Sicily is the football kicked by the Italian boot. It is an island in the Mediterranean Sea located off the southwest tip of Italy. Sicily was first inhabited about ten thousand years ago. Agriculture and animal raising date back well over four thousand years. Its rulers have included the Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans, Germans, and Spaniards, among others. This mountainous region is prone to volcanoes and earthquakes; in 1908 an earthquake and subsequent tidal wave killed eighty thousand people in the coastal city of Messina. Sicily's population is about five million, with an additional ten million people of Sicilian descent around the world.
Agricultural products include wheat, barley, corn, olives, citrus fruit, almonds, and, of course, grapes. Tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers are prominent in local cuisine. Sicily is Italy's second region for organic food. Many think that the Arabs introduced pasta to Sicily, which subsequently introduced it to the rest of Italy. Cattle, mules, donkeys, and sheep are raised. Sicily claims to have invented meatballs, The seas surrounding Sicily are bountiful, favorites include sardines, tuna, and swordfish. Sicily is famous for desserts, including frozen treats made with snow from Mount Etna.
Sicilian heavy industry includes petro-chemicals, chemicals, mining, and electronics. Tourism is a major factor in the Sicilian economy. Did you know that the Valle dei Templi in Agrigento on the Mediterranean Sea has some of the finest Greek ruins on earth?
Palermo, arguably the world's most conquered city, is Sicily's capital with a population of a little under seven hundred thousand. It is a definite tourist destination, with its numerous historical churches, museums, theaters, and Italy's largest botanical garden. Another urban tourist destination is Syracuse, dating back to Ancient Greece. The Greek writer Cicero described it as ?The greatest Greek city and the most beautiful of them all.? Both earthquakes and World War II caused heavy damage, but many of the most interesting sites have been reconstructed.
Sicily devotes about a third of a million acres to grapevines, it ranks first among the 20 Italian regions. Its total annual wine production is about 213 million gallons, also giving it first place. If Sicily were an independent country, it would rank seventh in the world for wine production. About 54% of its wine production is red or ros? (only a bit of ros?), leaving 46% for white. The region produces 19 DOC wines. DOC stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata, which may be translated as Denomination of Controlled Origin, presumably a high-quality wine. Only a little more than 2% of Sicilian wine carries the DOC designation. Sicily is home to over three dozen major and secondary grape varieties, with more white than red varieties.
Widely grown international white grape varieties include Malvasia and to a lesser extent, Chardonnay. The best-known strictly Italian white varieties are Catarratto, Grecanico, Inzolia, and Grillo. The first three of these varieties are blended in the wine reviewed below.
Widely grown international red grape varieties include Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. The best-known strictly Italian red varieties are Nero d'Avola, Frappato, and Nerello Mascalese.
Before reviewing the Sicilian wine and cheese that we were lucky enough to purchase at a local wine store and a local Italian food store, here are a few suggestions of what to eat with indigenous wines when touring this beautiful region. Start with Insalata di Finocchi, Arance Sanguigne de Olive; Fennel, Blood Orange, and Olive Salad. As a second course try Pollo con Prosciutto e Melanzane Fritte; Braised Chicken with Proscuitto and Fried Eggplants. For dessert indulge yourself with Cassata; Candied Fruit and Chocolate on Sponge Cake.
OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY While we have communicated with well over a thousand Italian wine producers and merchants to help prepare these articles, our policy is clear. All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.
Wine Reviewed Tasca d'Almerita ?Regaleali? Blanco 2005 IGT Sicilia 12.5% alcohol about $13
We'll start by quoting the marketing materials. ?Made with the local grapes Inzolia, Greciano, and Catarratto, this wine is matured only in stainless steel and is not put through acid-softening malolactic fermentation. The producer chooses this approach to retain the bright fruitiness and racy crispness of the wine. Enjoy with steamed mussels, chicken or summer salads.? And now for my thoughts on the wine.
I first tasted this wine with broiled chicken burgers accompanied by a hot pepper relish, and red peppers. The wine was light, perhaps a bit intimidated by the relish. It was delicate, but not weak. When I finished my glass with the red peppers, the wine was quite fruity and sweet.
I next tried this wine with fillet of sole poached in an onion sauce, accompanied by brown rice and okra in a tomato sauce. The wine tasted light and citrusy in the presence of the fish, and was more powerful when facing the rice and the okra. I finished that meal with fresh pomegranate. The wine became sweet and acidic, but did not take on new flavors.
Isola is a Sicilian fresh cheese made from sheep's milk. The Isola cheese was powerful, strong smelling and strong tasting, especially when you crunched into a peppercorn. Unfortunately, the cheese overpowered this relatively light wine. In contrast, when paired with an Asiago cheese from northern Italy, the wine became quite full bodied and fruity. Sometimes rules such as local wines with local cheeses are meant to be broken. I had a bit of wine left over and finished the bottle with out-of-season strawberries. They brought out the wine's complexity and softness.
Final verdict, in spite of its low official rating, I found the wine pretty good. I would buy it again, but avoid pairing it with strong-tasting food.
Tuscany is located on the central western part of Italy on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It gets its name from an Etruscan tribe that settled the area about three thousand years ago. It has belonged to the Romans, the Lombards, and the Franks. More than four hundred years ago under the Medicis, Tuscany became a major European center. It is undoubtedly one of Italy's top tourist destinations as well as an ideal place for your villa when you hit it big, really big. According to one Seinfeld episode there are no villas to rent in Tuscany, but that was several years ago. On the other hand, time in Tuscany as elsewhere in Italy is measured in centuries. Tuscany's total population is about 3.5 million.
Florence is the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance and the administrative center of Tuscany. It is one of Italy's top tourist destinations, whose sites of interest are too numerous to list here. Siena and Pisa are two other major tourist destinations.
Tuscany is a center of industrial production, in particular metallurgy, chemicals, and textiles. Given the region's importance as an international art center for centuries, don't be surprised that it is an excellent place to appreciate and purchase fashion, jewelry, leather goods, marble, and other items of beauty. Florence is the home of the house of Gucci.
Tuscany produces a wide variety of cereal, olives, vegetables, and fruit. But not only vegetarians eat well. It is home to cattle, horses, pigs, and poultry. One local specialty is wild boar. On the coast, seafood is abundant.
Tuscany devotes over one hundred fifty thousand acres to grapevines, it ranks 4th among the 20 Italian regions. Its total annual wine production is about 58 million gallons, giving it an 8th place. About 70% of the wine production is red or ros?, leaving 30% for white. The region produces 44 DOC wines. DOC stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata, which may be translated as Denomination of Controlled Origin, presumably a high-quality wine and 7 DOCG white wine. The G in DOCG stands for Garantita, but there is in fact no guarantee that such wines are truly superior. The region produces 9 DOC wines. Tuscany also produces Super Tuscan wines, wines that may not have a prestigious classification but that are known to be outstanding. These wines are arguably the main reason that Italy was forced to revise its wine classification system. Fully 55% of Tuscan wine carries the DOC or DOCG designation. And remember, many of Tuscany's best wines carry neither designation. Tuscany is home to more than three dozen major and secondary grape varieties, about half white and half red.
Widely grown international white grape varieties include Trebbiano, Malvasia, and Sauvignon Blanc. The best-known strictly Italian white varieties are Vermentino and Vernaccia.
Widely grown international red grape varieties include Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The best-known Italian red variety is Sangiovese, which is grown elsewhere, including California. A strictly Italian variety is Canaiolo.
Before reviewing the Tuscan wine and cheese that we were lucky enough to purchase at a local wine store and a local Italian food store, here are a few suggestions of what to eat with indigenous wines when touring this beautiful region. Start with Panzanella, Bread and Tomato Salad. For a second course, eat or share a Bistecca alla Fiorentina, (Texas-sized) Beef Steak. If you have room, indulge in a Torta Rustica, Cornmeal Cake with Cream.
OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY While we have communicated with well over a thousand Italian wine producers and merchants to help prepare these articles, our policy is clear. All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.
Wine Reviewed Badia a Coltibuono Chianti Classico 2004 12.8% alcohol about $21
I'll start by quoting the marketing materials. ??A wine that would complement a veal chop or game birds, expect aromas of cranberry and cherry. On the palate, it should be round and ripe with enough tannin for balance.? As a point of interest, the label included the warning ?contains sulphites? in ten languages.
I first tasted this wine with slow-cooked boneless beef ribs and potatoes accompanied by a spicy commercial Turkish salad. The wine was thick, loaded with plum and cherry flavors, and some tobacco. The tannins were moderate. Dessert was a cocoa cake whose label said strudel. The wine went well, its fruit really came out.
I next tasted the Chianti Classico with slow-cooked meat balls, cauliflower and chickpeas in a tomato sauce, and potato wedges. The wine was plumy and powerful, with very pleasant tannins, a little tobacco and a little earth. Just so you know, I'm not usually partial to tannins. The wine was so round that I enjoyed finishing the glass when the food was gone. No dessert this time.
I decided to follow the distributor's suggestion and grilled a veal chop with a mixture of spices (minced onion, cayenne, and a bit of curry powder), accompanied by grilled eggplant slices with the same spices, and a commercially prepared Turkish salad, based on red pepper and tomato. The wine bounced nicely off the delicious somewhat fat, somewhat rare meat. It didn't add flavors of its own, but accompanied the food's flavors excellently. It was powerful, but not overpowering.
As its name indicates, Pecorino Toscano cheese comes from Tuscany, where it has been made from sheep's milk for thousands of years. The cheese is moderately strong smelling and has a complex nutty flavor. The wine was smooth and round and had a pleasant tinge of tobacco. Just for the record I am not a smoker. In the presence of Asiago cheese from the Trentino-Alto Adige region of northern Italy, the wine became more robust.
I remember when Chianti came in straw-covered bottles. In fact, I remember the bottles more than the wine itself. But times have changed. This Chianti Classico was excellent, quite deserving of its top-of-the-line DOCG classification and well worth the price.
Levi Reiss has sinced written about articles on various topics from Touring Italy, Travel and Leisure and Food and Drink. Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten books on computers and the Internet, but to be honest, he would rather just drink fine Italian or other wine, accompanied by the right foods. He teaches classes in computers at an Ontario French-language communit. Levi Reiss's top article generates over 450000 views. to your Favourites.