What I Ate Wednesday #44: Wine in Italy

Did you see my guest post today on Eating Bird Food? So glad to share some of my honeymoon experiences while she’s away on her honeymoon!

Maybe it should be what I drank Wednesday..? But let’s be honest, you can’t drink in Italy without being fed some amazingly delicious home-cooked food!

When we were at Pedroni for the balsamic tasting, we met another group of people that were also tasting and touring a la Anthony Bourdain recommendations. They told us about a biodynamic, organic winery called Cosimo Maria Masini where we could have a similar experience. Wine tasting with a multi-course meal? Done!

Not only were we in for good food and wine, but also for incredible views of Tuscany. I kept snapping pictures and telling Nathan that no matter what I did, the pictures could never do any justice for the breathtaking sights.

One of the managers gave us a tour of the grounds and each of the buildings where they age and harvest their wine. He went into great detail about the biodynamic process; it is a chemical-free process that “tries to regenerate the soil and the plants, through organic activators which help plants to find their own nutrients in the soil.”

After the tour, it was time to eat! We sat down with the manager and his father, who was visiting from Naples. It was just the four of us enjoying a homemade meal.

First Course
Charcuterie of sopressata and 2 kinds of salami paired with the Daphne, an unfiltered white wine that is processed with the skins to give it an orange tint. The process gives this wine a bit more flavor than a typical white.

Second Course
A delicious ragu paired with the Cosimo. Still in love with the ragu and totally missing it everyday. Again, this just melted in your mouth and light meat sauce was the perfect accompaniment.

Entree
Braised beef and potatoes paired with the Nicolo; this was a more robust red wine that stood up to the stronger flavor of the beef. The beef had great flavor and fell apart the second the fork touched it. No knives here!

Dessert
Blackberry tart. It had the perfect crumbly crust and wasn’t overly sweet. I can almost taste it now..

BONUS!
I didn’t snap any pictures, but apparently up until this point, we had been missing out! To finish off your meal in Italy, you are supposed to have a small glass of Trebbiano wine and cantuccio—an almond cookie, similar in shape and texture to biscotti. You dip the cookie into your wine and sip slowly as you’re eating the cookies. It is the perfect way to end a meal.

We walked out of there with two bottles of Nicolo and two bottles of the Trebbiano. And incredibly full stomachs! When people ask what my favorite part of the honeymoon was, I tell them I don’t have one, single favorite. I just can’t choose. Visiting Cosimo Maria Masini was just one more of my top experiences that I adored. And speaking of adoring something, I leave you with the sign below found at the winery.

Wine is the most beautiful gift from the gods.

Food for Thought

What was one of your favorite experiences that you’ve had on vacation?

Foodie Friday: Balsamic Tasting in Modena

You think you know balsamic vinegar? Think again.

One of my most favorite meals and overall experiences from the honeymoon was in Modena, Italy. It was another recommendation from Anthony Bourdain and it was absolutely worth every calorie!

Pedroni. It’s the only name you need to know. We drove from Florence to the Osteria in Modena. As we walked in, we were greeted by the owner; an older, 80-something man, who speaks strictly Italian. And when I say we were greeted, I mean Mr. Pedroni yelled at us in Italian for a few minutes, picked up a rotary phone, dialed a few numbers, hung up, and then continued to yell at us. If you could only see the stunned look on our faces.. Luckily a woman came out speaking English and was ready to take us on a tour.

We learned all about the process of making balsamic vinegar from start to finish, which, in their case, is sometimes over 25 years! At Pedroni, they do everything in-house, all the way down to the bottling, so while they are making large batches, they only produce 80-100 bottles per year. The rest of the vinegar gets to sit in the wood barrels and continue to age. After the tour was over, it was time to taste!

We started small; balsamic vinegar jam. Holy moly, that stuff was so tasty! The first thing Nathan and I both noticed was that we didn’t get that pucker in the backs of our mouths that we often get from vinegars that we buy at home. It was very smooth and as we continued down the line, it got even better! We tasted four different vinegars; we started with the Italo, aged for 12 years, it was like nothing we had ever tasted before. Followed by the 15-year aged Umberto, this vinegar was aged in oak and juniperwood barrels giving it more of a spicy flavor. The Giuseppe, or the “Extra Old” vinegar, is aged 25 years in oak and chestnut woods. And finally, the Claudio. This cream of the crop “Extravecchio” is aged over 25 years in chestnut and cherry woods. It is so silky, smooth and has a slight fruity flavor. If only it weren’t so pricy, we would have taken home a barrel! 😉

We did, however, bring home a bottle of the Italo and a few jars of the jam. We just couldn’t leave without it; there is nothing that we’ve ever tasted before that could compare. And we will definitely be ordering more when we sadly finish this bottle!

Happily, the tasting didn’t end there. It was lunch time! We started with a bottle of their homemade sparkling red wine. YUM! [We will also be adding that to our online order.] The pasta was served family-style but it was just for the two of us so we had no problem digging right in!

First Course
Fresh ricotta tortelloni drizzled with the Italo vinegar. Have you ever had fresh pasta? It completely melts in your mouth. I could have eaten the whole plate myself!

Second Course
Tagliatelle with ragu sauce drizzled with the Umberto vinegar. Northern Italian ragu is completely different then what you’d expect. It’s more of a meat sauce with just a touch of tomato. Pasta ragu was definitely one of my favorite meals to get on the entire trip. We added a little extra vinegar for those last little bites 😉

Third Course
Chicken with onions, a couple ribs, and frittata drizzled with the Giuseppe. To say that this frittata was the best I’ve ever had would be an understatement. Nathan, who never ate eggs before, asked me if I would kindly follow the recipe and make him one at home. He devoured it!

Dessert
Crema gelato drizzled with the 25+ aged Claudio. Good golly! We practically licked all of our plates and bowls clean, which is a very good thing because Mr. Pedroni does not let you leave without finishing everything on your plate!

And if that wasn’t enough, they brought about 9 or 10 bottles of different liqueurs, one being their homemade grappa. Being the polite guest that I am, I promptly began tasting! I might have had 1/10th of a shot of each.. I don’t think I could handle any more but I sure am glad I tried all of them.

Nathan and I wrapped up our amazing [and incredible filling!] two-hour meal and concurred that this was one of our top experiences of the trip. If we do make it back to the Tuscany area, you can bet we’ll be heading to Pedroni for lunch!

Food for Thought

What is the best experience you’ve ever had at a restaurant?

When you return to a travel destination, do you go back to the same places, or do you try something new?