andiamotrips - campania, italy with karen phillips

Sunday May 29th was Cantine Aperte 2011. A day where participating wineries throughout Italy open their doors to the public for a look inside.  I decided to stay close to home this year by visiting the Martusciello family and their winery, Grotta del Sole in Campi Flegrei.  The weather paired perfectly with a a tour, wines, and lunch in their Falanghina vineyard.

The Campania region is an area rich in food and wine culture.  And when an opportunity comes up to taste the territory, I try to take advantage of it.  A chance came on the 21st of May, in a little town high above the Amalfi Coast...Ravello. Hotel Rufolo in Ravello was the perfect backdrop last weekend for a trip through the Salerno province.  The hotel’s restaurant, Ristorante Sigilgaida hosted an evening entitled Incontro tra le due coste …a meeting between the two coasts; Cilento and the Amalfi Coast.  A lavish buffet packed with prodotti tipici was provided by Caseificio Barlotti-Paestum, Masseria Maida-Capaccio, Consorzo Alba-Ogliastro Cilento, Azienda Agricola Ferrante Michele-Controne, and Caseificio Staiana-Ravello . Then a menu rich using the products of the area S fogliatina ai carciofi di Paestum con fonduta di caciocavallo di Ravello, Scialatielli al profumo di rosmarino con fagiolo di Controne e gamberi di Praiano, Sfoflie di pesce bandiera de...

Late Monday afternoon....1700 ish, May 23, 2011 .Vitignoitalia . I was sitting in the front row in Sala Degustazione C of Castel dell’Ovo in Mergellina, Naples, waiting for a Fiano wine tasting to begin. But in reality, for me, this tasting had already begun. It began last year, June 5th to be exact, during Anteprima Irpinia . It was there where I met Raffaele Pagano, Joaquin , for the first time in a vineyard in Lapio (Av) as he poured me a glass of his Fiano. But back to Napoli…back to the castle…back to the front row. Pagano was about to talk about his Fiano…two Fiano di Avellinos actually, that he has experimented with over the years. He used a word; Sottozone …one that has been used often in Irpinia. A term that basically defines a wine’s origins in respect to where the vineyard is located, down to the hectre. A spotlight on the territory. And according to Pagano, Irpinia is perfect for these types of experiments. Why? Each area is different in terms of climate, altitude...

An aperitivo on the beach.  That's what I wanted.  But not just any beach...I wanted Amalfi.  And not just any lido... Ristorante Marine Grande .  A corner table overlooking the beach and the sea was the perfect spot to have a cocktail and conversation with owner Gianpaolo Esposito and Chef Umberto De Martino.  I soon learned that Marina Grande is one of the oldest lidos in Italy, dating back to 1918.  They moved in 1935, and opened up their restaurant in the 1950s. Gianpaolo served me a cocktail, Apois , which I sipped while looking over the menu and the wine list.  A menu rich in seafood, home made pastas,including a tagliatelle made with 33 egg yolks, and  homemade desserts.  A wine list 300 strong- heavy in the Campania region. I was undecided on what I wanted to try so Chef De Martino chose for me.   A tuna fillet in poppy-seed crust with panzarella (bread salad) and buffalo stracciatella . Then peas in three textures w...

Springtime in Cesilnali (Av).  I followed wine maker Luigi Sarno on a stroll through his family’s vineyards.  Cantina del Barone . It was late afternoon…not quite dusk. The sun shone lightly and playfully. Not too brightly, so I could get a good look up close at this special time of year in a grapevine’s life-the fioritura , blooming period. The period when there is a beautiful contrast between the brown vines and the young green leaves and tiny grapes. I stopped at one vine in particular. One that seemed to tower above the rest. It was more like a tree than a grape vine. That one? Over a hundred years old , Luigi mentioned. Wow ..my silent response… We continued walking, past the peacock, past the chicken coop, to the path that led to the house. A path that practically divides the Sarno’s vineyards into two sections. On one side, vineyards that were planted in 1987. Nearly 2 hectares of vineyards planted in rows of 2m x 2 m with sun exposure east/we...

gnocchetto di seppie e calamari I stepped out of Campania for a awhile and headed for one of its next door neighbors, Basilicata.  I had a desire to try some specialties from a region that I was unfamiliar with.  From their wines to their prodotti tipici . A trip through the territory, all in the comfort of a corner table at Antica Osteria Marconi in Potenza. I had the perfect guide-Chef Francesco Rizzzuti .  So after a quick chit chat, a glass of Basilicata Moscato IGT 2009 from Terre di Orazio ,  Chef Rizzuti went into the kitchen to prepare the 'tour'. He arrived with a beautiful dish that he calls gnocchetto di seppie and calamari -a little squid and cuttlefish dumpling, lightly fried and resting on a creamed pea sauce. He slowly poured just the right amount of chicken broth on top.  His way of saying Welcome to Basilicata, Karen .  Light, delicate...the theme for the day.  A theme which continued when he presented his next dish ...

 Angelo Muto (right) with Luigi Sarno Tractor or jeep? The best way to tour Angelo’s vineyards is with a tractor or a jeep ...that’s what enologist Luigi Sarno told me on our way to Tufo. Which would you prefer?… Angelo Muto , Cantine dell’Angelo , was on the phone with Luigi…waiting for my answer. Jeep…couldn’t see the three of us on one tractor . I thought. So Luigi and I met up with Angelo, and after a stop for something fresh to drink, we were on our way. Vineyard Hopping -Extreme Edition through Greco di Tufo DOCG country. I soon saw how the jeep came in handy, driving along as paved roads became dirt roads, as dirt roads became grassy paths. Paths barely wide enough for our jeep to pass. We zig-zagged through the vineyards-an up close and personal look, every now and then stopping, chatting, discussing. It was important to Angelo and Luigi that I understood the territory…That I got a chance to see various vineyards throughout this small, 6 sq km community of Tufo...

Springtime had hit Irpinia that Saturday, and hit hard. Spectacular sunshine paired perfectly with the stunning scenery. An ordinary Saturday. Well, it may have started off that way. Autostrade A16 … Benevento exit…direction Taurasi . But the ordinary turned extraordinary when I turned left at a little town called Calore and headed towards Mirabella Eclano (Av ). 5 minutes later, I arrived at a little piece of paradise. A piece of paradise called Radici Resort , home of the Mirabella Golf Club . And there waiting for me with the ‘keys’ to this part of Irpinia was Piero Mastroberardino , President of Mastroberardino Winery. The best way to tour Mastroberardino’s 9 hole, 31 par golf course is in a golf cart. So we were off on a tour that led us around a challenging course –hole #2 is particularly tricky, Piero pointed out. A course that he designed himself. A course that hugs Mastroberardino’s Aglianico and Falanghina vineyards and is nestled between Ravece olive groves. There’...

The Seventh Edition of VitignoItalia will be held at the beautiful medieval castele, Castel Dell'Ovo, May 22nd-May 24th in Naples. Three days of wine tastings, seminars, cooking demonstrations, an much, much more... For more information, go to their web site at www.vitignoitalia.it See you there!

Castel Campagnano. A small community in the Caserta Province. With a small centro storico. With an immaculate piazza that houses the town hall. And a cantina that dates back to the 4th century. A cantina that was rediscovered and acquired sometime ago by Manuela Piancastelli and Peppe Mancini from Terre del Principe . And what a discovery. Because underneath, 15 meters deep down, another surprise. An area used for wine making and storing wine dating back to the 10th century. Manuela and Peppe believed that this area…with a constant temperature of 10° C and a humidity level of around 75% would be the perfect place for their reds. Last spring they began to move their bottles and over 100 barriques to this little underground resting place. And on Sunday, May 1st, they added another chapter to their winery’s history by inviting friends to their share in their excitement. As medieval music lightly played, Manuela and Peppe were joined by their wine maker Prof. Luigi Moio . Moio, who ...

I turned right at the Caserta north exit. I should have turned left . So, when I did arrive, I was 15 minutes behind my schedule. I had an informal appointment with Vincenzo Ricciardi . I hadn't seen Vincenzo in several weeks when he taught our II level sommelier class on the Campania Region. Vincenzo Ricciardi, 30 + years of professional sommelier experience including Delegate of Ais Caserta, President of the Campania Region, and Ais National Vice President . Vincenzo Ricciardi, owner of Enoteca La Botte . I’m not sure what hit me first when I walked into Via Nazionale Appia 166; the incredibly high ceilings with chandeliers dangling…or the aromas of roast beef coming from the courtyard to the right. I entered, walked past the chocolates, and began to eye the international wines section. I was there for awhile, looking at labels, trying to recall the grape varieties that I have been studying for the past 3 months, when I heard a familiar voice. I turned, and saw a familiar fa...