The NEW YORK ITALIAN FOOD & WINE GUY Blog is dedicated to many things, but mainly to three very GREAT ONES being NEW YORK, ITALIAN FOOD, and ITALIAN WINE. What's greater than these?
Tuesday, March 14, 2023
Love the Pio Cesare BAROLO 2018 Piedmonte
Thursday, March 9, 2023
On SICILIAN WINE
A BRIEF HISTORY
The Greeks, Phoenicians, Arabs and Italians have all held sway over Sicily. Though the Greeks brought their advanced viticulture techniques, Sicilians have been making wine since 4000 BC. Its dry, warm climate features regular sunshine and moderate rainfall that suits wine production. Arid conditions reduce the chance of rot and mildew, especially in areas kissed with coastal breezes. This makes Sicily a prime candidate for organic farming. Olives, citrus and grains drive the agricultural sector beyond wine.
In the past, however, farmers opted for higher yields, which turned Sicily into a bulk wine center. They distributed to mainland Europe to boost thin wines, as well as to China and India, who imported concentrated Sicilian must to sweeten foods.
Heritage regions like Marsala did put Sicilian wine on the map. Wine traditions in each of the island’s regions, from Vittoria to Mount Etna, have remained strong. In the 1980s, a resurgence in interest brought improvements in viticulture and winemaking. Today, Sicily turns out some of the most exciting labels in Italy.
SICILIAN WINE
Sicily is one of Italy’s largest wine producing regions. In the past, the island was known for bulk wine production. Producers favored high yields over high quality and much of Sicily’s fruit was sold to other Italian wine regions. Thankfully, in the 1980’s Sicilian wine experienced a revival led by the likes of Tasca D’Almerita, Planeta, Marco de Bartoli, Corvo, COS, and Donnafugata. These producers began restricting yields and elevating indigenous varieties to focus on premium Sicilian wine production. Soon enough, other producers followed suit. Today, Sicilian wines are some of the most exciting, inspiring wines coming out of Europe.
Moreover, Sicily is a leader in ecological winemaking and viticulture. Since 2010, both Tasca D’Almerita and Planeta have pioneered the SOStain movement on the island. Sicily’s SOStain Foundation is an environmental challenge to promote ethical and sustainable development in the Sicilian wine sector. Both the Consortium for the Protection of Sicilian DOC Wines and Assovini Sicilia promote these sustainability efforts. Regulations for the program cover a winery’s water footprint, carbon footprint, bottle weight controls, the preservation of animal and plant biodiversity, and more. As other producers have joined SOStain over the years, Sicily is now an ecological leader in the wine industry worldwide.
The GRAPES
Historically, Italian wine regions have clung tightly to its historical grapes, and Sicily is no different. While international varieties are prominent players, for critics, sommeliers, and importers, the wines they dream about at night are indigenous.
There are three key red grapes: Nero d’Avola, Frappato and Nerello Mascalese.
Nero d’Avola is the most widely planted and celebrated red grape. If you find a Sicilian wine in your supermarket, it will likely be Nero d’Avola. It yields wines of deep color and flavor, with moderate structure, juicy acidity and soft-to-medium tannins. Flavors of dark, brambly fruit and spice are common. Stylistically, the wines can range from youthful and easygoing to serious and contemplative, with the latter requiring time in bottle for best enjoyment. Nero d’Avola is the primary grape in the Cerasuolo di Vittoria Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG), an appellation in the south, where it’s partnered with Frappato.
Frappato, though blended typically, can also be bottled on its own. Once relatively obscure to American wine lovers, the grape has gained fans among sommeliers who wax poetic over its captivating floral perfume. These lean toward easy-drinking wines with supple tannins, though earnest examples exist.
Nerello Mascalese may rank second in volume and value to Nero d’Avola, but this elegant red has engendered a passionate following over the last 20 years. The grape thrives in the volcanic soils of Mount Etna, and it’s often blended with Nerello Cappuccio, a rustic, spicy grape.
For white wines, Catarratto is the most planted grape in Sicily. Catarratto makes delicious soft, dry wines, but it’s often treated as a volume variety, with much of it sent to the mainland or exported as concentrated must.
In addition to Catarratto, Grillo and Inzolia are used in the base blend for Marsala, which forms a large percentage of the island’s white wine production. Grillo, on its own, is a medium-bodied, dry white accented with a white peach flavor. It makes charming, easy wines throughout the island.
On Mount Etna, Carricante is the primary variety behind the white wines that are sometimes referred to as Etna Bianco. It’s dry and medium-bodied with zippy acidity.
In the international camp, Chardonnay, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon are the most successful grapes.
Etna DOC
“Mama Etna,” the snow-capped, smoking behemoth in the northeast, earned its nickname for the bounty it provides local communities. Fluorescent-green pistachios, ruby-red strawberries and wine comprise much of the farming income here. More than any other swath of Sicily, Mount Etna’s wines have earned lavish attention over the last few years.
The region’s climate is quite different from elsewhere. It’s practically alpine with intense sunlight, yet it receives twice the rainfall of other regions. The mountain’s unique wines earned DOC recognition in 1968. Producers now seek DOCG status, but they’ve yet to receive it.
Etna’s main grapes are Nerello Mascalese for red and Carricante for white. The former has been compared to both Barolo (Nebbiolo) and red Burgundy (Pinot Noir) for its transmission of terroir, depending where it’s grown on the mountain.
At warmer, lower altitudes, Nerello manifests as burly and tannic. As elevations climb up to 3,600 feet, where acidity increases and temperatures fall, wines turn taut and ethereal. Soil variation further alters flavor, concentration and texture. It’s a wine for those who appreciate singularity and vintage variation over consistency.
Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG
Compared to Etna, Sicily’s southeast corner offers lower elevation and higher temperatures. That makes it prime red wine country and the source of Sicily’s only DOCG, Cerasuolo di Vittoria.
Cerasuolo di Vittoria is a red wine blend that earned DOCG status in 2005. Nero d’Avola must comprise between 50%–70% of the base, with the balance filled by Frappato. The Nero d’Avola brings color, structure and depth to the final blend, while Frappato offers aromatics and freshness. Wines brim with red berries like strawberry and cherry (cerasuolo means cherry), underscored by hints of licorice and leather. Overall, Cerasuolo di Vittoria is a wine of finesse. Cellar-worthy versions tend to have more Nero d’Avola.
There are two quality categories of Cerasuolo di Vittoria: regular, known as rosso, and classico. The former must be aged approximately eight months, while the latter, which must be made from grapes grown in the traditional zone, needs to be aged at least 18 months.
Marsala DOC
The city of Marsala sits in Sicily’s southwest corner and has suffered a half-century’s worth of quality problems, but this historic port has clawed its way back to wine prominence. The base grapes of its famous fortified wines have moved away from Inzolia and Catarratto in favor of better quality and more traditional Grillo. Made in a method similar to Sherry, the key to great Marsala is time in the blending system known as a solera.
Not all Marsalas are overly sweet, see extended aging or are made with white grapes. In fact, 10 varieties are permitted, which include the red grapes of Nerello Mascalese and Nero d’Avola.
Like Sherry, Marsala has several age-related categories. The five include fine (one year), superiore (two years), superiore riserva (four years), vergine/soleras (five years) and vergine/solera stravecchio (10 years).
Color and residual sugar are also noted on the bottle. Hues are split into oro (gold), ambra (amber) and rubino (ruby), while for sugar content, categories are secco (dry at 40g/L, or grams per liter), semisecco (semi-sweet at 40–100g/L) and dolce (sweet at more than 100g/L).
Marsala makes a great cooking wine, as it lends nutty richness to sauces. But only use wines you’d be happy to sip.
Dorilli stands at the heart of the production area of Cerasuolo di Vittoria, near the Dirillo river that inspired its name. Planeta restored the old winery and a series of apartments, taken from the farmhouse of the early '900 in the middle of the vineyard full of Nero d'Avola and Frappato.
Cerasuolo di Vittoria is an ancient and distinctive wine. Since 2006 it can boast the DOCG appelation, the first and only wine to have received it in Sicily.
Wednesday, March 8, 2023
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Tuesday, March 7, 2023
Tre Bicchieri New York 2021 Wine Italian
Wednesday, February 22, 2023
No More VASTEDDI
The BEST VASTEDDI EVER !!!
Sadly, They are No More
La Foccaceria? Oh where have you gone? Well, I do know actually. After more than 90 years in business, it was time to close the doors. And a sad day it was for thousands, including me. I first moved into the East Village in November 1982 .. I was working in another famed old New York Italian institution in The East Village, in John’s (Since 1908) on East 12th Street right around the block from La Foccaceria. La Foccaceria was a great little Sicilian Specialties restaurant on 1st Avenue between East 11th and East 12th Streets on the east side of First Avenue .. That was the first spot where Vinny’s father opened the doors in 1914 … I’m sorry to say, I never went to that one but to it’s (La Foccaceria) 2nd location a couple blocks south on 1st Avenue between East 7th Street and St. Marks Place (E. 8th Street) on the east side of the avenue. The new La Foccaceria, run by one Vinny Bondi was just one block from my apartment at the corner of Avenue A and St. Marks Place. In 1982 the East Village was on an up-swing in popularity and improvement from a sort of sub-ghetto of The Lower East Side. the neighborhood which was strongly Eastern European; Ukranian and Polish, mixed with Hispanics, Italians, and people of Jewish persuasion. When Mr. Bondi opened the doors almost 100 years before when the neighborhood was largely made up of Sicilian immigrants which included one Charles “Luck” Luciano whose parents moved to East 10th Street when Luciano was just 9 years old. In the early 80s when i first moved into East Village it was a low-rent neighborhood with apartments that were relatively cheap for the city, thus attracting artists, so-called wannabe actors and musicians and young people who wanted to live in Manhattan. In the East Village they could find an apartment (though not the best physically) at reasonable rates for the time, I did. Through a friend I was able to procure a 2 bedroom apartment for a mere $400 a month. Quite a bargain. I shared the apartment with my good friend jay F. for the first year in that apartment. Once he moved out, I kept the apartment for myself.
Hey, I’m getting off the beaten track. Yes back in 82 the East Village was an exciting and changing neighborhood, perfect for me and other young people just starting out in this great city of ours.
I was only paying $400 rent and had money to spend eating out. I used to eat at a Ukrainian Diner Odessa on Avenue A and Lesko’s as well, two doors down from Odessa. There I could get plates of home-made Perogis, fresh Keilbasi and other solid food for cheap. In the East Village there were a few old-school Italian holdovers like; John’s were I was working as a waiter & bartender at the time, Lanza’s (now over 100 Years old), De Roberta’s Italian Pastry (over 100 years old) Brunetta a great little Italian restaurant I used to go to which was on the same block as the original La Foccaceria and there was the current La Foccaceria on 1st Ave near Saint Marks Place .. I went in to La Foccaceria one day, I met Vinny and I loved it from the very start. Vinny’s father and mother had started the place way back in 1914 … Vinny, I never asked his age, but he must have been in his late 60’s at the time (1983). La Foccaceria served an array of wonderful dishes; all the usual pastas like; Lasagna, Spaghetti & Meatballs, Spaghetti Vongole (Clam Sauce), and Sicilian Maccheroni, like Pasta con Sardi and Lasagna Coccati, broken pieces of lasagna pasta baked with sausage,peas, tomato, and mozzarella. Vinny had great soups like Pasta Fagioli and the best Lentil & Escarole Soup around. He sold sandwiches like Chicken Parmigiano, Meatball Parm, Sausage & Peppers, and his most famous dish of all, the famed Vastedda Sandwich of Palermo. A Vastedda (Vastedde) Sandwich as we’ve said is a very famous sandwich that is a specialty in Palermo, is made with Beef Spleen (or Veal) with Ricotta and Cacciocavallo Cheese on a small Sesame Seeded Bun. It is quite wonderful and was a specialty of the house at Vinny’s La Foccaceria. I just loved it, and at $1.60 per, even in 1982 it was one of New York’s great prepared food bargains. The average price of most sandwiches back then was about $5.00 around town, so a Vasteddeat $1.60 per? Wow, what a Bargain?
I had tried most of the dishes at La Foccaceria in my first year eating there, but there was one that I loved by far most of all. Yes, the Vastedde. Most times I would have a Vastedde and a bowl of Vinny’s wonderful Lentil & Escarole Soup, the best I have ever had. If it was Thursday or Saturday, the days that Vinny made Arancini (Sicilian Rice Balls) and Sfingione (True Sicilian Pizza), I might get a piece of Sfingione and Lentil & Escarole Soup, or Sfingione, a Vastedde, and Soup. Yeah!
I often ate at Vinny’s on Thursdays and Saturdays, as they were the two days in the week when Vinny made Sfingione, which is real Sicilian Pizza, that comes from Palermo. This type of pizza is made in a pan and is thick just like what is know as Sicilian Pizza all over America, and has tomato and Mozzarella Cheese baked on top. Sfingione on the other had doesn’t have tomato or mozzarella, but minced Anchovies that are suteed with onions and breadcrumbs. This breadcrumb mixture covers the dough and then is backed in the oven, and “Voila,” you’ve got the true Sicilian Pizza known to Sicilians and Sicilian-Americans alike as Sfingione.
Very made a great version of Sfingione, and I’d get a piece of it every week for the 11 years before I moved over to the west side in Greenwich Village. Saturdays was a very special day at La Focacceria as that the day that all the old guys who grew up in this neighborhood, but later bought homes outside of Manhattan, Saturday was the day many of these guys would take a ride into the hood to get a Vastedde, see Vinny and habg out with old friends, one coming from Staten Island, one from Brooklyn, one from Jersey, etc., etc., and they’d all meat up at Vinny’s for a nice lunch together and remember their old times in this old Sicilian Neighborhood.
Boy did I love Vinny’s. There was nothing like those Vastedde and Vinny making them. Vinny had a special stattion at a counter up front of the place where he cut the cooked Beef Spleen, fry it in lard, cut the bun, cut some Cacciocavallo, he’d lay the spleen on the bun, add some Ricotta, and sprinkle the cut Cacciocavallo Cheese over the top. Yumm! And I’d have a little chat with Vinny as he made my Vastedde right before my eyes. When i ordered it, all I had to say to Vinny, was, “One with everything.” That meant everything; the spleen, Ricotta and Cacciocavallo. Some people would order them minus the spleen. Why? Amateurs.
Sadly, Vinny closed his Foccaceria a few years ago. it was a sad day for me, no more Vinny, no more La Foccaceria, no more Vastedde.
Ode to La Foccaceria
Ode to My Pal Vinny
Ode to My Beloved Vasteddi
I Will Miss You All So
Daniel Bellino-Zwicke
SFINCIONE
This is real SICILIAN PIZZA. Vinny made it on Thursdays and Saturdays and all the guys that used to live in the neighborhood but bought homes in Brooklyn, Staten Island or where ever, they’d come in to La Focacceria every Saturday for a VASTEDDA and some SFINCIONE and ARANCINI. It was quite a place.
The following is from The New York Times, 1996
When the authors reviewed LA FOCACCERIA, a bright little restaurant, it was already 50 years old, having opened in 1914. It has moved from its old address, 195 First Avenue, but judging from the old review, not much else has changed.
One of its unusual specialties is still the vasteddi ($1.50), described in the book as ''a bizarre Sicilian sandwich.'' It is made of slices of calf's spleen, layered with ricotta cheese and shavings of Parmesan and served on a little bun. The authors describe it as ''mild and quite tasty,'' which holds true.
The words al dente may never have been uttered here, and wine is poured from big jugs into carafes. The regulars look as if they have been coming here for years, and food is plentiful and cheap.
A bowl of white bean, pasta and pumpkin soup ($2.95) is earthy and filling. Fusilli is overcooked, but comes in a tomato sauce with slivers of pork subtly flavored with garlic ($6.50). Veal stew ($7.95), tender chunks of veal with potatoes and beans in a simple gravy, is excellent.