We are having our apartment painted and will not be eating home for the next two weeks so this weekend, Michele decided to make some things that she wanted to use up.
We started with a salad made with arugula, avocado, tomatoes, tuna, hard cooked eggs and anchovies.
Then we had sardines Beccafico, a Sicilian recipe meaning “figpecker style,” named for a bird. I am not sure why it has that name, but the rolled up sardines were stuffed with breadcrumbs, pine nuts, currants, parsley, lemon and mint and baked.
With this we had the Beneventano Falanghina 2018 IGT Donnachiara made from 100% Falanghina. The vineyard is the Torre Cuso, the best location for Falanghina. The soil is volcanic, chalky clay, the vines are 16 years old, the training system is guyot and there are 2,500 vines per hectare. The grapes are not destemmed or crushed before pressing. Cold fermentation is in stainless steel and there is extended maceration. This is a crisp white wine with citrus fruit aromas and flavors, nice acidity and good minerality and a pleasure to drink.
Roasted Eggplant and Peppers
Rosemary Focaccia
On the plate
Since it was hot we had a red wine the could take a slight chill and this one was perfect. Vernatsch Schiava Alto Adige DOC 2019 Peter Zemmer made from a blend of various varieties of Schiava grown on the pergola, the traditional trellis system, on loamy soil on the slopes around Cortaccia. The stems are immediately removed and the grapes are fermented for 8 days at a controlled temperature. The must is kept in regular contact with the skins through circulation pumping and gentle pressure from below with the ideal results for coloring from the skins and emphasizing fruitiness. This is a fresh, light fruity wine with hints of red raspberry, peaches and light note of bitter almond on the finish.
We finished with Michele’s homemade blueberry and cantaloupe ices