Since the last wine tasting we hosted on June 10th, we have been tasting, sampling, and drinking a variety of wines. It is a tough job, but someone has to do it. So wimg? Let’s dig in, shall we? WIMG (If you forget, this means: What’s in my glass?) Celler del Roere Vermell 2019, Valencia, Spain Pablo Calatayud of Celler del Roere transformed an ancient wine cellar on their property into a gold mine. Centuries-old amphorae remain embedded in the earth, and after being cleaned up and some repaired, they can still hold and age wine the way it…
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Gnocchi with Pistachio Cream Sauce Pasta with Pistachio Cream sauce was Gary’s go-to meal when we visited Sicily. His favorite pasta was gnocchi, although the cheese ravioli was a close second. So when we did the Sicilian wine tasting for our clients, I served the dish with gnocchi as one of the food pairings. It was a huge hit, and I was asked for the recipe by practically everyone. So I decided to post it here. Unfortunately, I have no pictures from when I made it, so I can only show you the end result of three meals in Sicily.…
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This post is the fourth in a series about our trip to Sicily. This post is about Taormina, our first stop on our two-week excursion. Gary and I spent a day wandering the streets, enjoying the cuisine and sipping wines and limoncello. Check out our first, second, and third posts if you missed them when they were first posted. Taormina! We ate, we drank, we walked and walked and walked (17,000 steps), and we shopped. Then we dropped. Side Note: If you watched or are watching Season Two of The White Lotus on HBO Max, you have seen Taormina. When…
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The last winery visit during our Sicily adventure was to Caruso e Minini in Marsala. This is a relatively young winery that was created when fourth-generation winemaker Stefano Caruso partnered with Northern Italian marketer extraordinaire Mario Minini to create this brand that now exports mostly indigenous Sicilian varieties, including Grillo, Catarratto, Grecanico, Inzolia, Zibibbo, Nero d’Avola, Frappato and Perricone as well as some international varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Syrah, and Merlot. Today, the company is helmed by Stefano’s two daughters, Giovanna and Rosanna. I am a huge fan of their wines. In addition to the Perricone, I have enjoyed…
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The Weekly Pour is the culmination of the micro posts on Strong Coffee to Red Wine. Each week subscribers will be notified via an email that posts are available to read and enjoy. This does not apply to folks using another RRS feeder. Contesa dei Venti 2020 Vittoria Doc Nero D’Avola Sicilia Last October in Sicily, on our visit to Donnafugata, we had the good fortune to have Tommaso Bellisola, the Senior Hospitality Manager at the Vittoria tasting room, lead our tasting. His depth of knowledge and his passion for Donnafugata wines was a perfect match for our needs. Contesa…
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We have been home from our wine trip to Sicily for two weeks. Jetlag was a real ogre. I was almost non-functional for days. But now there is excellent clarity. We were on the island for a two-week trip using my self-guided itinerary. We accomplished a lot and covered a lot of territory, probably too much. But when I am in a new foreign location, FOMO takes over. I fear I may not return, so I cram the schedule full. Even though I left several days for sightseeing, it sometimes felt rushed, and I did not like that. But such…
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