“Sapori di Sicilia” at Stellina
"Buon vino, tavola lunga" is an old Italian adage meaning that people are always willing to come to the table when the wine is good. Tonight's wine dinner at Stellina Pizzeria (Washingtonian's 100 Very Best Restaurants Thrillist "DC's Best New Restaurants 2019, Michelin Guide Bib Gourmands) featured Sicilian wines from Firriato which were exceptional.
Marco Scapagnini, whose family owns the Firriato winery explained that Sicily's unique terroir includes seven different kinds of soil; clay, stone, sand, volcanic, silt, chalk, and lime - which help to give the local grapes their distinctive characteristics.
In addition, the island offers twelve different micro-climates which are perfect for various types of grapes and flavor profiles.
Be sure to check my Instagram stories and feed for more of Marco's fascinating facts throughout this #winewednesday!
The award-winning winery also offers dozens of wines in several collections sure to please any palate, style, and budget.
The winery's "zero-impact" certification means that the production of their wines leaves no carbon footprint. They were the first Italian winery to receive this distinction.
Equally as impressive as the vini was Chef Matteo Venini's menu. In the restaurant world, we often call wine-pairing menus, "wine-forward" which means that the food almost takes a backseat to the wines - it goes with them, but the wines still shine a little more.
Other menus are more "food-forward" meaning that the chef plans the food first, and then the wines are paired with the food.
Culturally speaking, we Italians are in a never-ending pursuit to find the perfect compliment between wine and food, so that, the two become even better when enjoyed together.
Chef Matteo, along with wine importer and distributor Maurizio Farro of Cantiniere achieved that perfect synergy between the food and wine which, like in any good marriage, allows the couple to shine brighter together than when they are on their own - no matter how great they are as individuals.
It's worth noting that tonight's dishes themselves where not items normally found on Stellina's menu, nor were they 100% traditional - meaning that Chef Matteo went way above and beyond his duty to create his updated interpretations of the dishes.
Some of you may remember my Pasta alla Norma from my cookbooks, or how I made it with my Greek culinary tour travelers in Ikaria after taking them to see the opera "Norma" in Athens.
The eggplant, tomato, and ricotta pasta is a family favorite, and therefore I take it very seriously. Chef Matteo's "La Norma" alla Stellina was an eggplant cannolo filled with sheeps' milk ricotta and cherry tomato sauce wrapped in a fried angel -hair pasta cone.
This dish paired perfectly with the Etna Bianco "Le Sabbie dell'Etna" 2018 from Firriato which is made in 100% volcanic soil.
This course showed Chef Matteo's ability to not only pair dishes with wine well, but also his innovative streak which inspires him to create new dishes using innovative techniques while pairing wines and balancing flavors.
The next dish was Pasta con Sarde- an iconic Sicilian dish that Chef Matteo put his own spin on by using home made chitarra pasta. This dish can be tricky to pair, because it contains marinated sardines and fennel (both have strong, distinct flavors) as well as lemon (Italians never pair citrus with wine).
For many people, the highlight of the night was this pasta dish paired with the Perricone "Soria" 2016.
Everyone agreed that while great on their own, both the wine and the pasta tasted better when enjoyed together.
The main course, "Sapori di Sicilia" or "Flavors of Sicily" - a tender, satisfying, roasted octopus with pistachios, blood oranges, sea urchin, and chickpea puree combined many of the island's most beloved ingredients on a plate.
The Syrah "Altavilla della Corte" 2015 echoed the important notes that each element contained and proved that red wine and seafood can be a match made in heaven.
The finale of the evening was "il classico cannolo" ...the classic cannoli...stuffed with sheeps' milk ricotta from Sicily -the shells are fried to perfection and filled just before serving as tradition mandates.
My favorite wine of the evening was the Passito "L'Ecru" 2014 that it was paired with. Passito is made with zibibbo grapes which are naturally dried and then pressed into a very light, slightly floral sweet wine which, due to its characteristically complex terroir, is the best I've ever tasted.
In my media interviews, I often get asked which cuisine of the Mediterranean I would pick - if I could only pick one to enjoy for the rest of my life.
I hate that question because even though my heritage is Southern Italian, I could not live without the cuisine of each of the countries of the region which I have come to know and love as much as my own.
But if forced to choose, I always say, I would choose the cuisine of Sicily. Since it's the largest island in the Mediterranean, its' flavors represent the entire region more than any other one place.
The next time I get asked that question I will respond the same way, but I will add..."and I would pair the foods of Sicily with Firriato wines because they are the ultimate accompaniment to the foods that the lush culinary microcosm has to offer."