Corti Brothers Newsletter for December 2005   Page 3 

Salfiore di Cervia Sea Salt raccolta 2005 harvest 150gram glass jar (#1213) Medium fine grain, manually harvested on the brine surface at the beginning of the salt season. “Fleur de sel.”

Sale Alle Erbe Per Carne - Herbed Salt for Meat 175 gram glass jar (#1214) Cervia salt blended with fresh sage, rosemary, garlic, juniper, laurel and pepper. Add at end of cooking. Store herb salts from light.

Sale Alle Erbe Per Pesce - Herbed Salt for Fish 175 gram glass jar   (#1215) Cervia salt blended with fresh chives, thyme, garlic and chile. Add at end of cooking. Store herb salts from light.

 New Olive Oils from Northern Puglia: Spiavento 

Spiavento Extra Virgin Olive Oil is new from the Alto Tavoliere, near San Severo, northern Puglia. This is the oil production side of a wine estate called Tenuta Coppadoro. I was made aware of this property because the person responsible for both wine and oil production is Fabrizio Vignolini, a friend, who is the president of the ONAOO (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Olio d’Oliva) based in Imperia, on Italy’s Riviera. Fabrizio is also one of the foreign expert oil tasters at the Los Angeles County Fair.

Spiavento means, as can be seen from the label, a weathercock, literally “wind spy.”  Zecchino is one of the oils I’ve selected to offer since it is a delicious, all purpose oil, blended by Fabrizio to be compatible with cooking and dressing. Zecchino is the name of a Venetian gold coin used until the unification of Italy. Its name comes from “zecca” or mint in Italian (from the Arabic “sikkah,” coin die) and which comes to us in English as “sequin,” the shiny ornamental disk sewn on cloth.

Zecchino is a blend of the cultivars ogliarola garganica and peranzana, with the ogliarola lending sweetness and the peranzana intense fruitiness. This oil has green fruit flavor with only slight bitterness and piquant finish. At its price point, this is a remarkable value for both cooking and use in dressing salads.

Dauno, d.o.p., with a protected appellation of origin, is produced from 60 to 100 year old trees in the area of San Severo. Hand harvested mid November, it shows the characteristics of peranzana, little known outside of this area bordering the Gargano National Park which juts into the Adriatic. Peranzana has a green color, with intense artichoke and cut grass fruitiness, with a balanced aromatic flavor, perfect for use with strong flavored dishes such as winter vegetables and hearty soups, bruschette and for pinzimonio.

The Spiavento oils merit your attention since they are very well made, from unusual varieties, and nicely priced. They will definitely anoint your holiday meals in fine fashion.

Sold out.

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