This month I invited the Italian Food Wine Travel bloggers to create pairings with an indigenous Italian grapes. You can read my invitation here. We have covered this topic before, but there are so many indigenous Italian grapes; I knew we could cover it again with all new pairing and pours.
The #ItalianFWT Indigenous Grapes Exploration
Here's what the group as planned. Additionally, we will be gathering on Saturday, March 9th at 8am Pacific for a Threads chat. Follow #ItalianFWT and join in the conversation if you like.
An Umbrian Grape with Greek Origins: Cantina Roccafiore Grechetto di Todi Fiordalis + Pesce alla Ghiotta by Culinary Cam (you're here)
BI.VI.SI.: Revitalizing Sicily’s native, ancient vines for forgotten flavors like Frappato by Wine Predator...Gwendolyn Alley
Brachetto: A Piemontese Grape Meant for Food! by Keep the Peas
Castello di Grumello Medera & Casconcelli by The Quirky Cork
Ciliegiolo, Great Wines for Spring by Avvinare
Durella - Native vine of the Lessini Mountains that Sparkles by Crushed Grape Chronicles
Pasta, Wine, and a Cookbook Review by A Day in the Life on the Farm
Pizza Wine! Fresh, Fruity, and Made from Native Italian Grapes by My Full Wine Glass
Sicilian Wine Grapes: Grillo and Frappato by Cooking Chat
Sicily's Zibibbo Grape with Fish Cakes by Vino Travels
Unlock the Beauty of Mexican Wines: The Fusion of Italian Indigenous Grapes by Our Good Life
2019 Donnafugata Sul Vulcano Etna Rosso
As I usually try to do with all of our wine group explorations: I source, pour, and pair several different bottles along the theme. I will be sharing a Grechetto for the actual event on Saturday and have a Frappato pairing as well. Stay tuned for that. But for this preview post, I am going with an indigenous grape from Sicily and some hand-rolled ravioli. As a reminder, you can read about many of the indigenous Italian grapes in my invitation post.
And I was fortunate enough - years ago - to meet the winemakers as they hosted a wine dinner at one of my favorite Italian restaurants here in Carmel! So, whenever I have a chance to get my hands on a bottle of Donnafugata Winery, I do.
Located in Sicily, Donnafugata has a variety of estates, including a historic cellar in Marsala, the Contessa Entellina country house and vineyards in the western interior of the island, and another winery and estate on the island of Pantelleria off their southwest coast. The Rallo family has been in the industry for over a century and the current generation is extremely forward thinking. The Donnafugata brand was born in the early 1980s by Giacomo and Gabriella Rallo and, today, their sons José and Antonio hold prominent roles in the company.
This wine's name - Sul Vulcano - means 'on the volcano. The label features a beautiful goddess-volcano, an ancient female deity called 'the mountain' which is what the locals call Etna. This is a single-varietal red wine, made from 100% Nerello Mascalese that were grown on the north side of Etna between Randazzo and Passopisciaro. The vines are trained with Alberello or VSP, vertical shoot positioning, then manually harvested. The grapes are macerated on the skins for about 10 days before being fermented in stainless steel. The wine was aged partially in tanks and partially in French oak for 14 month with an additional 7 months in the bottle before release.
The wine poured a pale ruby color. On the nose, there was a complex yet delicate web of aromas from wild berries and wild roses to spicy notes of cinnamon and nutmeg. On the palate, the flavors mirrored the nose. The wine has a brightness and a lengthy finish.
While I thought it would pair beautifully with Asian dishes or Mexican cuisine, I opted to go with a more traditional Italian secondo.
Due Colori Ravioli
I made some hand-rolled ravioli colored with beet root powder.
Ingredients
Basic Pasta Dough
200 grams semolina flour (approximately 1-3/4 cups)
125 grams pasta flour (approximately 1-2/3 cups)
3 eggs
1 egg yolk
2 to 3 Tablespoons water or more as needed
Beet Pasta Dough
200 grams semolina flour (approximately 1-3/4 cups)
75 grams pasta flour (approximately 1-2/3 cups)
50 grams beet powder
3 eggs
1 egg yolk
2 to 3 Tablespoons water or more as needed
Filling
1 cup chopped garden greens
1 Tablespoon chopped Spring onions
1 cup ricotta cheese
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons chopped fresh herbs (I used oregano and parsley)
1 egg
freshly ground salt
freshly ground pepper
Ravioli
two kinds of pasta dough (above)
Also needed: flour, rolling pin, water in a spray bottle, ravioli cutter
Procedure
Pasta Dough
The procedure is the same for both doughs, so I am only writing it once time.
Place all of the dry ingredients medium mixing bowl. Add the wet ingredients. Whisk until it comes together in a shaggy ball. Turn the dough onto a floured cutting board and knead until smooth and elastic, approximately 5 minutes. Wrap the dough in plastic and let rest for, at least, 30 minutes at room temperature.
Filling
Stir all of the ingredients together until well-combined. Set aside.
Ravioli
Cut each dough ball into quarters and wrap the piece you aren't using in plastic. You can merge the doughs anyway you like. I tried smaller balls on top of larger balls. I tried a ropes of dough twisted, then rolled out. I even tried to marble the doughs together, though that had the least dramatic effect.
Place the dough on a clean, floured surface and roll the dough out as thin as you can with a rolling pin.
Place a mound of filling on the dough, in the top third, and spray the entire surface with water. Fold the rolled dough over the top of the filling. Press out any extra air to create a seal around the filling.
Using a ravioli cutter, cut around the filling carefully. Place the finished ravioli on a floured parchment-lined cookie sheet. Repeat until all of the dough or all of the filling has been used.
To cook these: drop them into salted, boiling water. Cook for four to five minutes. Gently remove them from the pot.
For this batch I made a quick cream sauce with gorgonzola, caramelized red onions, and crisped pancetta. But they would have been just as delicious with a simple drizzle of a good quality olive oil and a few semi-dried cherry tomatoes.
Stay tuned for all of the pairings this weekend.