Wine Travel Food - september 2015 by Gambero Rosso

YEAR 20 N. 88 - SEPTEMBER 2015

WINE

T R AV E L

FOOD

www.gamberorosso.it

• VINI D’ITALIA SPECIAL AWARDS • CAMPANIA’S LAST ROMANTICS • A GIFTED BOY IN HONG KONG • FRANCIACORTA AT ITS BEST

TOP ITALIAN FOOD 850 OF ITALY’S BEST FOODS READY TO EXPORT

GIUSEPPE DI MARTINO

a tavola

COVER STORY 28 | Top Italian Food Our new guide is focused on export, listing 850 Italian companies ready for the global market. Pasta king Giuseppe Di Martino tells how Made in Italy products can find their way in the world.

WINE 25 | Vini dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Italia 2016: Special Awards After months of travels and tastings, these are the wines, wineries, and personalities that struck us most forcefully. 40 | Focus on: Franciacorta at its best During the final tastings for Tre Bicchieri awards, we also chose the best Franciacorta wines, labels at the top of Italian production. The territory is dedicated to sustainable development.

september 2015 2

SEPTEMBER 2015

“Life is a combination of magic and pasta” Federico Fellini

TRAVEL 46 | Wine: Campania’s Last Romantics In a landscape of cliffs, of vineyards clinging to steep hillsides above the sea, of extinct volcanoes, Campania’s artisanal winemakers strive for excellence.

52 | Naples. A bucket list An old Italian expression says, “See Naples and die.” You will have seen the best life has to offer. True or not, here’s our view of what to see and eat there.

FOOD

NEWS & MORE

33 | Recipes. Italian Pasta at home everywheres Classic Italian durum wheat pasta finds its place in the kitchens of creative chefs around the globe. Here are recipes that spotlight a few international interpretations.

36 | A gifted boy in Hong Kong Alessandro Cozzolino, 25, Chef de cuisine at the Grand Hyatt restaurant Grissini explains how he brings Campania and its best foods to his Asian outpost.

3 SEPTEMBER 2015

EDITORIAL

THE PASTA REVIVAL “In a large pot, sauté garlic and onion in a little oil, add canned, diced tomatoes, stock, oregano. Bring to a boil and add spaghetti. Cover and cook for seven minutes over medium heat. Salt, add spinach and wait five minutes before serving sprinkled with cheese.” This is Michelle Obama’s recipe for one-pot pasta, her favourite, as described in American magazines and on television. The recipe is not appealing to Italian eyes or palates (sorry, Michelle) but it doesn’t matter. After decades of carbophobia, Americans are changing their minds. A pasta revival is in full swing. The trend is one that the triumphant guy on our cover this month saw as a sure thing. The owner of a pasta company of the same name in Gragnano (near Naples), Giuseppe Di Martino has always made export his priority. His brand exports 93% of its production to 32 countries. The United States and Great Britain have always been key markets, but his other customers include Denmark, Norway, Brazil, South Africa, Korea, Japan, the Arab Emirates and Canada. Di Martino is one of the most visible examples of the extraordinary potential of Made in Italy products when backed by intelligent entrepreneurial policy. He’s the ideal person to exemplify the Top Italian Food Experience, the first guide

dedicated to the best Italian food companies. In this publication, besides the 150 great brands, historic firms known internationally, an important role goes to the small and medium-sized companies, wellstructured and able to produce quantities that can function on the foreign market. We describe those rare jewels, the best artisanal Italian food producers, who turn out items ranging from vinegar to cured meats, cheeses, pasta, oil, rice, coffee, chocolate and more. It’s a patrimony we can share with a world that shows increasing interest in Italian food products. (Export data for Italian food, and the trends noted by buyers and importers are clear – see the article on page 24). But, as Di Martino underlines, “We have to hold the banner of quality high. The key is to communicate the difference between Italian products and those that are fakes or local imitations.” Italian-made products are unbeatable, even the quirkiest. For example, the Amarelli Licorice museum, the historic factory in Rossano, Calabria, is the second most visited company museum in Italy, after the Ferrari automobile museum in Maranello, Emilia Romagna. Another example of the power of roots.

Laura Mantovano

4 SEPTEMBER 2015

5 SEPTEMBER 2015

NEWS

GAMBERO ROSSO GOES PUBLIC This month, thirty years after its founding, Gambero Rosso is listed on the Milano stock exchange, in the AIM segment. According to Paolo Cuccia, president and major stockholder, the Italian export market for wine and food is constantly growing. Small and mediumsized companies need help finding their way to a strong market position, help that Gambero Rosso media has been able to provide. Publications, training programs, events, and TV are all effective ways to introduce excellent Italian products to an interested world. Over decades, wine producers have met hundreds of companies at focused events in major world cities, establishing key relationships. The increased capital (the goal is 7 million euros) will serve to strengthen and broaden the process. The offering is available until September 24, 2015. For information: gamberorosso@popvi.it | tel. 0262481577

60,000

FABULOUS BOTTLES

La Ciau del Tornavento, a restaurant established in 1997 in Treiso, in Piedmont, has just inaugurated its amazing wine cellar. Underneath his kitchens and tables, chef-proprietor Maurilio Garola has housed his collection of over 60,000 bottles, an Italian temple of wine built up over years of tasting and research. He cellars 2899 labels from 334 different producers and 13 countries. A special focus, a broad selection of bottles, is dedicated to his home territory, the Langhe, Half the collection is Barolo and Barbaresco, but other Piedmontese reds as well as Tuscan ones are well-represented. Whites from various Italian regions make up 10% of the cellar. Great French chateaux account for another 10%. Space is given to prestigious labels from across the oceans, from Argentina, Australia, California, Chile and Uruguay. Among the most special bottles: Sassicaia 1985, Barolo Monfortino 1945, Bruno Giacosa Rocche Del Falletto Riserva 1999 (3 liters), Gaja Costa Russi 1990, Y'quem 2011 (15 Liters) and Domain De La Romanee Conti 2010 as well as Drappier Primat of 27 liters, to mention a few. 6 SEPTEMBER 2015

HEART IN IBIZA. The culinary amusement park of the Adrià brothers The latest ambitious project of the Adrià brothers opened on June 30 on the island of Ibiza. The successful pair of Spanish restaurateurs have chosen an English name, Heart, for their fantasy world, built in collaboration with Guy Laliberté, the Canadian entrepreneur and CEO of Cirque du Soleil. The venture covers 3600 square meters divided into three thematic areas: Terrazza, Supper and Club. Every evening offers a multisensory experience .The culinary amusement park, adjoining the five-star Ibiza Gran Hotel, is dedicated to ephemera, and will change its nature often, welcoming performance artists from around the world. Terrazza, Supper and Club. The thematic areas. The first impression is of a luna park that blends music, art, dance and avant-garde food in a multiform mix. Street food is the star in Terrazza, 1,500 square meters with a view over the port, recreating the atmosphere of a lively market. The best of international food is on hand – quesadillas and ceviche, oysters and sushi, yakitori and waffles. Payment is with fiche, as in a casino. Performing artists are on hand to entertain as you eat. The restaurant on the ground floor, Supper, is dedicated to slightly more serious food. Admission requires a reservation and the payment of an entrance fee of 150 euros (the Terraz-

za costs 80). The dining room can seat 150. Guests watch performers and can interact with the artists while dining, most of it top-quality finger food that doesn’t require flatware. Third is the Club area, actually a transformation of Supper, which at 2 a.m. becomes a traditional night club, offering a dance floor and cocktails. The party will continue until October, when the first season closes and work will begin on the spring 2016 re-opening.

Club Sandwich Index. HOW MUCH DOES IT

COST TO EAT IN HOTELS AROUND THE WORLD? RATINGS BY HOTELS.COM

Every year the online reservations site publishes ratings based on the cost of club sandwiches and hamburgers collected from hotels with three, four and five stars in 28 countries, Geneva wins as the most expensive city. Rome is only fifteenth. The Club Sandwich Index has become the go-to rating for all those who can’t resist eating at their hotel. Hotels.com, the American site for researching and reserving hotels around the world, offers its users an extra service. The multi-strata club sandwich popular with Americans for over a century is synonymous with informal but tasty fast food. The club sandwich, along with hamburgers, potato chips, coffee and red wine are the items the index uses to compare the cost of hotel dining in 28 countries. (To Italians, the choice of items seems decidedly American.) Annually, with the data collected, the site lists the most expensive meals and calculates the cost city by city. In 2015, Geneva heads the list, with Paris following. Hong Kong, Oslo, London, Seoul (the most expensive city for a cup of coffee), Stockholm, Tokyo, Singapore and New York close the top ten. Italy doesn’t come into this unpopular listing, with Rome appearing only in 15th place, whereas in 2014 it came in ninth. The most economical places to visit? Latin America: Bogotà, Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro. 7 SEPTEMBER 2015

NEWS

EAT BETTER TO LIVE LONGER.

The diet in five oases of longevity in the world – including Sardinia Dan Buettner, New York Times journalist, recently published a book on culinary habits around the world. He researched the longest-lived populations and examined the typical diet of those communities that seem to benefit from food that leads to a healthy, long life. The volume, The Blue Zones Solution: Eating and living like the world’s healthiest people has become a sensation, capturing the attention of a society plagued by overeating and calorie abuse. The project, developed with National Geographic, examined the habits of the oldest people in the world over the last century, then searched for communities where life-expectancies are the highest, and where centenarians are not rare. Five areas in particular, the socalled blue zones, were selected: Okinawa in Japan, Loma Linda in California, Icaria in Greece, the Nycoya Peninsula in Costa Rica and Ogliastra, in Sardinia. Cannonau and goat milk, the secrets of Ogliastra. Italy is part of this group thanks to the longevity of the lively inhabitants of Ogliastra, in Sardinia. Here the small community of hundred-year-olds, mostly shepherds and farmers, attribute their great age to the merits of Cannonau (they drink one or two classes of this sturdy red wine every day) and to a diet that includes few carbohydrates apart from pane carasau (see photo - very thin flat bread) and barley. Their fare is rich in cheese, goat milk, and olive oil. These long-

lived communities, found around the world, have in common the daily consumption of vegetables and fruit, but also of carbohydrates, combined with the most typical products of the region – salmon and oats in California, tofu and sweet potatoes in Japan, tapioca and squash in Costa Rica. In Icaria, in Greece, the inhabitants add to a healthy, typical Mediterranean diet, the diuretic and purifying effects of tea with mint, sage or rosemary, sipped throughout the day, all year long. Advice from the world, from tofu and sweet potatoes. But in detail, what are the most important foods in these five communities that seem to have discovered the elixir of long life? The products of the little island of Icaria are familiar to Italians: potatoes, honey, goat’s milk, legumes, aromatic herbs and the small oily group of fish called pesce azzurro. On the daily menu in Okinawa, which has the highest percentage of over-one-hundreds in the world, foods from the sea and the soil come to the table. Among the most popular are tofu, shiitake mushrooms, garlic and green tea. In Loma Linda, lessons from the Bible influence the diet since the inhabitants are mostly Seventh Day Adventists. They eat grains, nuts, vegetables, and only small quantities of meat and fish. Avocados, soy milk and beans are popular, but refined sugar is forbidden. The diet of the long-lived men and women of Nicoya, in Costa Rica includes a large consumption of eggs, but also tropical fruit and sweet potatoes. 8

SEPTEMBER 2015

VINTAGE 2015.

The first estimates from Assoenologi: Harvest +10%. Quality from very good to excellent in all of Italy Quantities are 10% higher than in 2014, with quality ranging from very good to excellent. The first estimates from Assoenologi (August 29) say that this year Italy will produce between 46 and 47 million hectoliters of wine and grape must, compared to the five-year average (2010/2014) of 44.1 million hectoliters, and the 10-year average ((2005/2014) of 45.5 million hectoliters. The Assoenologi estimates hypothesize that grape production could oscillate between 63 and 65 million quintals, which, applying the average transformation coefficient of 73%, turn out between 46 and 47 hectoliters of wine, 10% more than last year (42.1 million hectoliters, according to ISTAT, the Italian National Institute for Statistics). Except for Tuscany (-5%), Lombardy and Sardinia (production the same as 2014), the other regions show a productive increment ranging from +5% (Emilia Romagna) to +25% (Puglia). Veneto, with 9.1 million hectoliters, is once again the most productive Italian region. Veneto, Emilia Ro-

magna, Puglia and Sicily together in 2015 will produce over 28 million hectoliters, amounting to more than 60% of all Italian wine. On the quality front, Assoenologi research shows that substantial reserves of accumulated water resulted in a significant vegetative thrust during a good spring that led into a hot summer, mitigated in the second half of August by timely rainfall, conditions that contributed to decidedly favorable grape maturation. The 2015 vintage year is estimated by Assoenologi qualitatively very good, with many excellent points, in particular for wines made from red berries that will be harvested at the end of September. The year 2015 may well be a vintage to remember. That prediction can only be confirmed when the harvest is done, since on August 29, only 10% of the product had been picked. The weather during September and for some late-ripening varieties, October, will determine the overall qualitative level of production.

trebicchieri

2015

SPECIAL EDITION MILANO EXPO 2015 10 tasting events inside Milano EXPO at the Italian Wine Pavilion curated by Fiera Verona Vinitaly OCTOBER thursday 15 thursday 29

17:30-19.00 17:30-19.00

Eleonora Guerini Gianni Fabrizio

The events, dedicated exclusively to wines awarded Tre Bicchieri in the Vini dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Italia 2015 guide, will take place in the Pavilion tasting room: 10 guided tastings (in Italian and English) led by expert wine journalists from Gambero Rosso

Symposium Convivium 9

SEPTEMBER 2015

NEWS

wine

TOP ITALIAN FOOD. Italian food and agricultural export

5.1 bn

Eighty percent of Italian exports consist of prestigious industrial confectionery brands and food or wine from and pastry protected denominations (DOP, meats IGP...). Among the many excellent (including Made in Italy products, the wine prepared cereals and sector (+1.1% over 2013) is in first meats) legumes cheeses place in terms of volume (20.3% of (pasta & co.) conserves the total, value over 5 billion euros). and jams In second place is confectionery (+5.7% in the last year), reaching a value of 3,345 billion euros, equal to 12.3%. The trend is positive for milk and cheese as well, (+4.4% over 2013), which together represent 9.2% of all the products exported, amounting to 2,488 billion euros. Pasta is up as well (+4.2% over 2013), accounting for 8.3% of food exports, for a value of 2,261 billion euros. Processed vegetables amount to a little less in value (2,088 billion euros and 7.7% of total export) with passata di pomodoro, that is, tomato puree, leading the list. Exports grew 3.7% in the last year.

3.3

2.4 2.5 2.2 bn bn bn 2.0 bn

LETTUCE GROWN IN ORBIT. The astronauts on the ISS cultivate the first space farm.

On the International Space Station (ISS), for the first time in history, astronauts have harvested an experimental planting of Roman lettuce. The experiment, nicknamed Veggie, wrote an important chapter in the history of human space conquest. Crop cultivation would help a crew during long missions, such as that programmed for Mars, enriching a fairly rigid diet with fresh vegetables. Scott Kelly looked after the spatial garden for 33 days, with the help of LED lighting that allowed the plants to grow, although with some difficulty. The crop had few leaves, but they were good, fresh, and produced on board from start to finish. Some of the harvest was frozen in order to be sent to Earth and analyzed in the lab, but the satisfied reactions of the crew seemed to confirm the success of the experiment. The same technology developed for growing lettuce in space could be â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;exportedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; to our planet, favoring the development of city gardens with low waterimpact in unused spaces, thanks to artificial light. 10

SEPTEMBER 2015

11 SEPTEMBER 2015

NEWS

FRIULI WINERIES investigated for Sauvignon additive The Friuli region’s viticulture is in shock. On the morning of September 9, the anti-fraud military police of Udine (Carabinieri del NAS) visited about 17 wineries (two outside the region) to investigate the charge that they had added a chemical to their Sauvignon that was not permitted under Italian law or by the regulations that govern wine production. The purpose of the additive was to enhance certain aromas in the wine. All the wineries involved in the investigation work with Ramon Persello, a well-known bioclimate consultant. He, along with his wife, Lisa Coletto, are said to have invented the enhancing ingredient. The investigation began when an informer inside the world of Friuli wine threw suspicion on the work of a few wineries that had won awards not only in the specialized Italian guides, but also in international competitions. The information came to the attention of prosecutor Marco Panzeri, who launched an investigation that led to the first search warrants for Persello’s home and then for the wineries, where the NAS removed samples of wine and of yeasts. Now chemical analyses of the samples will establish the innocence or guilt of the accused. In any case, the additive is not harmful to the health. If the wineries involved turn out to be guilty, the blow to the image of Friuli winemaking will be even greater, because last May, the region hosted the prestigious Concours Mondial du Sauvignon, in which some of the wineries being investigated won prizes.

Master of Wine. WAITING FOR GODOT The wait for a first Italian Master of Wine resembles the story of Godot more with each passing year. The Institute of Masters of Wine announced on the 7th of September that a record number of 19 candidates had passed the Institute’s Examination and earned the title Master of Wine (MW). The new MWs, 11 women and 8 men, hail from 10 countries, including Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Greece, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. The Institute of Masters of Wine has even welcomed its first Singaporean Member. Certainly, language difficulties – the exam is in English – are a filtering element, but above all, it is the Anglo-Saxon approach, oriented towards an analytic view of wine, that differs from the Latin view of wine and presents the greatest problem. Moreover, Italians have difficulties finding and becoming familiar with wines from the entire world, given the overwhelming presence of its own wines on the home market. Except for France and some Rieslings from the Moselle, Italians drink very little foreign wine. This said, now there are 340 Masters of Wine in all, coming from 24 different countries, but not one from Italy. 12 SEPTEMBER 2015

The most starred restaurant in Milan

A million stars brightening up the most scrumptious night in the city: restaurants, street food, fruit, vegetables, wine and artisan beer and much, much more for your taste buds!

open all week - via valenza,2 - navigli area - milan SEPTEMBER 2015

mercatometropolitano.it - facebook.com/MERCATOMETROPOLITANO

EVENTS

GAMBERO ROSSO TOP ITALIAN WINES ROADSHOW 2015/2016

The world-wide Italian wine tour that everyone is looking forward to this year will visit South Korea, the United States, Brazil, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines The new calendar of the Gambero Rosso Top Italian Wines Roadshow 2015/2016 is ready to post. The ninth edition of the tour is full of new events and an itinerary that will explore the most exciting locations for Italian wine. Take off will be in South Korea on October 28. Here producers will find a very attentive public, for whom fermentation is fundamental, and not only in the kitchen. On February 15, the tour will visit the American west coast, Seattle, a first for the Roadshow, to give continuity to the firmly established Ameri-

can market. On its own, the United States consumes 21.7% of Italian wine exports. Seattle is known for its refined wine and food sensibility, and its population is focused on products of certified origin and those that respect environmental sustainability. The next stop is in one of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s liveliest cities from a culinary point of view: the energy of SĂŁo Paolo will welcome the best Italian wines on April 4. Finally, three events in Asia are designed to penetrate or consolidate markets that are very different in terms of their history and devel14 SEPTEMBER 2015

opment. Singapore, on May 16, is by now a classic destination for the event. Then, two days later, Italian wineries will explore a market that gave a record performance for Italian wine: in Thailand, in the first five months of 2015, volume grew by 10%, in value, an amazing 45%. Bangkok is on the calendar for next May 18. Manila, however, will be the Roadshow setting for the first time, and the last stop on the tour, May 20. Here too, statistics are clear. In the same time period, the value of Italian wine imported grew by more

than 30 percentage points, and volume rose 22%. (Figures are from ISTAT, the Italian National Institute for Statistics). The well-tested formula for the events will be unchanged. Tasting tables will offer almost 300 wines, and Gambero Rosso’s best tasters will lead a dense program of seminars. Since 2007, Top Italian Wines Roadshow has become a well-established strategic platform for penetrating emerging markets and grasping new business opportunities. Italian wine offerings are so rich that they are often confusing for international consumers. This is why Gambero Rosso selections represent

a guaranteed way for promoting knowledgeable, attentive and wideranging development of Italian territories. The basic framework is the extremely rigid selective criteria of quality used for decades by the Vini d’Italia guide, now in its 29th edition. Every year, the guide evaluates over 40,000 national wines. Sixty-five wineries participate in the Roadshow, famous and prestigious names such as Allegrini, Gaja, Tenuta San Guido and Masi, just to mention a few. The tour will be supported by a constant process of communication that takes full advantage of all Gambero Rosso media, from our website to television,

from online magazines to our printed one, along with up-to-date, detailed editorial content translated into all the languages encountered along the tour. The trip, which will last eight long months, will often cross paths with Tre Bicchieri events, reinforcing the image of a healthy sector of the Italian economy, dynamic and ever more aware of its own patrimony of biodiversity. Producers will be on the front lines, striving to overcome cultural, linguistic and often taste differences. Italy’s wine world continues to expand its horizons and its commercial success: in 2014, it reached a record of 5.1 billion euros of exports.

Tour 2015/2016 Seoul

Singapore

October 28, 2015

May 16, 2016 SINGAPORE

SEOUL

Seattle

Bangkok

February 15, 2016

May 18, 2016

BANGKOK

SEATTLE

São Paolo

Manila

April 4, 2016

May 20, 2016

SAO PAULO

MANILA

2016

2015

INFO: worldtour@gamberorosso.it

tel. +39 06 55112234

www.gamberorosso.it

STREET FOOD

by Silvia Cittadini

TESTACCIO market Earthy Roman food Testaccio was once a slum area, now transformed by the gentrification of the last 20 years. The old atmosphere lives on in the working-class apartment buildings with spacious courtyards where kids once used to play and in the noise of its crowded market. The old covered site of Piazza Testaccio has finally been moved to a new location, modern and more functional (with 270 parking spaces beneath the building). It is energy self-sufficient and much cleaner than the old market. The history of Testaccio dates back to the Roman empire; the area, close to the dock of Ripa Grande, was used to discard millions of olive oil amphorae, whose fragments (in Italian, “cocci”) piled up through the centuries, creating a mound called “Monte dei Cocci”. The white, iron building is 16 SEPTEMBER 2015

enlivened by terracotta on the sides (a reminder of the Roman “cocci” of Monte Testaccio) and topped by a glass roof, which gives a light and airy atmosphere to the whole space, an improvement over the old dark location. Many vendors of the old market reopened in the new one alongside some interesting new entries. Mainly a food market, Testaccio was also known for its shoe stalls with attractive bargains, and today there are many clothing, design items and kitchenware stalls. Butchers and fishmongers give friendly cooking tips and recipes along with the food you buy; greengrocers chat with customers while they’re peeling and cleaning vegetables. Artichokes (particularly popular when cleaned and ready to go in plastic bags!) and other greens such as Roman zucchi-

ni, catalogna chicory, Roman broccoli, and fava beans grown in the country area of Lazio around Rome (known as Agro Romano) are true delicacies, products which are difficult to find in other regions of Italy. For a break from shopping, “Mordi e vai” represents a true experience of local food. Try one of their panini, stuffed with delicious Roman recipes such as trippa alla romana (Roman Style tripe) or picchiapò sauce (made with tomato, boiled beef, onions and spices) or polpette di vitello (veal meatballs), but if you are looking for a sweet “merenda” (in Italian “snack”) Dess’art, a Sicilian pastry shop is your spot. Costanza Fortuna, a passionate pastry chef from Palermo bakes delicious cakes, cookies, cannoli, bread and calzoni every day. Bakeries with their fragrant bread and pizza are good options as well. Ask for your plain white pizza to be sliced horizontally, stuff it with some porchetta or mortadella, and you are good to go.

Mercato Testaccio Via Galvani Via A.Volta 00153 Rome tel. 06 578 0638 17 SEPTEMBER 2015

WINE OF THE MONTH

To buy by the case! OP Pinot Nero Brut M.Cl. 2010 Ca’ del Gè 10,000 bottles ex-cellar price: 9 euros The wine of the month takes us straight to Oltrepò Pavese in Lombardy, 60 km south of Milano, to a family-run winery that works diligently and successfully far from the limelight. Above all, it maintains a friendly price/quality rapport. Stefania, Sara and Carlo Padroggi look after 40 hectares of vineyard located in an excellent position on the hills of Montalto Pavese. Their soil is ideal for the cultivation of riesling and pinot nero, a heritage from their father, Enzo. The wine of the month is Oltrepò Pavese Metodo Classico Pinot Nero Brut ‘10. Impressive right from its golden color, it is rich and mature, with aromas that range from red berries to aromatic herbs and orange blossoms. Creamy in the mouth, full, and at the same time taut and nervous, it has a finish of exemplary progression and cleanliness. It delightfully invites the next sip, irresistibly full and complex, laden with flavor but also assertive, with its pulpy, but never tiring red fruit and caressing, insistent bubbles. We defy you to find a better Italian metodo classico bottle of its type – this one has spent 48 months on its lees – under 10 euros at the winery. Absolutely delicious with a warm butter and anchovy bruschetta. Francesco Beghi and Lorenzo Ruggeri 18 SEPTEMBER 2015

TWITTER dixit

Fabien Lainé

@fabienlaine The magic of nature is working on to bring us joy and pleasure.

Julien Miquel #Wine

RailBridge Cellars

@JMiquelWine When #Wine Dresses Up to Dine Out !! Funny cartoon by www.winephantom. wordpress.com

@RailBridgeSac “Take counsel in wine, but resolve afterwards in water.” - Benjamin Franklin

Jon Thorsen

English Wine Shop

@ReverseWineSnob Stairway to heaven?

@EnglishWineShop “There is truth in wine, but you never see it listed in the ingredients on the label”

Delta King

@TheDeltaKing “There are many ways to the recognition of truth, and Burgundy is one of them.” - Isak Dinesen

19 SEPTEMBER 2015

EMILIA RO LIFE GU

PAIRING LAB

drawings by Chiara Buosi SCHIAVA

FIANO FSOAVE

frappato

verdicchio

morellino

Culatello di Zibello

LAMBRUSCO DI SORBARA SCHIAVA

FIANO FSOAVE

frappato

morellino

Gnocco fritto (with coldcuts)

LAMBRUSCO GRASPAROSSA DI CASTELVETRO

SCHIAVA

FIANO FSOAVE

Piadina romagnola

frappato

morellino

verdicchio

(with Parma ham & squacquerone)

ROMAGNA ALBANA SECCO

20 SEPTEMBER 2015

verdicchio

OMAGNA UIDE

IAVA

SCHIAVA

FIANO FSOAVE

frappato

verdicch

morellino

Tagliatelle al rag첫 COLLI PIACENTINI GUTTURNIO FIANO FSOAVE

frappato

verdicchio

morellino

Lasagne alla bolognese ROMAGNA SANGIOVESE SUPERIORE

SCHIAVA

FIANO FSOAVE

frappato

morellino

Tortellini in brodo

ROMAGNA SANGIOVESE

21 SEPTEMBER 2015

FOOD & DESIGN

STYLE with a message

Design ISIA Convivio

The language of design knows no borders, has no inherent limits to being accepted universally and being understood by the masses. The task of design is to analyze the world and spot a vital missing element, while putting aside the logic of large-scale production that calls for standardization and uniformity. Good design can provide tools for improving the quality of life and can find ways to limit impact on the environment. The Italian ISIA (Istituti Superiori per le Industrie Artistiche or Higher Institutes for Artistic Industries), with programs in Faenza, Florence, Urbino and Rome, has done important work towards these goals. The project ISIA Design Convivio, presented at EXPO 2015 in Milano in June, exploits Dante’s convivio or ‘banquet’ theme as a metaphor for knowledge that nourishes the mind and fosters creativity. The name refers to a work by Dante Alighieri written roughly between 1304 and 1307. Recent projects by students from the four ISIA schools were on show. Freeijis, “free energy way”, by Caterina Falleni, is a refrigerating apparatus for fruit and vegetables, intended for home use. With no electricity required, it cools by means of water evaporation. Re-Oil, by Guido Marchesini, is a clever domestic gadget that can recycle used vegetable oil directly in detergent, thanks to technology that takes advantage of the chemical reactions between soap and fatty acids. Woo, an isothermal container designed by Eleonora Musca, maintains its stored food and beverage contents at a constant temperature for hours, a great aid in the kitchen. Gabriele Berto from Faenza invented a new way to showcase regional products: ingredients are placed in sealed glass jars corked with bread that absorbs aromas as the products are steam-cooked. Lorenzo Banchini and Antonio Scribano teamed to face the crucial question of water quality. The portable OpenMaji uses 2.25 grams of salt, 75 milliliters of water and a dynamo to create a sodium hypochlorite solution that can in turn make between 30 to 50 liters of water drinkable. The gadget was developed in collaboration with the Italian Consulate in Niger to solve the problem of polluted water than kills 1.8 million children every year. Veneranda Carrino, with Design for all, Easy to remember has worked out a simple, intuitive system to help Alzheimer’s patients remember better and improve. Through these works, and many others, Marco Bazzini and Anthy Pansera, respectively presidents of ISIA Florence and ISIA Faenza, clarified the artistic and practical roles of their Institutes. Design for all, Easy to remember

22 SEPTEMBER 2015

Woo

Freeijis Gabriele Berto

re-Oil

What is the role of the ISIA in Italy, and how does it relate to the world of food? Since 1972, these university-level institutes have trained designers, contributing a great deal to the development of this profession. With highly selective admission policies and only four locations (Rome, Florence, Faenza and Urbino), ISIA schools are extremely sensitive to the evolution of design. That’s why the theme of food design, including packaging and equipment for preparing, cooking and eating, has been a subject of research and planning in our institute workshops for a long time. Compared to recent years, have design projects related to food increased? The current gastronomy fad – call it gastromania – has not affected our teaching. We have been concerned with these themes for a long time and without any reference to passing fashions. Certainly, recently we’ve seen many food-related theses, but above all it is ethical questions that characterize the training in our institutes. How did the ISIA Design Convivio project for EXPO come about?

OpenMaji

The choice came out of the need to make ISIA better known, as a single system for university-level design training. That led to the decision to present our projects together, not by our individual locations, but in terms of four themes. We followed Dante’s work, which we took as an umbrella metaphor for nourishing, or fostering awareness. The themes reflected the lines of ISIA training: Treatise I – Design and awareness for all, Treatise II – The senses of the project, Treatise III – Design, research and method, Treatise IV – The virtue of the project. How did the examiners’ committee choose which Convivio projects to show? A small committee for each ISIA made a first selection, which then was passed on to the curators who chose about sixty. Sadly, many interesting projects had to be left out. We focused on projects that supported the selected themes most forcefully, with particular attention to those that involved food, given the context of the EXPO theme. Some of the works seek to find solutions that lessen impact on the environment. Others try to make life easier for stress-filled

23 SEPTEMBER 2015

lives. But all projects have a common objective. What? For many years, ISIA has focused its educational choices on the question of social responsibility, the culture of the ethical project. This distinguishes us from other institutions and at the same time, lets us work specifically within our own territories, but also to collaborate with many other institutions of advanced training and research, both Italian and foreign. Design today is not only about objects, but has to employ the strategy of changing change itself. Design must know how to be inside transformation, with the capacity of using all the energy of positive thought that comes from the outside and redirect it to daily life. The projects presented are all from students addressing this dimension, concerned with new consumer habits, with those who live not only as individuals but also as members of a community, with those who have a full and different awareness of themselves. They don’t seek a way out of problems and the evident tragedies of our society, but rather, starting from them, seek to offer to everyone new ways of facing them. Stefania Annese collaborated

Vineyard for Vineyard. Wine for Wine. www.kellerei-kurtatsch.it

24 SEPTEMBER 2015

VINI D’ITALIA 2016

VINI D’ITALIA 2016 Special Awards

Here are the special awards from our Gambero Rosso guide, Vini d’Italia 2016. After months and months of travels and tastings, these are the wines, the wineries, and the personalities that struck us most forcefully, and that we want to illuminate with a more powerful light… Next month, we’ll tell you all about our Tre Bicchieri winners. 25 SEPTEMBER 2015

VINI D’ITALIA 2016

Red Wine of the Year Etna Rosso V. Barbagalli 2012 – Pietradolce

A wine of extraordinary complexity and finesse, the Vigna Barbagalli ‘12 is multi-faceted and deep on the nose, where berries, minerality, tobacco and balsamic notes alternate. Long and clean on the palate, the fruit returns on a long finish in all its elegant sensuality.

White Wine of the Year Collio Friulano 2014 – Schiopetto

Another enviable performance from the entire parade of bottles, but above all from the Friulano ’14, that reconquered Tre Bicchieri recognition along with the award for White Wine of the Year, thanks to unanimous appreciation from both selection panels. Rich, complex and harmonious on both nose and palate, it regales us with suggestions of ripe fruit, light honey and meadow grass.

Sparkling Wine of the Year Franciacorta Dosage Zéro Noir Vintage Collection Riserva 2006 – Ca’ del Bosco

The fortieth Tre Bicchieri wine in its career for Ca’ del Bosco, with this extraordinary Dosage Zéro Noir Riserva ’06 from the Vintage Collection line. Over eight years of aging on its lees give this Blanc de Noirs extraordinary depth and complexity, making it an absolute benchmark of quality. A majestic performance that deserves our award for Sparkling Wine of the Year.

Sweet Wine of the Year Valle d’Aosta Chambave Moscato Passito Prieuré 2013 – La Crotta di Vegneron

A brilliant golden color. The breadth of its olfactory sensations is amazing. It opens on notes of peach and apricot that yield to floral nuances, thyme and finally to dried fruit. On the palate, concentrated fruit, sweetness, but above all freshness and great elegance. Don’t miss it.

Manincor

Winery of the Year Allegrini

Marilisa and Franco Allegrini have known how to bring the winery founded by Franco’s father, Giovanni, to the peak of Italian enology. They have launched it beyond the borders of their region, while at the same time staying strongly tied to the territory of their origin, the Veneto. By now they have more than 100 hectares of vineyard in Valpolicella, spread along the slopes with the best exposures in the denomination, staying away from the valley and following the cool climate that only the higher hillsides can provide, for a solid production of great integrity.

Schiopetto

Best Buy Falanghina del Sannio Svelato 2014 – Terre Stregate

Up-and-Coming Winery Guado al Melo

Michele Scienza’s winery was the revelation of the year in Bolgheri, with a parade of wines that range from very good to excellent. His seventeen hectares of vineyard are cultivated with maniacal attention to quality and sustainability. In his winemaking cellars, the work is basically artisanal and uninvasive. He grows many varieties, some representing Mediterranean and Caucasian tradition. His vineyards are dominated, however, by the classic grapes of Bolgheri.

The Falanghina Svelato from the 2014 vintage forcefully claimed the Tre Bicchieri award for the Best Buy, the best price/quality rapport. It is on its way to being a classic not only in its territory, but also in the whole picture of wine in Campania. A brilliant greenish straw-yellow color, it has an intense and rich nose that suggests roses, yellow fruit, spices and vanilla. The palate is generous and assertive, closing lengthily, fresh and vital on hints of citrus fruit.

Grape-grower of the year Giulio Grasso, Ca’ del Baio

Award for sustainable viticulture Manincor

Giulio Grasso is an authentic grape-grower, a man who lives the rhythms of nature and the countryside, practically in symbiosis with his vineyards. Although his production ranges from white wines to the reds of the territory, it is nevertheless his Barbaresco wines from the Pora, Asili and Vallegrande crus that most deeply represent him, and above all, his ties to his land. He is transmitting these values to his daughters Paola, Valentina and Federica, who work with him in the winery.

Sophie and Michael GoëssEnzemberg run the family winery in Caldaro, fifty hectares of property, subdivided into five farms managed according to the dictates of biodynamic agriculture, with the vigilant and precise collaboration of Helmut Zozin. Everything revolves around the concept of quality, understood as not only the sensory qualities of the wines, which are irreproachable, but also quality and respect for the environment both in the countryside and inside the beautiful winery under the vines.

27 SEPTEMBER 2015

TOP ITALIAN COVER STORY FOOD

TOP ITALIAN

28 SEPTEMBER 2015

FOOD Top Italian Food & Beverage Experience | 352 pages |price 12,50 euros | on sale in boostores and at www.gamberorosso.it

Our new Gambero Rosso guide is focused on export: 850 top-ranking companies ready for the global market are reviewed, one by one, in English. We take this opportunity, and the occasion of EXPO 2015, to analyze Italian appeal around the world. We talk with one of the best pasta manufacturers in Italy, present fusion recipes by foreign chefs and visit an Italian chef making news in a classic Hong Kong hotel restaurant. 29 SEPTEMBER 2015

TOP ITALIAN FOOD | INTERVIEW

by Stefano Polacchi photos by Alessandra Farinelli - E2

SPAGHETTI passion

e sat down with Giuseppe Di Martino, alias Mr. Pasta. His hand guides some of the most important brands of durum wheat pasta in Campania, the original home of the product that has become the symbol of Made in Italy and Italian lifestyle around the world. We intercepted him on one of his many trips around Europe and the world to talk about what exporting Italian food has come to mean. What strategies does it call for and how do people abroad view and live with our agricultural products? “Pasta equals Italian pasta! Certainly there’s a great production of dried pasta around the globe, in Europe as well as Canada, the United States, Japan, Russia, the Arab Emirates…Production technology can be exported, even if there are many variables that make the finished products different.” What pasta do you find on store shelves abroad? “There are two categories of merchandise. There’s Italian pasta and then there’s the local product. The Italian one is synonymous with quality, thanks to the continual promotional efforts we make.” But are these products perceived differently in the different markets? “In Asia – China, Japan, Korea – people are great spaghetti eaters. They historically have enjoyed various types of noodles. The Japanese in particular, though, are

Giuseppe Di Martino

30 SEPTEMBER 2015

very attentive to quality, even from a technical point of view. Pasta is sold not only by name, but also by its thickness. The Japanese want to know what they’re buying, the origins of the product and the way it’s made. They are very fond of Italian pasta and the Mediterranean diet. Like us, the Japanese are almost always on the lists of people with the longest lives.” Are there fashion and trend factors? “Yes, in Korea, for example, Italy is very fashionable now. They are great fans and students of opera. They love our design. Their attitude is similar to the one we had towards American customs in the second half of the last century. So Koreans want their pasta al dente and they cook our traditional dishes almost too meticulously.” And there’s America, the historic goal of our emigrants in the last century. “Yes, but I want to underline how important the growth in pasta con-

sumption is in new countries, such as India and Singapore. And think about an absolutely vital market like Indonesia, with its 350 million inhabitants. They turn to pasta also for reasons of religion. For example, it seems to be a food that’s very suitable during Ramadan. In the Middle East, instead, pasta is part of Mediterranean culture. They eat it a little differently, often as a side dish along with vegetables and meat, and that’s a centuries-old tra-

dition. And there too, you find people who eat spaghetti with tomato sauce or cacio e pepe, cheese and black pepper. Certainly, it’s more difficult, for religious and cultural reasons, to come across historical dishes such as pasta alla carbonara or l’amatriciana.” America was one of the great destinations for Italian emigration. “There consumers fall into two big groups. There are the pasta orthodox, living in the United States for at least three generations. Their pasta experience is tied to the 1950s

Numbers, markets and formats The world market is growing. Every year it has been going up 3-5%. These are important numbers. Although there are historic, well-consolidated markets with annual growth of 1 or 2%, there are others that increase 15 or 40%. “It’s mostly the young who contribute to the increment in the consumption of pasta – a good omen that suggests continual growth in the future,” comments Giuseppe Di Martino. “Many markets only know the classic formats: tagliatelle, spaghetti, fusilli, linguine and penne are the most popular. Now orecchiette, paccheri and pappardelle are beginning to sell. The Pastificio dei Campi format that won a prize, Il Compasso d’oro, Campotto, came out of a dinner I had in my home with an American journalist. We were eating paccheri, but she admitted that she would never have eaten them in public because it would have been embarrassing for a woman to open her mouth wide enough to eat a pacchero. I accepted the challenge. The Campotto is a smaller version, a number 8. You can open your mouth less, but it offers the same sensation as the pacchero.”

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TOP ITALIAN FOOD | INTERVIEW

and 1960s: they like timballo and meat balls. Then there are the consumers of the new generation, those who discovered pasta because they travel and have seen the advantages of Mediterranean diet and live in a more conscious way. For these, pasta, like pizza, is a social occasion, an opportunity to enjoy a meal with friends and family. These modern consumers are very careful about how it’s cooked, its consistency, its toppings. Then there’s the European market. In many countries, for example France and Germany, Italian style is assimilated, it’s part of them. One day a week, they’ll eat Italian, another day they’ll eat Spanish. In France there’s the tendency to think that pasta is really French.” Often, abroad, they imitate Italian dishes, but the results can be disastrous. “Well, in England, the least Italian plate of pasta is the most popular – spaghetti alla Bolognese. Spagbol. It has become a typical English dish, even if it doesn’t exist in Italy. It has a very dense sauce, full of onions and chopped meat, and at the end, you eat the pasta and the meat sauce separately, on the same plate. It’s like what happened for chicken tikka masala. It derived from Indian cuisine, but it’s never made in India. These are England’s most popular dishes, and they show how strong the images of Italian tradition are, even

Made in Italy & fusion In a global market that varies widely, responding to many different and heterogeneous populations, Made in Italy must rely on its natural versatility, especially in the food and agriculture sector, and explore every possibility of introducing itself into the cultural realities of the world. This is the strength of Pastificio dei Campi strategy, “Guess who’s coming to dinner”, because it showcases the virtues of so-called contamination. Each month a foreign chef that belongs to the group Jeunes Restaurateurs d’Europe visits the Pastificio in Gragnano, near Naples, and cooks two recipes of pasta for eight people, recipes devised by him or her at home, outside Italy. The chef then participates a dried pasta full-immersion program, partnered with the chef of the Antica Osteria Nonna Rosa, Peppe Guida, in Vico Equense. A book that emerged from the project is ready for publication. “Every day Italian cooks make newly invented and created pasta dishes. Why shouldn’t foreign cooks do the same? Certainly, it’s important to know the tradition, the classics, but we need to move ahead, too, build the future. And these experiments, if done well and skillfully, open up important pathways. When a pasta format works perfectly with a topping, there’s nothing better. That’s what’s important. And with this project, we continuously carry out research,” explains Giuseppe Di Martino.

when reworked locally.” What strategies must be worked out to defend our production on international markets? “In the most developed Western markets, it’s important to stay vigilant. For example, pasta di Gragnano, which is an IGP (protected geographical in-

32 SEPTEMBER 2015

dication) product, must heavily promote and protect the denomination. It is relentlessly imitated, and we must expose false versions. I think that’s true for other important Italian food and agricultural products. We have to hold the banner of quality high and help consumers to be knowledgeable so as to prevent fakes and promote the image of true Made in Italy. The government has to help with focused planning, but businesses too must set aside sums for communication. It is fundamental to communicate the difference between the Italian product and fakes or local imitations.”

TOP ITALIAN FOOD | RECIPES

by Francesco Seccagno

ITALIAN PASTA

at home everywhere

astificio dei Campi’s project, “Guess who’s coming to dinner”, shows how the most classic Italian pasta (durum wheat, artisanal, low temperature production) adapts to the traditions and cultures of foreign chefs. An excellent product such as durum wheat pasta doesn’t necessarily have to be

tasted and consumed in Italian ways. Sometimes the right ingredients aren’t available, sometimes certain meats are forbidden, sometimes chefs’ creativity inspires them to new dishes and different sensations. Here are a few of the recipes that will be in a collection emerging from this Pastifico dei Campi project.

Heribert Dietrich | Klosters | Switzerland| walserhof.ch

Linguine, chestnuts and black truffle 4 servings 240 g linguine

20 g vermouth bianco Noilly Prat

4 whole eggs

20 g butter

100 g flour

100 g baby spinach

2 beaten eggs

40 g di black Truffles

100 g breadcrumbs 200 g chestnuts, whole, if possible

Preparation

100 g cream

Place whole eggs in freezer for 24 hours, then in refrigerator for 24 hours. Peel, roll in flour, in beaten eggs, then in breadcrumbs. Fry eggs in deep fat. Bake the chestnuts at

200 g vegetable broth 2 shallots

33 SEPTEMBER 2015

200°C for 10 minutes. Peel and chop into cubes. In a large pan, chop shallots and sauté in butter. Deglaze with vermouth. Add cream and vegetable broth and leave to simmer for 10 minutes, shaking the pan from time to time. Drain linguine cooked al dente and transfer to cream sauce for a few seconds, adding spinach and chestnuts. Transfer to individual dishes, garnish with shavings of black truffle and top each plate with a whole fried egg.

TOP ITALIAN FOOD | RECIPES

Tubetti di Gragnano, sweetbreads, canterelle mushrooms, onion and herb butter 4 servings 300 g tubetti rigati di Gragnano 1 bunch wild herbs 1 cl extra-virgin olive oil 150 g cleaned, blanched sweetbreads cardamom, ground

1 tablespoon honey 150 g chanterelles, cleaned chopped parsley

For the onion butter: 125 g butter 2 white onions, minced 1 spring onion, minced 1 clove black garlic 1 teaspoon sugar salt and black pepper grated lemon peel

Preparation Cut the butter into cubes and melt in a saucepan over low heat. Add black garlic, minced spring onion and white onion. Season with salt and pepper, sugar and a little grated lemon peel. Continue cooking for 10 minutes, without browning onion. Drain and cool the butter separately. Wash and clean the herbs. Marinate in olive oil, salt and pepper for 20 minutes. Heat 50 g of the aromatic onion butter, sautĂŠ the sweetbreads, then glaze with honey and cardamom. Add chanterelle mushrooms and brown well. Cook the tubetti until al dente, drain, and heat in saucepan with mushrooms and sweetbreads, topping with a handful of chopped parsley. Serve, garnished with marinated herbs.

34 SEPTEMBER 2015

Alexander Huber | Pleiskirchen | Germany | www.huber-wirt.de

Alessandra Farinelli photo by

Jesus Monedero | OcaĂąa (Toledo) | Spain | www.paliorestaurante.es

Conchiglioni di Gragnano with pisto and Vega de San Martin goat cheese 10 servings 30 conchiglioni di Gragnano 2 eggplants 2 red bell peppers 2 zucchini 1 onion 50 g tomato paste goat cheese extra-virgin olive oil salt

for the hollandaise sauce:

250 g butter 6 egg yolks juice of

1 lemon

Preparation Clean the vegetables, dice and sautĂŠ in extra-virgin olive oil. Add tomato paste, season with salt and leave to simmer. (This is Spanish pisto, similar to a ratatouille, but with smaller pieces.) Cook the pasta in abundant salted water, drain, and cool on a baking sheet. Fill the pasta shells with the pisto and some goat cheese. Prepare the hollandaise sauce with egg yolks, butter and lemon juice. Place a teaspoonful on each shell and bake for 3 minutes. Serve on plates decorated with basil-infused oil and vegetable pesto.

35 SEPTEMBER 2015

ITALIANS ABROAD | INTERVIEW

by Lorenzo Ruggeri photos by Cosimo Affuso

A GIFTED BOY

in HONG KONG Twenty-five-yearold Alessandro Cozzolino is Chef de cuisine of the historic Grand Hyatt Italian restaurant, Grissini, in Hong Kong. The star of the show is buffalo milk: mozzarella, ricottaâ&#x20AC;Ś

36 SEPTEMBER 2015

text message on his cell phone alerts him. His provider has just sent photographs of freshly-caught Mediterranean fish and relevant prices. The chef looks them over, decides, and confirms the order. After 24 hours, the fish is in his Hong Kong kitchen. Buffalo mozzarella arrives from Campania twice a week, along with an array of exceptional products such as tomatoes from Corbara. Wherever he goes to work, Alessandro Cozzolino, a child prodigy among Italian chefs abroad, takes along his list of suppliers. At 25, his CV is amazingly rich in prestigious restaurant experiences in Italy, France, Great Britain and Finland. Since March, 2015, he has been the Chef de cuisine of the long-established Ristorante Grissini of Hong Kong, in the Grand Hyatt, with its spectacular view over the Grand Harbour. Born in Caserta, in Campania, he brings his whole regional identity to bear on the historic menu, starting with an incredible cheese tray totally based on buffalo milk.

In Italy, but also in other countries, it’s rare to find an important business that will bet on such a young man. I found people who knew me professionally and believed in me. They wanted a change and I believe that to offer something new, it’s good to bet on the young. Another thing is that the pace of work is crazy here. It’s a city that goes all night long. When I close the kitchen at one in the morning, I have to order fish. Monday, on my day off, I plan my orders from Italy. It’s easier for a young person to stand up to these rhythms. What was the first impact of Hong Kong like? It was a great challenge. Imagine my face when they met me at the airport with a limousine – a mixture of fear, excitement and enthusiasm. Grissini opened in November, 1989. I was born a month later. I had to work on my English and now I’m doing fine. This restaurant is a pilaster of the company. We do cucina italiana training for many chefs from Japan and Thailand who come here to see how we work. Let’s talk about ingredients. Hong Kong is probably the

easiest city in Asia for importing products from around the world. Or not? With the right contacts, I find products that would be difficult to get even in Italy – niche products, artisanal, organic ones. For example, violet artichokes from Castellamare, chubby Neapolitan papaccella peppers, top quality cherry tomatoes, prime meat and fish that comes twice a week. I buy Mazzara del Vallo shrimp from the same supplier I used in Italy. I have excellent products in my kitchen, everything imported. The only thing local is the tap water. And sometimes, for example for spaghetti with tomato sauce, not even that. What do you bring of yourself into your kitchen? My cucina is very Mediterranean, which means a lot of fish, top quality extra-virgin olive oil, little other fat except maybe good buffalo

37 SEPTEMBER 2015

ITALIANS ABROAD | INTERVIEW

semi-dried Neapolitan cherry tomatoes and a dusting of powdery Neapolitan tarallo crumbs.

milk butter. The menu is a classic one based on seasonality. Right now porcini mushrooms, white truffles and other great items are on their way. But my starring dish is still spaghetti with tomato sauce, basil and freshly-grated grana cheese – even on the other side of the globe it has to be done right. And wait until you taste our shrimps marinated with olive oil and lemon, just barely cooked through, served with olive oil, an emulsion of basil foam, homemade peasant bread,

How do you use mozzarella di bufala? We perfected a cheese cart all based on buffalo-milk: 8 cheeses, including taleggio di bufala, cacio bufala, ricotta di bufala (Casa Madaio) called Barilotto – aged, semi-aged, and fresh, to taste the differences. Then we have excellent burrata, one of cow’s milk and another of buffalo milk, for comparison. In other words, a really good selection. They’re all from small dairies that can guarantee a couple of shipments each week. What do people in this city like about cucina italiana, and what puzzles them? Here they certainly use less salt, and they have difficulties with dishes of ours that are very savory. The idea of cucina italiana is still haunted by false American ideas. Imagine my face when they ask me for those cursed fettuccine Alfredo. I want to offer a menu based on perfect ingredients, light and tasty. I have a culinary conscience. I spend every cent of my food cost. That’s my identity. I could never make sushi, even if I do have a Japanese restaurant upstairs. What do you miss about Italy? I’m southern Italian, Neapolitan, 100%. I don’t know how I’ll end up, but I think I’ll go back to my own country sooner or later. What I’m doing now is expanding my horizons. I’m learning a lot at the managerial level. Here I have to organize everything for the next 5 days, the orders, the business plan. We have already reached a good point, but I want to improve, to leave my mark. Grissini 2/F, Grand Hyatt Hong Kong | 1 Harbour Rd | Wan Chai | HongKong | tel. +852 2584 7722

38 SEPTEMBER 2015

Buffalo mozzarella selected from our guide Barlotti | via Torre di Paestum, 1 | Paestum (SA) | Tel. 0828811146 | www.caseificiobarlotti.com

Casa Madaio | via Marino da Eboli, 9 | Eboli (SA) | Tel. 0828364815 | www.casamadaio.it

Founded at the beginning of the last century, this is one of Piana del Seleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oldest producers. The cheeses are made with milk from its own herd of buffalo, proudly on view next to the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s point of sale and eatery, or from members of the Consorzio Alba association of buffalo breeders, of which Barlotti is a member. Mozzarella in various sizes, provola and scamorza are the result of artisanal drawing and cutting. There is also plenty of milk, butter, ricotta, yogurt, and buffalo meat.

For four generations Casa Madaio has handed down the traditions and passion for making and ripening cheese, from father to son. The products fall into a number of categories: fresh items including cheese, yogurt and buffalo mozzarella; semi-ripe cheeses including a Manteca of string cheese and butter; Ficaccio wrapped in fig leaves and aged 40 days; ripe cheeses including Vetus caciocavallo podolico; Rosso with Senise pepper; Sbronzo using two types of milk, cow and buffalo; with Aglianico wine.

Rivabianca| s.s. 18, km 93 | Paestum (SA) | Tel. 0828724030 | www.rivabianca.it

A farming cooperative specializing in buffalo, whose fresh milk is processed to make excellent products, applying the artisanal methods developed with years of experience (fermentation, spinning and cutting), but also working to all hygiene and healthcare standards. The catalogue is lengthy and includes ricotta; plain and smoked scamorza; cacioreale; smoked provola. Of course pride of place goes to buffalo mozzarella, braided in weights of 1.5 kg upwards, or in bocconcini of about 50 g each. Also classic mozzarella in a variety of formats.

Founded in 1950 as a farm devoted purely to raising buffalo and over time it has maximized its operating structure. Buffalo milk, collected daily across the territory from partner farms, is processed with cutting-edge plant and equipment. The Campania buffalo mozzarella is handmade or drawn by automated machinery to make various shapes and sizes: eggshaped, braided, cherries, pearls, and a lactose-free version. The ricotta is also noteworthy.

39 SEPTEMBER 2015

FOCUS ON FRANCIACORTA

by Marco Sabellico

FRANCIACORTA

AT ITS BEST Ca’ del Bosco

During the final tastings for Tre Bicchieri awards, Vini d’Italia 2016, we also chose the best Franciacorta wines. These labels are at the very top of Italian production, bottles from a terroir determined to grow in harmony with its ecosystem while observing the principles of sustainability.

ranciacorta is growing. In 2014, 15,200,000 bottles of metodo classico sparkling wine were produced in the province of Brescia, Lombardy. This confirms Franciacorta’s role as the most important denomination for Italian metodo classico production. In 2010, production was around ten million

bottles. Careful marketing and promotion, constantly improving quality, and the entry into the denomination of one of the most important brands of Italian spumante, Guido Berlucchi (focusing its attention on the denomination that it had helped create a little more than 50 years ago), did the rest. “It wasn’t one of our priori40 SEPTEMBER 2015

ties to grow in terms of numbers,” affirms Maurizio Zanella, president of the Consorzio Vini Franciacorta as well as of Ca’ del Bosco winery, “but it was the result of a series of rigorous qualitative choices. The level of our wines went up, and the marketplace recognized our commitment.” Franciacorta took its first steps in

1961 when Franco Ziliani and Guido Berlucchi turned out their first three thousand bottles. The success of that experiment resonated around the territory. In 1967, the Franciacorta DOC was established, in 1990 the Consorzio was founded with 29 producers joining, and in 1995, the regulations for the DOCG were set. Today the name Franciacorta refers to 3,000 hectares of vineyards in 19 municipalities, including Brescia, and to 119 wineries belonging to the Consorzio, representing almost all producers. Since 1990, the rules have been modified three times, consistently aimed at raising the quality of the product. Today Franciacorta probably has the most rigorous regulations in the world for the making of metodo classico spumante. We could go into technical details, talking about the yield per hectare and grape-wine yield (barely 60%), about the lengthening of the time spent maturing on its lees… But after more than 400 tastings for the new edition of the guide, we realized that Franciacorta is in a phase of further growth, beyond technical parameters and rules. We perceived it in the constant reduction of the liqueur and the dosage of sugar, which rarely exceeded five grams per liter. A great deal of the Brut could really be labeled as Extra Brut. Pinot nero, at one time a rarity among the vines around Lake Iseo, is playing an ever more important role. Many wineries, in an area that was the land of Blanc de Blancs par excellence, vaunt labels Castello Bonomi

Villa vineyeards

showing monovarietal pinot nero, and more and more generous proportions are appearing alongside chardonnay and pinot bianco. “Pinot nero,” Zanella explains, “makes up more than 15% of our vines today, but soon it will be over 20%. Its role in Rosé wines is growing. But we are also reevaluating the role of pinot bianco, a grape that in recent years has shown that it can adapt to warmer temperatures better than chardonnay.” Among the hills between Lake Iseo and Monte Orfano, producers are hardly resting on their laurels. Zoning work continues, especially on the best varieties, including indigenous ones, and on grafting. “We are studying the vitality and the softness of the soils, greenhouse gases, alternatives to pesticides, and the Italian Wine Carbon Calculator with the help of the University of Milano and the Istituto Agrario di San Michele all’Adige,” says Silvano Brascianini, vice-president of the Consorzio, specialized in technical questions, and CEO of Barone Pizzini winery. Techniques and experience have been crucial. Each new year brings essential ideas to a zone that is only 50 years old. The challenges are many, ranging from environmental sustainability to the management of the territory. To improve the fertility of the soil, work on biodiversity has become important. Of the 3,000 hectares in Franciacorta, 1,200 are already either organic or being converted, a percentage destined to increase very rapidly. Weed41 SEPTEMBER 2015

ing among the vineyards is a vanishing practice. Technicians are studying vine pathology and parasites, looking for preventative methods with low environmental impact. Since last year, for example, sexual confusion techniques are used on parasites. Since 2010, greenhouse gas emissions have been monitored along the entire production line, with the objective of guaranteeing the vineyards’ longevity. “One thousand of our 3,000 hectares of vineyard are under 10 years old,” Zanella adds. “The qualitative level of our territory can only increase more…” Unlike other denominations that are strongly directed towards international markets, 90% of Franciacorta is consumed in Italy, and prevalently in the center and north of the country. Export absorbs barely 9.2% of production, but it is positioned well and growing steadily. The top market for Franciacorta outside Italy is Japan, where it commands prices similar to those of the most famous and prestigious cuvees in the world. If new planting is not authorized, maximum production levels have almost been reached. When all current vineyards are in full swing, production will surpass 20 million bottles annually, enough to grow further in Italy, especially in the south, and to face the rest of the world more decisively. The Franciacorta pavilion at the Milano Expo, Official Sparkling Wine of Expo 2015, is right on the Decumano and always crowded; a lot of wine is being poured.

FOCUS ON FRANCIACORTA

The tastings drink. After seven years on its lees, it is pulpy and vital, with great aromatic persistence.

Fratelli Berlucchi Franciacorta Freccia Nera Nature 2010

This cuvee, dominated by chardonnay, with 15% pinot nero, offers finesse and elegance as its winning cards. Made with a minimal dose of sugar during maturation, it is notable for its elegant hints of spices and yeast on the nose, for the delicacy of its bubbles and for its solid yet nervous structure. A wonderful finish, soft but rigorous, with notes of vanilla and fruit.

Guido Berlucchi & C. Franciacorta Palazzo Lana Riserva Extrême 2007

Silvano Brescianini and Piermatteo Ghitti, winery Barone Pizzini

Barone Pizzini Franciacorta Naturae 2011

This label is a classic of Franciacorta. The winery is completely organic. Chardonnay and pinot nero grapes in the cuvée come from the winery’s highest-altitude grapes, those of Pian delle Viti, grown on limestone-rich soil. Elegant and balanced, it has fine acidic tension, elegant fragrances of white fruit and creamy effervescence. On the palate, although no sugar

is added during maturation, it is notably full and soft.

The historic house of the Ziliani family has its top labels in the Palazzo Lana line. Brut Extrême is a monovarietal Pinot Nero from the Borgonato vineyard. It ages over six years on its lees before disgorgement. A wine of tension, freshness and minerality, the structure and fullness of a blanc de noirs unfurls with elegance and complexity, a seductive palette of aromas.

Bellavista Franciacorta Riserva Vittorio Moretti 2008

Complexity, elegance, finesse. Enchanting delicate floral aromas of jasmine, of honey and Asian spices with hints of white and citrus fruits. Savory and taut on the palate, its elegant boisé and mineral notes give dynamic complexity to a wine that is extraordinarily inviting to

Bersi Serlini Franciacorta Extra Brut 2011

Maddalena and Chiara Bersi Serlini turn out elegant cuvees from their vineyards in Provaglio d’Iseo. Their Extra Brut ’11 is particularly interesting, made from a blend of chardonnay and pinot bianco. It offers a complex bouquet of roses, grapefruit and white peach. Opening soft and creamy, savory and clean on the palate, it closes harmoniously and long on notes of fruit and citrus.

Ca’ del Bosco Franciacorta Vintage Collection Dosage Zero Noir 2006

This is one of the most interesting labels on wine shop shelves today. Its pinot nero

Terra della Franciacorta. Saving the region Franciacorta is not only wine. Under this name also fall the territory’s 18 municipalities. Since 2011, they share a socio-economic idea of development, a strategy that enhances their identities. A public-private directive translates into projects that can attract investments. The aim is to spotlight cultural and environmental aspects of the territory as a way to create a sustainable economy that connects Franciacorta with other territories, both national and international. The agreement is shared by 90% of the local governing officials, 146,000 inhabitants, who will be working together towards the same goals for the next 20 years. The project is designed to foster the well-being of the population, and put limits on asphalt and cement, i.e. construction of buildings and malls. It will relaunch artisanal activity, seek investments in tourism as a fundamental resource, protect natural areas and coordinate agreements on the use of plant protection products. Supported by the universities of Brescia and Milano, the agreement aims at intelligent urban development to make the environment more welcoming for tourism.

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CastelFaglia Franciacorta Monogram Dosaggio Zero 2011

Mattia Vezzola, Francesca Moretti e Vittorio Moretti, winery Bellavista

grapes come from three groups of vineyards in the Belvedere estate, at 450 meters of altitude above the southern shore of Lake Iseo. After more than eight years of aging on its lees, the wine has a beautiful coppery strawyellow color and very fine bubbles. Its aromas are seductive and complex, with notes of spices and nuanced wood penetrating the fruit. The palate is solid, occasionally austere, and resolves itself in a spicy and seductive finish.

The chardonnay and pinot nero grapes in this Franciacorta come from the winery’s best vineyards, in Calino - Cazzago San Martino. The wine has a brilliant straw-yellow color and the finest of bubbles. It opens elegantly on the nose with aromatic herbs, citrus fruit and white fruit. Solid and mouth-filling on the palate, savory and precise, it has great freshness and integrity.

Castello Bonomi Franciacorta Brut Cru Perdu 2004

The Paladin family has revitalized this historic Franciacorta winery, and for some years now, has brought out limited editions of mature vintages freshly disgorged. The 2004 of the Cru Perdu is made from a cuvee of chardonnay and pinot nero grapes from old vineyards.

Maurizio Zanella, winery Ca’ Del Bosco

Lo Sparviere. Monique Poncelet Gussalli Beretta with Pepe

Aged 10 years on its lees before disgorgement, the wine is a brilliant, intense greenish straw-yellow color. The nose is elegant and complex, laden with spices and exotic fruit aromas. The palate is mineral, complex, and at the same time extraordinarily enjoyable.

Contadi Castaldi Franciacorta Zero 2011

Dosaggio Zero is a specialty of this winery in Adro. The wine is made from a blend of equal parts of chardonnay and pinot nero, and ages over three years on its lees. This 2011 is remarkable for the freshness, floral nuances, full yet nervous structure, and the creaminess it manages to express on the palate. It is intense, savory, richly fruity, closing lengthily on notes of citrus and other fruit.

Derbusco Cives Franciacorta Brut Doppio Erre Di

The name Doppio Erre Dì refers to the Italian terms for late dégorgement, recently disgorged. This refers to a cuvee that has been aged on its lees for over 30 months. It is a blanc de blancs with precise aromas of white fruit and yeast, with hints of vanilla and licorice. On the palate it is solid, savory, rich and mouth-filling. It closes creamy and long on notes of plum, grapefruit and spices.

Ferghettina Franciacorta Extra Brut 2009

The Gatti family’s Extra Brut is another label that never disappoints. The ’09 vintage is in splendid shape. It has a lovely, brilliant straw-yellow color and the finest bubbles. On the nose, its fruity bouquet is of a rare, inviting vitality. On the palate, an elegant compromise between solid and nervous structure, rich

FOCUS ON FRANCIACORTA in acidic tension with an appealing mouthfeel of exotic fruit and spices.

Enrico Gatti Franciacorta Brut Nature

This family-owned winery has created its own precise style: opulent fruit, structure and minerality, typical virtues of the Franciacorta of Erbusco, do not interfere at all with the ease and pleasure of drinking these labels. Nature is a fine example. It is rich, compact in structure and creamy in its effervescence. Savory, taut and mineral, it is wonderfully harmonious, rich in fruit nuances and affords extraordinarily satisfying pleasure. Maddalena Bersi Serlini

The cellar of the Bersi Serlini winery

Il Mosnel Franciacorta Satèn 2011

Satèn is a typical Franciacorta style: it is a blanc de blancs, thus made from chardonnay and pinot bianco grapes, under pressure of no more than 5 atmospheres, which is one less than normal Franciacorta bottles. That choice makes the wine creamy and easy to drink. Among the best is the one made by sister and brother team, Lucia and Giulio Barzanò, owners of this historic Passirano winery. It has notes of vanilla, opulence, a tonic and vital palate with prevalent exotic fruit sensations.

Lantieri de Paratico Franciacorta Riserva Dosaggio Zero Origines 2009

Made from chardonnay grapes with a generous percentage of pinot nero (25%), this Riserva ages for

five years on its lees before disgorgement. It has very fine bubbles, a fresh and complex bouquet where citrus fruit aromas are followed by hints of Mediterranean herbs and precise notes of white fruit. On the palate it is generous, complex, mouth-filling, mineral and precise.

Le Marchesine Franciacorta Riserva Dosage Zero Secolo Novo ’08

Le Marchesine in Passirano is a family-run winery with over 40 hectares of beautiful vineyard. Loris Biatta offers us an elegant ’08 Riserva, a monovarietal chardonnay, that ages on its lees for over five years before disgorgement. This version is noteworthy for the richness of its fruit, finesse of its bubbles, generous, solid structure and expressive freshness.

Lo Sparviere Franciacorta Riserva Dosaggio Zero 2008

The Gussalli Beretta family turns out excellent Franciacorta wines on its Monticelli Brusati estate, over 20 hectares of vineyards in an excellent position. This year the Dosaggio Zero ’08 is notable, a blanc de blanc that is complex and savory, dense and rich in fruity tones, lightened by a vivid acidic note that sustains intense, fine fruit. The finish is long and complex, with notes of toast, dried fruit and citrus.

Monte Rossa Franciacorta Dosaggio Zero Coupé

Emanuele Rabotti produces elegant cuvees on his historic

Riccardo Ricci Curbastro

family estate, 70 hectares of beautiful vineyards in the Cazzago San Martino zone. This year we particularly noticed the Coupé, made with mostly chardonnay grapes, with no sugar added. It has a lovely sweet nose, complex and articulated, with floral hints and pastry aromas. Energetic on the palate, it is savory, but also soft and rich in fruit.

Ricci Curbastro Franciacorta Extra Brut 2011

Extra Brut is a type of wine that this house in Capriolo does very well. Its 27 hectares of vineyard are in the zone’s best positions. The 2011 is fine, elegant and rich on the nose, with white fruit tones, yeast and Le Marchesine. Loris Biatta with Andrea and Alice

bread crust. The bubbles are extremely fine and on the palate, the wine is harmonious, long and full of character.

Villa Franciacorta Brut Limited Edition Cuvette Expo 2007

Every year, Alessandro Bianchi’s Villa offers an elegant series of Cuvées made from the grapes of his 40 hectares of vineyard, mostly located in Monticelli Brusati and round the 17th-century hamlet that gives its name to the winery. This 2007 Brut has an elegant and complex bouquet that suggests white flowers and aromatic herbs. It is savory and elegant on the palate with hints of vanilla and white fruit. Precise and creamy, it closes on notes of herbs and citrus fruit. 45 SEPTEMBER 2015

CAMPANIA WINE STORY

by Lorenzo Ruggeri and Stefania Annese

CAMPANIA’S 46 SEPTEMBER 2015

last romantics

Raffaele Palma

47 SEPTEMBER 2015

t’s both easy and pleasurable to get lost around the endless paths of Campania’s viticulture. The production scenario is made up of many small wineries and a few giants. The landscape is a stunning patchwork of cliffs, of vineyards clinging to steep hillsides above the sea, of extinct volcanoes. Campania has a heritage of crop biodiversity and above all, of soil composition and exposures that have only been partially exploited, although exploration of this potential is moving faster than in any other Italian region. On the following pages, we present a view of the region’s small artisans, wineries that produce fewer than 30,000 bottles each year. Some don’t make it to 5,000. The wines are often difficult to find, but your efforts will be rewarded. Whites are arising, an echo of our regional tastings, where the disparity between the number of whites and reds continually grows in the direction of the former, wines which are among the most intensely regional expressions in the entire country. These are labels with an uncanny capacity to evoke their home territories through their rhythm, flavour, Mediterranean sensations and enticing drinkability. Prices are still incredibly competitive, especially considering the longevity of these wines. Better hurry.

CAMPANIA WINE STORY di Avellino and the climatic potential of the Montefredane vineyard. Today Antoine is no longer in his vineyards – illness cancelled his great passion for wine – but Maria Diamante, his wife, continues her husband’s labors, turning out a new wine, Fiano di Avellino Clos d’Haut. It has an intense and unpredictable evolution, marked by whiffs of peat, pepper and wild herbs and sustained by energetic flavor, savory and interminable.

Raffaele Palma Costa d’Amalfi Bianco Puntacroce ’13 | 33.60 euros Maiori (SA) | www.raffaelepalma.it Contrade di Taurasi

Agnanum Campi Flegrei Piedirosso V. delle Volpi ’12 | 20 euros Napoli (NA) | www.agnanum.it

For a long time, through the 1990s, piedirosso was considered one of the less interesting and less prized varieties of Neapolitan viticulture. It had always been used as a blending grape in red wines based on aglianico because of its acidic thrust. Today, thanks to Raffaele Moccia, piedirosso has shown that it is a variety capable of giving balanced, elegant and wonderfully drinkable wines. Campi Flegrei Piedirosso Vigna delle Volpi is an array of Mediterranean aromas, volcanic minerality and energy. It joins natural expressiveness to depth of taste. Don’t miss it.

Contrade di Taurasi Grecomusc’ ’13 | 18.50 euros

Taurasi (AV) | www.cantinelonardo.it

The Lonardo family started producing

wine in 1998. Confident of their deep roots in the countryside and great winemaking competence, they undertook a project to restore an ancient white-berry vineyard, Grecomusc’, in the Irpinia zone. The beginning was hard. It was essential to rescue old vines from grapegrowers in the zone and replant them using the old starseto-pergola avellinese system. Today Grecomusc’ ‘13 has tones of sage, thyme and hawthorn. The palate unfurls an enchanting and relaxed taste experience. Don’t miss it.

Villa Diamante Fiano di Avellino Clos d’Haut ’13 | 21.80 euros Montefredane (AV) | www.villadiamante.eu

“I captured the territory in a bottle,” Antoine Gaita used to say, because he was aware of the uniqueness of Fiano 48 SEPTEMBER 2015

Raffaele Palma’s vineyards lie on the steep, spectacular slopes that characterize the landscape of the Amalfi Coast. On vertical terraces, each single vine is trained according to ancient Greek systems in which the vine wraps around the support. The harvest is manual and production is managed organically. The 2014 vintage is a tale of a luminous white, with intense aromas that range from citrus fruit to melon, with a fine note of chamomile. The mouth is rich, juicy and complex, with a note of bitter almond on the finish and a marine cadenza from start to finish. This is a wine that effortlessly expresses its zone of production.

Abbazia di Crapolla Sabato ’12 | 25 euros

Vico Equense (NA) | www.abbaziadicrapolla.it

This is a winery that doesn’t like attention. The Abbazia di Crapolla gives little information on its website and no phone numbers. But wines themselves have carried the message to wine lov-

ers and trade professionals. Two partners, Fulvio Alifano and Giuseppe Puttini, have two hectares. Production is small, an unusual mix of merlot, pinot nero and uva sabato, an aglianico clone, in a zone in which mostly indigenous grapes are grown. Sabato ‘12 is a honed, airy blend of pinot nero, merlot and uva sabato, notable for the sweetness of its raspberry and blackberry sensations.

Nanni Copè Sabbie di Sopra il Bosco ’13 | 29.40 euros Vitulazio (CE) | www.nannicope.it

The journey from desk to vineyard was brief. Giovanni Ascione, a professional food and wine journalist, turned to winemaking in 2007. He started with a small plot, two and a half hectares in Monticelli di Castel Campagnano, in the heart of the Caiatine Hills in the province of Caserta, where he produces the grapes for the only wine he bottles: Sabbie di Sopra il Bosco – 90% pallagrello nero, casavecchia and aglianico the rest. The 2013 has a delicately grassy profile, tones of dry tomatoes and a balsamic vein. The palate is savory, nervous and energetic, with tannic structure that calls for time and patience.

Abbazia di Crapolla

Cautiero Sannio Falanghina Fois ’14 | 5.90 euros

Cacciagalli

Frasso Telesino (BN) | www.cautiero.it

The Cautiero vineyards lie on clay-loam soil rich in potassium and skeletal limestone that produces structured wines with broad organoleptic spectrums. When the indigenous vineyards are harvested, the grapes are brought to the tufa-covered winery annexed to an 18th-century farmhouse that now functions as a vineyard guardian. Falanghina Fois ‘14 is always very good, and even without the expressive exuberance of last year, it has an authentic and luminous character with tones of fresh hay, mint and a well-shaped savory, citrusy tone. The finish is long and refreshing. Raffele Palma

49 SEPTEMBER 2015

CAMPANIA WINE STORY

Abbazia di Crapolla

Perillo Taurasi ’07 | 31.10 euros Castelfranci (AV)

Michele Perillo is a true vigneron of the Irpinia zone, a tenacious worker with a solid passion for his terroir. After an intense period working for the giant Ferrero confectionery company, Michele understood that his only desire was to go back to producing wine as his grandfather did. He and his wife Annamaria risked everything and launched this now-solid winery. What life in this Taurasi ’07! It joins a rustic, intense personality with extraordinary energy and taste progression. Tones of black olives and dried tomatoes lead into a juicy, nervous mouth, savory and rhythmic, but above all, very long.

Andrea Reale Costa d’Amalfi Tramonti Bianco Aliseo ’14 | 15 euros Tramonti (SA) | www.aziendaagricolareale.it

The original cuttings of tintore and per’ ‘e palummo on Gigino and Gaetano Reale’s land were planted more than eighty years ago by their father Andrea. These vineyards on the Tramonti hills are on clay-loam soil of volcanic origin, in the last stretch of the Monti Lattari that goes towards the sea. These two indigenous varieties are pergola-trained and flanked by white-berried grapes such as biancazita, biancolella and pepella, also from historic vineyards. Among them, this year Aliseo stands out, a white with complex aromas of citrus fruit and flowers with a subtle note of anise in the background.

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I Cacciagalli Lucno ’13 | 15.10 euros

Teano (CE) | www.icacciagalli.it

On the extinct volcano of Roccamonfina, near the ancient town of Teano, Diana Iannaccone and Mario Basco decided to take up the winegrowing profession and produce wines on the lands that belonged to the family. Diana, an agronomist, and Mario, a passionate wine expert, have given us labels that reflect their respect for the balance of the environment and biodynamic principles. Lucno ’13 is a Piedirosso, rich in chiaroscuro notes, with juicy tones of ripe currants refreshed by notes of juniper and pepper. It is opulent but also full of savory energy.

The Soul of Barone Pizzini

It embodies the living nature of its vineyards This wine is the crowning achievement of a long process of pionering renewal, that led Barone Pizzini to become the first organic grower and winemaker in Franciacorta.

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TRAVEL

by Silvia Cittadini

Naples

a bucket list

It’s the country’s capital of Italian pizza. But not only. It’s the third largest city of Italy and its city center, a Unesco World Heritage Site, boasts some of Italy’s finest art and architectural beauties... Here’s an itinerary for exploring them, without missing the most delicious pizzas in town. Italians say, “See Naples and die.” You’ll never experience anything more beautiful.

TRAVEL

The City center

Via dei Tribunali - Banksyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s street art Complesso Monumentale of Santa Chiara

54 SEPTEMBER 2015

The area around Via dei Tribunali is an outdoor museum. Its buildings recount the long history of Naples dating back to ancient Greeks and Romans. The Complesso Monumentale of Santa Chiara is another perfect place to discover the different eras the town has lived through. It was built in 1310, during the Angevin reign, but the Provencal Gothic style of the original religious complex was modified during the 17th century into Neapolitan Baroque, bylocal artist Andrea Vaccaro. The lavish and colorful cloisters, with 64 ceramictiled octagonal columns connected by benches, were added to the original basilica. Near the cloisters the ruins of a 1st century spa complex show a very well preserved laconicum (Roman sauna). Not far from Santa Chiara, visit Piazza del GesĂš Nuovo and its sumptuous 34-metertall baroque obelisk. Five minutes from there, at Via dei Tribunali 32, is Sorbillo, probably one of the bestknown pizzerias in town, the crowded headquarters of a whole family of pizzaioli that has been devoted to the art of pizza-making for generations. Gino is the last maestro of this dynasty. His long-leavened pizzas, crisp outside and airy and tender inside, are a memorable experience. Toppings, with the best food products of the region, do their part, as well as skilful baking. Margherita is always

The Waterfront

Pizzeria al 22 - Pizza portafoglio

a good choice, but whatever pizza you pick, you won’t be disappointed. The family has recently opened Zia Esterina, an old style “friggitoria” where you can taste one of the most delicious yet old-fashioned local street foods: “pizza fritta” stuffed with a few top quality ingredients, San Marzano tomatoes, ricotta, provola affumicata di bufala (buffalo smoked mozzarella cheese), salami and black pepper.

Don’t forget that Naples is a seaside town! Via Partenope is the ideal starting point for a walk along the sea. The street is a pedestrian boardwalk, crowded during the weekends by people walking, jogging or simply enjoying the sun. Right there is the huge Castel dell’Ovo, the oldest standing fortification of the town, originally built in the 1st century BC by ancient Romans as a villa. It can be visited gratis, it’s often the site of exhibitions and events, and offers a beautiful view of the Naples waterfront. The ideal place for a break is one of the outside tables of Trattoria Fresco for another great pizza sampling. Alfredo Forgione, the owner, is the experienced maestro pizzaiolo here. A blend of flours, scrupulously selected by him, makes luscious yet very light pizzas. We recommend his “ripieno”, a stuffed pizza filled with melted provola affumicata (a smoked mozzarella),

escarole and Gaeta olives. A delicacy! Behind via Partenope, the neighbourhood of Chiaia with its beautiful Art Nouveau buildings, elegant stores and bars, deserves a detour.

Street markets La Pignasecca is the oldest market in Naples. Walking and browsing around its stalls selling everything from fresh fish, pastries, cheese and other Neapolitan delicacies to dirtcheap bags and clothing, breathing the life of the market and its unique atmosphere is a whole experience in itself: but it will make you hungry. At Pizzeria al 22 you can grab one of the exquisite pizze “piegate a portafoglio” (literally ‘folded like a wallet’), continuously brought out of the oven from early morning on. Keep on shopping while you are eating your street food. For a longer break, stand by for a big round soft pizza Margherita or stop by Attilio alla Pignasecca, another historical spot, small but cozy and hospitable. A signature dish of maestro pizzaiolo Attilio Bacchetti, who started his apprenticeship at the brick oven when he was 7 years old, is his pizza Carnevale, its center topped with mozzarella, sausages and small ripe tomatoes, surrounded by 8 “rays” stuffed with ricotta cheese. Pizza baked in a wood-burning oven

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TRAVEL

Addresses Sorbillo | Napoli | via dei Tribunali, 32 | tel. 081 446643 | www.sorbillo.it

Pizzeria Al 22 | Napoli | via Pignasecca, 22 |tel. 081 5522726

Antica Friggitoria Zia Esterina | Napoli | Via dei Tribunali, 35 | tel. 070 657987

Da via

Trattoria Fresco | Napoli | via Partenope, 8 | tel. 081 6582823 | www.frescotrattoria.it

56 JULY SEPTEMBER - AUGUST2015 2015

Attilio alla Pignasecca | Napoli | Pignasecca, 175 | tel. 081 5520479

WWW.FERRARITRENTO.IT

THE ITALIAN ART OF LIVING SEPTEMBER 2015 Venezia, Piazza San Marco ore 4:54

LETTER FROM PARIS

THE CORK REVOLUTION Today there are many alternatives to sealing bottles with cork, even if consumers are very attached to the traditional type of closure, to the gestures with which we open a wine bottle, and to the tools, some especially ingenious, that make that ritual easier. Alternatives have come out of the increase in volume of bottled wines, and the corresponding decrease in quality of traditional corks that followed. Growing demand has led cork producers to work with younger, less suitable cork bark, while problems connected to air and water pollution increased aroma alterations alarmingly. It was no longer limited to the celebrated and easily noticed flavour of mould, described as ‘corked’. Premature oxidation of white wines, tied to the cleaning of corks in peroxide baths, appeared, and an entire declination of chlorate alterations, the most insidious of which is the famous TCA taste (old cardboard flavour given by the trichloroanisole molecule). The taint can also come from pollution in the places in which the wine was vinified, aged or bottled. At the beginning of the year 2000, about 10% of bottles were defective, an obviously unacceptable number. The industry then perfected and offered other types of seals and other materials for closures. The most popular alternative is the

screw cap, a practical and safe system, at least for wines that are consumed within 5 years of bottling, i.e., 90% of the wines on the planet. All the comparative tastings we’ve done have shown the great cleanliness and aromatic precision of wines with this kind of stopper, when the cap is wellmade and well-sealed, something essential for all whites and rosés. Once you get used to this purity, all other wines seem more or less marked by corkiness. For cork fanatics, cork has been replaced by... cork, rebuilt after TCA has been eliminated through a procedure known as DIAM that gives impeccable results even for long-aging wines. There are also synthetic materials used as well as glass. Evidently, cork producers have gotten the message and are slowly but seriously stepping up production control at every point and accepting rigorous conditions of sale. For great wines, the elegance of a cork is the proof, provided by history, of the long-term trustworthiness of this material, which is not being questioned now. But today there are an array of good closure systems. Only the habits of French and Italian consumers and operators in the sector are guaranteeing cork’s predominance – for now. Michel Bettane & Thierry Desseauv

58 SEPTEMBER 2015

GAMBERO ROSSO www.gamberorosso.it

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CONTRIBUTORS Stefania Annese, Francesco Beghi, Michel Bettane, Silvia Cittadini, Thierry Desseauve, Stefano Polacchi, William Pregentelli, Marco Sabellico, Francesco Seccagno

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59 SEPTEMBER 2015