Gaggioli
Trattoria Dai Mugnai
Zola Predosa (BO) - via F. Raibolini Il Francia, 55 - 051753489 gaggiolivini.it
Osteria Vecchia
Fattorie Vallona Amerigo
THE WINEMAKERS 10 FAVORITE TABLES
Savigno
1 Amerigo Valsamoggia (BO) - loc. Savigno via G. Marconi, 14/16 0516708326 - amerigo1934.it «Trattoria inn with shop for buying products of the Amerigo pantry. Excellent cuisine, as well as a wine
PIGNOLETTO (DOC AND DOCG) IN NUMBERS
OVER
list that has favoured the area for
1,500
decades».
2 Massimiliano Poggi Cucina Castel Maggiore (BO) fraz. Trebbo di Reno - via Lame, 65/67 via Corticella 61 051704217 - mpoggi.it «Haute cuisine, dishes from EmiliaRomagna reintepreted with irony and creativity in a beautiful country house. Tasting menus come paired with wines selected by the sommelier». 3 Enoteca La Zaira Valsamoggia (BO) - loc. Bazzano via Borghetto di Sotto, 6 051832187 - enotecalazaira.it «Excellent wine bar with kitchen, special ingredients for simple and tasty preparations.
And
Many local France».
Maria Letizia Gaggioli
bottlesy.
an eye on
hectares of vineyards
8,000 winemakers
1,5 15million bottles of Pignoletto Doc +5 %sales trend 20 % 80 %
large-scale Gdo market
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Horeca market
NOVEMBER 2019
million bottles Docg Colli bolognesi Pignoletto
90 %Pignoletto produced
by cooperative wineries average price
5€
6€
COLLI BOLOGNESI
Massimiliano Poggi
4 Grassilli Bologna - via dal Luzzo, 3 051222961 ristorantegrassilli.weebly.com «In the city centre, Bolognese and international menus, a few seats, attentive service, quality wines».
Riccardina Vigoroso
Borgo Panigale Grassilli Villanova
Bologna
Canaletti
Fossatone
5 Masetti Zola Predosa (BO) - via Gesso, 70 051755131 - ristorante-masetti.it «Particularly cared for pasta dishes, traditional menus and excellent
Casalecchio di Reno
grilled meats.
Ristorante Masetti Ristorante Titì
Ozzano dell’Emilia
Osteria Grande
Ristoranti Cantine
And not even follow the fashion of refermentation in the bottle, if the conditions don't allow it. «Let's leave that to young people, as it also requires less initial investment. At one time wine was made in the city, in the basements of palaces and taverns: most of the Colli cellars are above-ground structures born between the 60s and the 70s, often inadequate for controlling internal temperatures. For this reason we moved on to the Martinotti method, a solution that is even more ancient: the Romans obtained sparkling Aigleucos by hermetically closing the amphorae and cooling them with very cold water that flowed into the terracotta canals». And so, for the classic method, that is 1877 Pignoletto spumante Doc, Cesare uses the basements of the Faculty of Oenology in Tebano, Faenza, while the still version emerges from a large battery of valuable wines (even red, Barbera above all) to synthesise
the roots and wings of a winery that never stops: CB Pignoletto Superiore Docg is called Zigant like the Neptune in Piazza Maggiore, which doesn't lose shine while aging but rather gains in charm and authority. «In nature we never see anything isolated, but everything is in connection with something else that comes first, which is around us, below and above.» Goethe is quoted in the Oliveto hamlet of the municipality of Valsamoggia, where Federico Orsi and his wife Carola took over the reins of the San Vito company in 2005. «Wine was produced here for over fifty years, my grandfather worked at the customs offices but passion led him back between the rows. He had nine children, my mother inherited the house but paradoxically stripped of the land. At the first opportunity we invested to buy them back, higher up in the hills, where we found the stuff for a project worth believ ing in».
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open for lunch».
6 Parco dei Ciliegi Zola Predosa (BO) - via Gesso, 2 051750759 - parcodeiciliegi.it «Convivial atmosphere, excellent quality/quantity/price ratio, big portions, and a pizzeria. For big tables with friends».
Parco Dei Ciliegi Agriturismo Borgo delle Vigne
Also
NOVEMBER 2019
7 Titì Zola Predosa (BO) - via Gesso, 133/A 051751550 «Dating back to 1890, from generation to generation, high quality products, home cooking revisited in a refined way». 8 Trattoria dai Mugnai Valsamoggia (BO) - fraz. Monteveglio via Mulino, 11 - 0516702003 3477702479 - daimugnai.it «In a historical sbuilding, typical dishes like the petroniana schnitzel, grandma-style desserts but also creative recipes. Accompanied by the wines of the Bologna Hills». 9 Trattoria del Borgo Valsamoggia (BO) fraz. Monteveglio Alto via San Rocco, 12 - 0516707982 trattoriadelborgomonteveglio.it «Located within the Regional Park of the Abbey of Monteveglio, a familyrun restaurant, mushrooms and truffles, culatello and mortadella». 10 Agristurismo Borgo delle Vigne Zola Predosa (BO) – via F. Raibolini, 55 051750534 - gaggiolivini.it «Open from Thursday to Saturday evening and S unday for lunch , festive atmosphere , abundance of tigelle and crescentine with cheese and cured meats ».
STORIES
Federico studied engineering management and worked as a business consultant, and he trusted the potential of these hills, even if their history spoke of uncertain vocation, low yields, high labour costs, non-existent branding. Then he met biodynamics and sensed that it could be the way. «The most natural way to express the territory at its best and interpret original wines, representative of the place where the vine has grown». The fruit as an absolute expression of fifteen hectares of vineyards on clayey soil on the surface, sandstone in depth, not fertilized or irrigated but only accompanied with natural topsoil. In the cellar only spontaneous fermentations strictly with indigenous yeasts, refusal to clarify and filtration, little sulfur, zero chemicals, «accepting the different character that each vintage gives us». The agricultural vision is wide-ranging, vegetables are produced and some restaurants work together to invest in the seasonality of the products to avoid use of refrigerators. «At least once a month the chefs are invited to collect vegetables with us. Thus ideas, synergies and awareness are born». They also raise pigs of the Mora Romagnola breed, in a semi-wild 3 5 DISHES BY MAX POGGI WITH 5 PIGNOLETTO Massimiliano Poggi is 1 2 a Bolognese chef, returning home Insalata russa La conserva di pomodoro after an important «Reinterpretation of a great classic, «Raw cod, tomato sauce and herbs: Parisian experience. starting from the game of ingredients the dish boasts the peasant art of He managed Il Cambio, rather than the traditional dish: sour "imprisoning" the seasons at the in Bologna, then Vicolo Colombina. cream, caviar (of trout, considering best time to make the best of prodNow, in Trebbo di Reno, in the the river!) and vodka (nebulized in ucts throughout the year». hinterland of the city (but it is easy emulsion with dill oil)». C.B. Pignoletto Frizzante '17 to get there by taxi) his vision of C.B. Pignoletto Vivace '17 Maria Letizia Gaggioli the Emilian tradition can range Vallona Zola Predosa (BO) freely. For us he combines 5 of his Castello di Serravalle (BO) gaggiolivini.it cult dishes with 5 different types of fattorievallona.it «Tomato and sapidity call the cleanliPignoletto... «Balance and harmony, for a harmoness of this wine that balances the flanious dish despite the contrasts». vours of the dish with its bitter finish».
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COLLI BOLOGNESI
state, and produce a provocative mortadella that uses all its parts, including the most valuable. And they make wine, too. «International grapes were all the rage, now we have replaced almost all of them with natives like Negretto and Alionza, which also flow into the Posca, the perpetual wine, product of monthly toppings in tanks started about ten years ago. It's the synthesis of our terroir, in time and in varieties». The Pignoletto is also there, for which «by which at the beginning I was misled, not understanding the reason for unsatisfactory production. Everything went in place, when we changed from the cordon to the guyot training system».
From the best vineyard comes the Vigna del Grotto CB Pignoletto Classico Superiore Docg, aged 9 months on the lees before resting another 6 months in the bottle, while the Sui Lieviti ferments in cement or steel tanks (but in the cellar you'll also see amphorae) and a second fermentation in the bottle, triggered by its own grape must kept during harvest. No disgorgement, slight turbidity, full and characteristic taste for authentic and sometimes a bit grouchy wines, but always very expressive. «When I first started I was seen as the village fool, considering how we posed ourselves with different ideas and prices different from all the others. We still sell a lot abroad, but knowing that our bottles are also requested in Bologna and that some wineries are following our path makes us very proud». A few kilometers away, in Fagnano, in the municipality of Castello di Serravalle, we visited another winery known for its identity and personal wines, an expression of the territory as well as of the lucid ideas of those who work there. Fattoria Vallona is the creature-creation of energetic Maurizio Vallona, who as a child would stand at the fence to watch the tractors pass when his grandfather
3. Federico Orsi, owner since 2005 of Vigneto San Vito with wife Carola: he inherited it from his grandfather after a degree in management engineering 4. Maurizio Vallona: he has inherited his passion for the countryside from his grandfather. Today he has created a farm that bears his name, after a period of work in his father's industry
Silverio took care of his fruit trees here. «Between summer and weekends, I spent half the year doing that. And I was passionate about the countryside». His father did a completely different job, representing a great industrial brand of the North around Italy, and Maurizio also gave him long support. Dividing his time between driving down highways and agriculture, home, offices, hotels and soil that needed tending to. «We already had a small vineyard, in the family we made a little wine for ourselves and our friends. In 1978 my father labeled bottles as a Christmas gift for customers: a success. And this episode kind of shaped our story», giving way to the progressive removal of cherry trees, a fruit that Maurizio was not even fond of. «Change was happening around us, Bologna was becoming an industrial hub and depopulated the countryside, where those who returned there then renovated and built, ignoring every concept of beauty. Now it's hard to grasp the true meaning of certain villages». Ultimately, not even the sparkling wines convinced Maurizio much, like certain fashions of today. «Already when I went to the best restaurants in the Veneto for work, the prosecco with residue at the bottom was
3
4
5
Fusilli e Medicina «Dry pasta and zero waste (always a farmer's prerogative): we use everything on the onion, even the peel charred in the oven». C.B. Pignoletto Sup. Zigant Lodi Corazza Zola Predosa (BO) lodicorazza.com «Sweetness and acidity of the dish require a strong wine with character».
Porro alla brace, burro al limone «Between embers and nature I want to enhance traditional aromas using salted almonds as seasoning» C.B. Pignoletto Sui Lieviti '17 San Vito Monteveglio (BO) vignetosanvito.it «The butter and lemon sauce fits perfectly with the freshness of this Pignoletto».
Grigliata di pesce alla romagnola «In this dish the most decisive part is the sauce, with a strong fire-grilled flavour. The skewer contains raw purple shrimp, cuttlefish, candied lemon and marinated lettuce (lemon and lettuce are the classic garnish of popular grilled fish)». C.B. Cl. Pignoletto Badianum '17 Erioli Bazzano (BO) «Perfectly accompanies the vigour of the sauce and the notes of the grill, enhancing the elegance and freshness of candied lemon».
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STORIES
VERSATILE AND RUSTIC-CHIC, AN INCREASINGLY LOVED WINE Pignoletto is growing. It was thought to come from the homonymous vine, but then it was discovered that genetically it is Grechetto Gentile. Not a bad thing; the growth is unstoppable, both in quality and quantity. To confirm its vigour, the Pignoletto locality was recently created on the Bolognese Hills. A wine that gives its name to a place and not the other way around. But it's always difficult to be a prophet in one's own home. Valid for men but also for Pignoletto. Walking through the streets of Bologna it's easy to listen to some tourists talking about it while, hanging out in the places of the local Bolognese, it's sometimes difficult to find one among the shelves or on tables. It will be even more difficult to find it mixed in a Spritz to which it would give a third of Emilian authenticity. Spumante, classic method, charmat, sparkling, ancestral, on the lees, macerated, still, passito. Maybe too many versions? No, let's not let anything go. Its versatility, combined with an innate, elegant and light rustic character, makes it the perfect match with our character, our dialect, our way of understanding life. Each version will always have an admirer, an audience, a place, a perfect moment. A carefree trip to the hills; a break from the tensions of homework; a family dinner; a professional tasting; an aperitif among the vines in Valsamoggia or under the porticoes of Bologna but now also in Los Angeles, London or Hong Kong where they drink Pignoletto dreaming of Bologna, a city of food, life and culture: a city that's been open, welcoming and Glocal all along, like its own university, the most ancient in the world. – Alberto Bettini, chef and owner at Amerigo
decanted so that the residue would remain in the bottle and not end up in our glasses: I was trained with the idea that these were not an added value». His therefore is a lively Pignoletto, bearing relation to an "Asti model" with grape juice fermented in shiny tanks in a crispy clean and modern cellar, carefully built over time. Time during which Maurizio accumulated experience, initially following the direction of a historic winery, Vigneto delle Terre Rosse in Vallania, successful by selling its Cabernet abroad. But he soon found his own style, both for the international varieties and for the Pignoletto Classico, in balance between aromatic richness and fresh flavour. «So I began naming my 4
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SETTEMBRE 2019 NOVEMBER 2019
most particular wines, so Permartina was dedicated to my daughter, a late harvest with a bit of Riesling Renano, for me that I love Alsatian and German wines. "Affederico" is instead a merlot tribute to my son, "Diggioanni" the cabernet for my father». "Ammestesso" (‘to myself,’ Ed.) doesn't need much of an explanation and it's the closing of a circle: still a classic Pignoletto version (i.e. still, not sparkling), one that seemed to intrigue active winemakers in the area the most, who currently do the do the greatest experimentation and research efforts in this direction. Struggling to make a team, perhaps, but obviously finding common growth elements.
RECIPES
MATTIA SPADONE BORN IN
AGE
RESIDENT IN
Guardiagrele (CH)
30
Civitella Casanova (PE)
RESTAURANT NAME
La Bandiera RESTAURANT CONTACTS
contrada Pastini, 4 085845219 labandiera.it
OWNER PARTNER EMPLOYEE
RESTAURANTS BEFORE THIS
El Celler de Can Roca
SEATS
40 BEST LOVED INGREDIENT:
HASHTAGS OF MY CUISINE:
Alberto Braga e Luca Massimi
sweetbreads
AGE OF SOUS CHEFS
INGREDIENTE ODIATO
23
cilantro/coriander
tradition, technique and territory, trying to represent with my cuisine the fantastic Abruzzo region
SOUS CHEF
KITCHEN BRIGADE
IL PIATTO DELLA VITA
Giacomo Acconciamessa, Alberto Braga, Mariano D'Andrea, Luca Massimi, Lorenzo Mezzanotte, Bruna Sablone
Capon broth with meatballs and rustic pizza
FAVORITE RESTAURANT ABROAD
VENERATED MAESTRO
ONE WINE ABOVE ALL OTHERS
IN THE DINING ROOM
Alessio Spadone, Hamiti Amela, Giuseppe di Donato, Francesco Pisarri
El Celler de Can Roca Montepulciano di Valentini
Joan Roca MOST RESPECTED PEER COLLEAGUE:
Piergiorgio Parini
SOMMELIER
HAD I NOT BEEN A CHEF…
Alessio Spadone
graphic novel artist
LAST ALBUM DOWNLOADED
DISHES PRESENTED:
Agnese dolce Agnese di Ivan Graziani
Roots, wild greens and pine nut cream L’Amatricina
LATEST BOOK READ
L’ArrostiGin
Il Perfezionista. Vita e morte di un grande chef di Rudolph Chelminski
Apple “goloso”
by Paolo Cuccia
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MATTIA SPADONE - LA BANDIERA
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RECIPES
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MATTIA SPADONE - LA BANDIERA
Roots, wild greens and pine nut cream ingredienti for 4 people For the root and mushroom jelly: 0,300 l water 20 g dried mushrooms 3 g Kappa gelatin thyme For the pine nut cream: 400 g pine nuts 200 g water 60 g heavy cream 60 g milk 30 g glucose 3 g salt 5 g unflavoured gelatin sheets
For the mayonnaise versions 1 egg, steamed at 65° C for 1 hour 120 g EVOO 10 g horseradish root, boiled and finely chopped 10 g lemon juice 5 g cold-pressed beet juice 3 g salt For the roots: 80 g carrots (assorted among orange, violet, yellow) 30 g parsnip 30 g Jerusalem artichoke 30 g fresh beets 20 g EVOO thyme
for the ravioli and the condiment: 300 g wild mixed baby greens (pimpinella, taraxacum, "caccialepre", fennel, sorrel, arugula, gorse, tarragon, "sonco", "cent'occhio") 50 g bread 40 g goat’s milk robiola 20 g EVOO 10 g parsley oil 10 g assorted edible flowers (mustard, rosemary, sorrel, borage, arugula, broad bean, sweet pea, violets) 3 g lemon juice vanilla-scented salt sale alla vaniglia
For the roots: Using a slicer obtain 2-mm thick slices of carrots, Jerusalem artichoke, beets, and keep them divided by colours and place them in vacuum cooking bags together with a drizzle of olive oil, thyme and a pinch of salt; cooking in sous vide at 90°C for 10 minutes. Cool quickly. For the bread: toast the diced bread in a pan with a little olive oil, seasoning with salt. For the mushroom jelly: bring the water to a rolling boil, turn off the heat and dip the dried mushrooms and thyme in the pot, leaving to infuse for 8 minutes. Then add the gelatin and raise the heat to 80°C. Cool and cut into small cubes. For the pine nut cream: put the pine nuts and water in the Pacojet glass, blast freeze and process; repeating the operation 4 times (in the absence of Pacojet, use a powerful blender or mixer). Once the base is obtained, heat the cream, milk, glucose and salt at 60°C and add the previously rehydrated unflavoured gelatin (increase the dose by 3 g in the case of using a blender); add the liquid obtained to 250 g of blended pine nuts, divide it into "pacossini" ramekins and blast-freeze once again. Whisk using the Pacojet ice blade and put in a plastic pastry bag: remove the air with the help of the sous vide vacuum. For the mayos: in a glass, with the help of an immersion blender, put the egg, a little oil, lemon juice, salt and start to blend the mayonnaise, adding the remaining oil in a steady, stream until the mayo is well emulsified. Divide the mayonnaise in half and add the beetroot juice to one half and the horseradish to the other. Remove the roots from the vacuum and using the yellow carrots and the red beets, form small ravioli stuffed with goat's milk robiola. Prep the salad: plate the pine nut cream, then the peeled beans and sweet peas, the mushroom jelly, the julienne-cut parsnip, the goat cheese, the crispy bread, grate the mushrooms and finally top with the baby greens and flowers, seasoned with lemon olive oil and vanillascented salt. Pipe small dots with the mayonnaise and place the ravioli, Jerusalem artichoke slices and orange carrots on top, finishing with a a few drops of parsley oil.
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RECIPES
L’Amatricina ingredienti for 4 people For the pasta: 500 g flour 8 whole eggs 8 yolks 10 g vinegar
For the filling: 1 kg tomatoes 500 g Alto Vastese ventricina cured meat 100 g water 50 g cornstarch 50 g EVOO
For the caciocavallo broth: 300 g caciocavallo cheese 200 g water 10 g xantan gum 5 sprigs of fresh marjoram salt and freshly milled black pepper
GAMBERO ROSSO
For the pasta: knead the eggs, flour and vinegar and let the dough to rest for an hour. For the filling: brown the ventricina cut into small cubes in a frying pan with oil for about 5 minutes over high heat, add the peeled tomatoes and continue cooking over moderate heat for about 20 minutes. Combine the cornstarch diluted in cold water keeping the pan on the stove until a thick cream forms. Transfer everything to the Thermomix at high speed for 3 minutes. Cool in a blast freezer and put the obtained mix in a pastry bag. Roll out the dough, cut it into discs, and fill each with the mixture, forming small tortellini. Emulsify the grated caciocavallo with water and xantan gum for 5 minutes at 80°C. Cook the cappelletti, drain, plate them and season with the caciocavallo emulsion, pepper and marjoram.
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MATTIA SPADONE - LA BANDIERA
L’ArrostiGin
ingredienti for 4 people 1 rack of lamb, shoulder attached (circa 1,8 kg) 100 g EVOO 80 g lamb demi-glace 70 g mixed tarragon and parsley 50 g sheep’s milk reduction 30 g fermented juniper 20 g sun dried tomatoes 4 foglie baby chard 4 sprigs of sanguinella (or 4 wood kebabs) 1 shallot 1 rosemary sprig assorted wild baby greens black salt gin
Soak the kebab skewers in the gin for 36 hours. With an immersion blender, emulsify the olive oil with tarragon and parsley. Clean the chard, salt and char with a pastry blowtorch to to smoke them. Bone the lamb rack and carve out the fillet, removing excess fat, cut into 3.5 cm cubes and with the gin-flavoured skewers form the kebabs. Cut the less noble parts of meat (belly and neck) into small cubes and prepare a stew with these along with shallots, rosemary and dried tomatoes. Cook the skewers on the barbecue; seasoning with salt and basting with an emulsion of oil and fermented juniper. When cooked, plate the stew and the chard, placing the ArrostiGin on top, dress with the demi-glace, the sheep's milk reduction, and garnish with the greens.
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RECIPES
Apple “goloso” ingredienti for 4 people For the apple gelato: 500 g barbecued apple purée 400 g white base (obtained by mixing 1,2 kg milk, 300 g heavy cream, 150 g sugar, 200 g glucose, 6 g carob flour, and cooking at 85°C) 80 g brown sugar
For the apple caramel: 2 apples caster sugar lemon juice
For the apple gelato: grill halved apples (you will need at least twice as much as the final quantity required) sprinkled with brown sugar at 120°C for 20 minutes, then peel and core. Blend twice, adding the white base. Put in the ice cream maker and churn to obtain firm gelato. For the panna cotta foam: boil all the ingredients with the exception of the unflavoured gelatin, which should be added as soon as the temperature of the mixture drops to about 70°C. Let everything cool and place it in the siphon with 2 nitrogen charges, then allow the filled siphon to rest for 3 hours in the fridge. For the dehydrated apples: cut 2 apples into 2 mm thin slices, dip in sugar syrup (TPT) and put them to dehydrate (in the oven or in the dryer). For the apple caramel: peel two apples and cut them in half, sprinkle with granulated sugar and a little lemon juice and cook them. Then separate the caramel sauce from the apples. Composition: Put the crumble (or biscuit) on a plate, place the apple gelato on it, topping with caramel, panna cotta foam and dehydrated apples.
crumble or ground cookies
For the panna cotta foam: 250 g heavy cream 50 g milk 45 g caster sugar 2 g unflavoured gelatin
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CAMPAGNA FINANZIATA AI SENSI DEL REGOLAMENTO CE N. 1308/13 CAMPAIGN FINANCED ACCORDING TO (EC) REGULATION N. 1308/13
RECIPES
IL CAPANNO CUISINE AND THE SEASONS WHERE Spoleto (PG) località Torrecola, 6 074354119 - ilcapannoristorante.it POINTS IN THE GUIDE 2020 TEAM For many years now, the owners have immersed themselves in the endeavour, which engages the entire family full-time and which over time has seen several transformations, but always with the thought that at the center of everything are ingredients. This, with the desire to offer light dishes, increasingly linked to the place where the restaurant is located, in the middle of a forest. In the kitchen there are Cristina Rastelli and Daniela Filippi, who design and cook dishes linked to tradition, seasonality and what mother nature offers. Angela, their mother, also in the kitchen is still doing her part very well, with some fresh hand-rolled pasta and fantastic pies (like the one with blackberries). In the dining room, welcoming guests and making them feel at home, but also to illustrate the dishes of the day and the wines, is Mauro Rastelli. PRODUCTS The products come from the fields, the vegetable garden, the forest. Products that have their seasonality, paying due respect to the time necessary to mature and grow. It's joyous to find local and non-local ingredients here, sourced from people who the owners know well and understand how they work, who have the same goals and the same philosophy regarding the concept of quality.
STUFFED ROASTED PIGEON INGREDIENTS FOR 4 PEOPLE 2 whole pigeons 300 g veal rump, ground 100 g breadcrumbs 2 eggs fresh thyme fresh rosemary fresh bay leaves salt and pepper extra virgin olive oil
FAMOUS DISHES Truffle omelette (whether summer or winter), fettuccine with tomatoless pigeon ragout, tortellini soup with sheep broth, pork liver with bay leaf, oven baked rabbit roll with aromatic herbs.
GAMBERO ROSSO
Prepare a filling with the minced veal, eggs, breadcrumbs, thyme, salt, pepper and olive oil. Trim and clean the pigeons, season with salt and pepper, both internally and on the outside, then fill them with the stuffing and close the ends. With kitchen twine, lace the bay leaf and rosemary sprigs to each bird. While cooking on the spit, baste constantly with seasoned olive oil and herbs, until cooked. Once browned and crisp, cut them and serve them with freshly roasted potatoes dressed with the basting liquid. Alternatively, instead of roasting on the spit pigeons can be cooked in the oven at 160° C for 45 minutes.
by Paolo Cuccia
64
NOVEMBRE 2019
IL CAPANNO
GAMBERO ROSSO
65
NOVEMBRE 2019
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