Sunday Lunch in Rome

A number of years ago a friend Iris Carulli recommended we try Ristorante La Tavernaccia Da Bruno in Testaccio for traditional Roman cuisine.  We had a great meal  and have returned many times. Last Sunday we went again and it was as good as ever.

We were greeted by Patrizia Persiani, one of the owners.

I stopped to admire the pastry display.  It is a very cozy and welcoming restaurant.

A Family Affair

La Tavernaccia Da Bruno was founded in Rome by Bruno Persiani and his wife Giovanna Giuliacci in 1968. Since 2005 the restaurant, has specialized in traditional recipes and run with professionalism and passion by Bruno and Giovanna’s daughters, Paola and Patrizia, and the latter’s husband, Giuseppe Ruzzettu (the chef) . A few years ago, Giuseppe and Patrizia’s son, Gabriele Ruzzettu, joined the staff.

Michele and I ordered the same dishes. Each time the waitress asked, “uno per due?” and Michele answered “No, uno per uno.” It was very nice that she asked if we wanted half portions but we were very happy we ordered full portions..

We started with liver crostini, a dish I associate more with Tuscany than Rome.  But it was a perfect starter, tangy with capers and vinegar.

. For our pasta course, we ordered the pasta alla gricia, one of the four favorite pastas of traditional Roman cooking.  It’s made with guanciale (pork cheek), pecorino cheese and lots of black pepper and served here with thick, homemade spaghetti.

For our main course, we had roast suckling pig.  The skin was crispy and the tender meat was scented with herbs.  With it we had rosemary roasted potatoes and an order of cicoria ripassata.  Chicory is a member of the endive family that is popular at this time of the year.  It was sauteed with garlic and chile.

 

Chianti Classico DOCG “San Donatino” Poggio Ai Mori made from 100% Sangiovese. The  vineyard is at 400 meters  and the soil is mainly galestro. Training system is spurred cordon and guyot. There is mechanical weeding and the use of green manure in alternate years. Only copper, sulfur and products compatible with the Certification Bio are used. Harvest is by hand. Traditional vinification with daily pumping over. Spontaneous fermentation is by natural yeasts. The fermentation is not temperature controlled. The wine remains on the skins for three weeks and it remains on the lees for 6 months. The wine is aged in steel for 2 years and in bottle for 6 months before release. It has hints of cherry, red current, raspberry, a touch of plum and a hint of violets. The wine was perfect match with the food.

Ristorante La Tavernaccia Da Bruno

Via Giovanni da Castel Bolognese, 63  Rome.          Closed Wednesday

+39 06 5812792

latavernaccia.roma@gmail.com

Dining with Martusciello Wines in Naples

Michele and I are spending February and March in Rome.  We like to be here at this time of the year because the weather is pleasant and the crowds are smaller. 

One day, we decided to take the high speed train to Naples to visit Gilda Guida and her husband, Salvatore Martusciello, who own Salvatore Martusciello, Wines of Persistence. I first met the couple a few years ago on a press trip sponsored by Campania Stories and organized by Diana Cataldo. The wine they presented at the event was a Gragnano, and it was wonderful.

Gilda and Salvatore met us at the train station and took us on a little tour of Naples.  At lunchtime, we went to one of our favorite restaurants, La Taverna a Santa Chiara.  Michele and I have gone there many times, and it turns out that it is a favorite of the Martusciello’s, too.

At the restaurant we were greeted by Nives Monda, the owner.  She sat with us and told us about the restaurant and her passion for the locally produced products of the region.  She suggested we try a tasting of several of their regional dishes.

While we ate, Salvatore told us that he had  had 26 years of experience in his family winery before going out on his own. His family’s was the first winery to produce sparkling wine in Campania over 30 years ago.  Now Salvatore and Gilda are building a new winery of their own which should be completed next year.  It is located in Quarto, just north of Naples.

 Salvatore said he does not own any vineyards but has arrangements with a number of small vineyard owners in the area. All of the arrangements are based on a handshake. He spoke very enthusiastically about the terroir, the native grapes and this part of Campania in particular.

Trentapioli Spumante Brut Asprinio d’Aversa  (Metodo Martinotti Brut) Made from 100% Asprinio d’Aversa from the tree-lined historic vineyard in the town of Casapesenna, in the Agro Aversano.

Trentapioli, the name of this wine, comes from the thirty pegs of the ladder used to climb up to harvest the grapes. The vines are typical Alberata Aversana. In the Alberata training system, which dates back to the Etruscans, the vines grow up to 18 meters tall and are tied to tall poplar trees. The harvest is manual because ladders up to 20 meters high are needed in order to reach the grapes.  The grapes are placed in 18 kg boxes. The soil is alluvial, volcanic and of medium texture.

After crushing the grapes, the must is immediately separated from the skins and placed in an autoclave for a second fermentation. This wine is matured on its lees in an autoclave for about 90 days and was bottled on December 3. The wine has nice citrus fruit aromas and flavors with a hint of lime, herbs and good acidity. It can age for 5 to 6 years.

With it, we enjoyed an assortment of locally produced salumi and cheeses including caciocavallo Nobile®, pecorino affinato in vino, caciotta di bufala, ricotta di fuscella di latte Nobile® e bocconcino di bufala di Aversa, pancetta di Agerola di Acampora, prosciutto crudo di Mottolino, Valtellina, provolone cheese and ricotta cheese from Nobile® milk.

Gilda said the Trentapioli  was  the perfect combination with the mozzarella and we had to agree.

Otto Uve, Gragnano della Penisola Sorrentina DOC Made from 60% Piedirosso, Aglianico, and Sciascinoso, and 40% Suppezza, Castagnara, Serbegna, Olivella and Sauca. The eight grape varieties in the blend give this wine its name. Salvatore said it was a tribute to the lesser known grapes of the area. The training system is espalier. The vineyard is at 300 meters. For 2015 the harvest began on September 24th and ended on October 8th. The grapes were hand harvested into boxes of 20 kg. After destemming and crushing, maceration with the skins lasts for 5 days, soft pressing of the grapes in a pneumatic press and fermentation in temperature controlled tanks at about 20C. The wine was bottled in the beginning of  December. It should be served chilled and be drunk within two years after it was bottled.

This is the perfect pizza wine but it also goes with many other southern Italian dishes. It is only 11.5% alcohol. This is a wine with light foam when poured, hints of strawberry, red currants and a touch of spice.  It is a slightly frizzante red wine which Salvatore likes to describe as vivace (lively).

With it we had Ziti alla Genovese, which, despite its name is a classic Neapolitan dish.  Meats, usually beef and pork, are slowly cooked with a lot of onions to form a mellow sauce that is served over pasta.

Settevulcani Piedirosso dei Campo Flegrei DOC made from 100% Piedirosso from historical  vineyards in the Cuma archeological zone.  Settevulcani means seven volcanoes.

Piedirosso is one of the oldest grape varieties in Campania mentioned by Pliny the Elder (D.79 AD) in his Naturalis Historia. The vines are pre-phylloxera and they are not grafted onto American root stock. The vineyards are at sea level. Soil is very loose, trachytic and pumiceous sandy. Cultivation system is a traditional local system called “Puteplano” a kind of espalier with a chestnut stake supporting the vines. Harvest takes place the first week in October. The grapes are destemmed followed by a soft pressing. Fermentation is the temperature controlled tanks within skin contact. The wine is bottled in the late spring following the harvest.  The name Piedirosso derives from the color and shape of the stem which during the harvest becomes reddish in color and recalls the ‘feet’ of a pigeon. Piedirosso dei Campi Flegrei is characterized by its aromas of small red  and black fruits including blackberry, blueberries red currents, cherry. and a touch of spice.

With the Settivlcani, we had another Neapolitan classic, pasta with potatoes and provola di Agerola di latte Nobile®,  a cheese from Agerola on the Amalfi Coast.

Salvatore also produces Settevulcani Falanghina dei Campi Flegrei DOC, and Ottonove Lettere della Penisola Sorrentina DOC.

These are all traditional wines and all go very well with food.

We had a wonderful visit and look forward to visiting again when their new winery will be finished.

Roman Restaurants: The First Two

Michele and I are in Rome and in our first two days had dinner and lunch in two of our favorite restaurants: Ristorante Due Ladroni and Trattoria IL Matriciano.

Ristorante Due Ladroni  This is one of the best appointed restaurants in Rome and we usually go there when we first arrive.   It is a family restaurant now run by the younger generation who maintain their parents’ tradition of food and the service at its best.

The Food

We shared a plate of Moscardini Fritti, tiny crisp fried octopus to start. They were impossibly crunchy, nutty and juicy at the same time.

Michele had Alice alla Diavola, grilled spicy anchovies with with lemon.

I had grilled octopus and mushrooms on a bed of chick pea puree.

Michele’s pasta was Tonnarelli Cacio e Pepe con Chip

s di Carciofi

I had Ricci di Mare with Bucatini, sea urchin with thick spaghetti.

We shared the wonderful Crostata alle Visciole con Gelato di Crema for dessert.  Visciole are sour cherries that baked in a buttery crust.  The custardy ice cream was a perfect complement.

The first time we went to Il Matriciano (39-06-32500364) Via dei Gracchi, 55, was in 1983. The Colasanti Family has owned and operated the restaurant since 1912. Alberto Clasanti greets the guests and oversees the operations.  There is a nice outdoor space but  we like to sit inside, which seems to be favored by the Romans.

I always order stuffed zucchini flowers (I cannot get enough of them) and artichokes alla giudia to start. Both were also perfectly deep fried and the flowers contained a small amount of mozzarella and more than a hint of anchovy stuffing.

We both had Puntarella Salad.  Puntarella is Catalonian chicory which is very popular this time of year topped with anchovy dressing.

Michele had a tender braised artichoke alla Romana, which she prefers to the crunchy fried artichokes.

We both had pasta all’amatrtciana, bucatini with guanciale, tomato and pecorino cheese.

For desert Michele had tiny, fragrant fragoline del bosco, wild strawberries with crema gelato. I had the berries plain with a squeeze of lemon.

Falanghina Campi Flegrei DOC 2020 La  Sibilla made from 100% Falanghina from vines 65 years old. The wine remains on the lees in steel for 6 months and then one year in bottle before release. The wine was golden in color and a different style of Falaghina, richer with more dry fruit flavors.  We enjoyed this wine at Due Ladroni.

Looking forward to many more great meals

 

The Organic Wines of Corte Carezzabella

Corte Carezzabella

No matter how may times I go to Italy, I always discover something new.   For example, last summer Federica  Schir (federica@federicaschir-pr.com) introduced me to a winery that was much more than a winery in an area of the Veneto which I was not familiar with and a grape variety I had never tasted before. This is Corte Carezzabella.

Corte Carezzabella is a farm located at the edge of the Adige River, in the village of San Martino di Venezze near Rovigo, in the Veneto region. It is close to Venice, Padua and Ferrara.  The farm was established early in the last century and at that time the main production was from the fruit orchards.

Over the years the old and charming buildings on the property have been restored. Today the property is about 60 hectares split between vineyards, orchards of apples, pears, peaches and blueberries, and wheat fields in constant rotation.  All of the produce is certified organic.

When Federica and I arrived, we were greeted by Chiara Reato, who manages the agriturismo and hospitality part and is responsible for keeping all of their different activities connected.  She spoke about the farm and the people involved.

Francesco Favaretto, Francesco Mazzetto and Chiara

Francesco Favaretto, Chiara’s husband, runs the farming part, taking particular care of the wine project and its development from the fields to the cellar and the promotion of the wine.

Tommaso, Chiara’s brother, together with his wife Marianna, run the outdoor educational project that includes a kindergarten for children from 3 up to 6 years old.

Francesco Mazzetto is the winemaker (enologo). He is an independent freelancer with whom they have been collaborating since the 2020 vintage.

The farm shop where all the products from the farm are sold

In addition, there is a teaching farm for teenagers and adults, and a cooking lab that produces jam, preserves, juice, and many other products which can be purchased in the farm shop.

As an Agriturisimo, Corte Carezzabella is not only a working farm, but also has rooms and apartments for guests, a restaurant, and meeting facilities. Chiara said the goal is to transform the farm into a healthier ecosystem as well as a pleasant place to visit. The restaurant and shop offer typical local food with traditional dishes prepared with the products from the farm.

After a tour, we enjoyed a delicious lunch prepared by Chiara using the products from the farm.

 The Wines

I was very impressed with all the wines I tasted at Corte Carezzabella.  There is very little interference in the wine making process. Theirs are the type of wines that taste like the grapes they are made from and therefore make excellent food wines. I did not just taste the wines but drank them with lunch much to my enjoyment.

Pinot Grigio Delle Venezia  IGT 2020 made from 100% Pinot Grigio. The production zone is San Martino di Venezze (RO). Soil composition is 85% sand, 10% silt and 5% clay. Stratification characteristics are caused by the proximity of the vineyards to the river, that when it floods, deposits light and easy draining soils on top of a less permeable clay layer.  Vineyard  training method is “doppio  capovolto” (double-arched cane). Manual harvest takes place the 3rd week of August. There is a destemming of the grapes followed by a direct pressing followed by cold static sedimentation. Fermentation is in stainless steel tanks and late maturation on the yeast in steel and in bottle before release. The wine has hints of citrus fruit, pears, golden apples and a touch of acacia flowers.

 

“Brillo” Bianco Veneto IGT Sparkling wine made from Trebbiano and Pinot Grigio. There is a destemming of the grapes followed by a direct pressing and cold static sedimentation for the first fermentation in stainless steel tanks.  Then there is a 40 day fermentation at a controlled temperature with must in order to obtain 2.5 bars pf pressure and the prise de mousse. The wine is aged in the bottle on its own refermented yeasts. It has hints of yellow flowers, citrus fruit and green apple.

With the first two wines we had crostini with a fresh vegetable topping.

Rosato Veneto IGT Rosato Biologico “Rosa” made from 100% Merlot. Soil is 85% sand, 10% lime and 5% clay. The training system is cordon speronato.  Harvest is manual during the first weeks of September. Only 60% of the grapes are used. The wine has hints of  pomegranate, raspberry, strawberry and a touch of pink grapefruit.

Our second course was Pasta with a fresh tomato sauce and cheese.

Turchetta Veneto IGT 2020 made from 100% Turchetta. The training system is Sylvoz. Manual harvest takes place the 3rd week of October. Destemming and pressing of the grapes, then fermentation/maceration at a controlled temperature and the wine is in contact with the skins for 21 days. Aging is in concrete and in bottle until it is released. The wine has hints of cherry, blackberries, violets and a touch of spice. Turchetta is a local red grape found around the Rogivo area. There are very few hectares under cultivation.

Our third course was vitello tonnato, a classic summer dish of cold sliced veal with tuna mayonnaise sauce.

Merlot Veneto IGT 2021 made from 100% Merlot. The training system is Sylvoz. Harvest is the 3rd week of October. Destemming and pressing of the grapes is followed by fermentation/ maceration at a controlled temperature with skin contact for about 21 days. The wine ages in concrete and in the bottle before release. The wine has hints of mulberry and blackberry with herbaceous notes.

All of the wines are certified organic.

For more information see:

Agriturismo Corte Carezzabella 

Azienda Agricola Il Frutteto di San Martino

Via G.Marconi, 752-754 San Martino di Venezze, 45030 Rovigo

Tel: +39.0425.176157 – Mobile: +351.1934437

www.cortecarezzabella.com