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Corti Brothers Newsletter for December 2001 Page 2 Please note! Many of our past newsletter items came from a very limited stock and are no longer available. Please check our products page or contact us for availability. ...Continued from page 1 1 << Page 2 >> 3 4 NOCETO--AMADOR COUNTY'S SANGIOVESE WINERY I have known Noceto winery before it made wine. In fact, I named it for owners, Suzy and Jim Gullet, since the property they bought in Amador County was an old walnut orchard (noceto in Italian). This is a one variety winery producing only Sangiovese, the famed red Tuscan variety now very chic in California. (A bit of Muscat called Frivolo is made as a dessert wine.) Corti Brothers introduced their first vintage ten years ago, and it is a pleasure to offer to you the 1999 vintage. This is probably the best vintage so far. Now in their own new winery facility, the Gullets have produced a lovely Sangiovese. The 1999 Noceto shows the variety to great advantage. It is pretty in color, a deep red; with bright, sappy flavor and that delicious freshness that I think should be the hallmark of Sangiovese and is often missing in some of the most sought after wines. A judicious, light touch with larger wood tempers this variety's natural astringency. Noceto 1999 is a delicious Sangiovese that will repay several years cellaring, if you can keep your hands off of it that long. There are many ways to make Sangiovese. I think this is the proper one! BARDI PANETTONE, PANDORO AND THE NEW PANETTONE VENEZIANA What would the holidays be like without panettone? Well, for one thing they would not be Italian. PANETTONE is the typical holiday cake; PANDORO is traditional in Verona. A new presentation, PANETTONE VENEZIANA, is made from a less buttery dough than the traditional Milanese style, has only candied citrus peel (lemon, orange and citron), almonds and an almond paste glaze. This new panettone replaces the candied apricot presentation we offered several years ago. There is also the hazelnut glazed (NOCCIOLATO) panettone in the traditional low shape and the panettone without candied fruit, just raisins, (SENZA CANDITI) for the non candied fruit lover. During the holiday period, panettone is a requisite in the well stocked Italian pantry. It is even wonderful after the holidays. Eaten as is, made into other desserts (bread pudding and such) it is wonderful just simply toasted for breakfast on those cold wintery mornings. Bardi panettone, made from pure, natural ingredients, without preservatives at all, will keep a minimum of 10 months from purchase, so it can be enjoyed when the holidays are just a memory. BARDI PANETTONE, PANDORO AND
PANETTONE VENEZIANA: All
in 1 kilo size (2.2 lbs) GIOVANNI BUSCO--CAPONATA AND SUGO DI NAPOLI These are other Sacramento Valley comestibles. Giovanni Busco, Sicilian born, has been living in the Sierra Foothills near Marysville for two years. He came to me with the idea of producing a typical Sicilian product, made in the old fashioned way, carefully with high quality ingredients, and I told him it would probably work. After two years of working on the project, it has. CAPONATA, that quintessential Sicilian dish made from a base of eggplant is unique. It is not so much a dish, as it is a "companatico," something you eat with bread. It can be enjoyed by itself, cold or warmed, and used for stuffing other vegetables or as a form of chutney. Celery, tomato, capers, and olive oil are the other ingredients. Again, this is a preparation to take pressure off the harried cook. Several jars in the pantry will give you a fine base from which to prepare a delicious meal, quickly. The SUGO DI NAPOLI is another take on the pasta sauce theme. This sauce is a smooth puree style rather than chunky. The flavor profile is sweet pepper, onion, and tomato: very Neapolitan in concept. I think this is the consistency of sauce for long, thin cuts of pasta: spaghetti, spaghettini, and linguine. It will just envelope them. THE "SOTT'OLI" OF ARDOINO--ARTICHOKE HEARTS, MUSHROOMS, AND PEPPERS "Sott'olio", plural "sott'oli" in Italian means food preserved in oil. It can be vegetables, sausages, even composed dishes. The ingredients are normally boiled in vinegared water, drained, seasoned and then packed into jars and covered with oil, generally, olive oil. All of these preparations have the same thing in common: they are meant to be eaten when the fresh product is not available or out of season. They are also relished for their own developed taste. In fact, some vegetables "sott'olio" are even tastier than the same freshly prepared. Ardoino, from whom we have bought exceptional extra virgin
oil since 1980, supplies us with sundried tomatoes and the special Taggiasca
olives from the Riviera. Now we offer Ardoino oil packed artichoke hearts,
wild mushrooms, and peppers stuffed with tuna and capers or anchovy and
capers. Made to very traditional Riviera recipes, these "sott'oli" are
staples that should be in every well stocked Italian pantry. Eaten outside of a meal, they are a terrific quick snack. Often visitors to Italian homes are treated to "sott'oli" in winter since they would have been made during the previous summer or fall season and it is a mark of honor to be the first to taste the household's "sott'oli." Our Ardoino "sott'oli" are unique on the market and exclusive to Corti Brothers. The wonderful Taggiasca olives from Ardoino have many admirers among our customers. It takes almost a year in brine to produce these olives which are addictive. With Taggiasca olives, several of the Ardoino "sott'oli," some tasty cheese, good bread, and excellent wine, you have the beginning of an Italian gastronomic experience. This is a quickly and easily prepared meal of the slow food type. ARDOINO ARTICHOKE HEARTS (Carciofini sott'olio) << Back to Top |
Corti Brothers
Sacramento CA