Adding an Italian wine elevates alfresco dining
With a little simple translation and imagination, your next picnic or patio party can have the international flair of Italy's alfresco dining.
Your alfresco (in the fresh air) theme translates appetizers into antipasto (before the meal). Eggplant dip becomes caponata, richly flavored with red pepper and garlic. Cold cuts become salumi - a selection of cured meats including prosciutto and salami (sausages, such as Mortadella.)
Instead of greens, thread cherry tomatoes with mozzarella and basil on toothpicks for individual insalata Caprese. Green olives, sun-dried tomatoes, hard Italian cheese (such as pecorino) and crusty bread round out the tray.
Serve a white wine from Sicily for a unique complement to antipasto. With modern investment, technology and technique, Sicily has reinvented ancient tradition into a dynamic winegrowing culture. Principi di Butera's Insolia ($14), for instance, negotiates diverse antipasto ingredients with its own flavors of lemon peel, raw almond and minerals.
Instead of pasta, serve risotto as a main course that adapts to the freshest ingredients and your occasion. With gardens full, risotto may feature vegetables from asparagus to zucchini, or peas as in the Venetian variation risi e bisi.
When orchards ripen and the climate cools, serve risotto alle mele e salsicce (risotto with apples and sausages).
Risotto adapts to white or red wine. Castello d'Albola's Chardonnay, with nearly New World yellow apple and tropical fruit roundness and enhanced by the minerality and acidity of its Tuscan homeland, will enrich and brighten risotto flavors. Castello d'Albola's Chianti Classico, with dark fruit and dusty flavors, will deepen all but seafood risottos (about $13.99).
No Italian meal is complete without dolci (dessert), from simple frutta (fresh fruit) to Italy's great gift to mankind: gelato. Serve your sweets with an icy-cold glass of Castello del Poggio's Brachetto (about $17) a rose sparkler with extra-ripe raspberry sweetness.
Sure we're not in the Mediterranean, but we can still enjoy alfresco dining in Lake Michigan's gentle breezes, and the dolce far niente (loosely, easy livin') of summertime.
<p class="factboxtextbold12col"><b>Ross' choice</b></p> <p class="factboxtextbold12col">Sassabruna</p> <p class="factboxtextbold12col">2005</p> <p class="factboxtextbold12col">Rocca di Montemassi</p> <p class="factboxtextbold12col">Maremma, Tuscany, Italy</p> <p class="factboxtextbold12col">• Suggested retail and availability: About $25 at wine shops (distributed by Stoller Distributing, Franklin Park)</p> <p class="factboxtextbold12col">American travelers crow about the food in Italy, but Italians returning from the U.S. rave about one thing: "Steak!" Sassabruna is crafted to satisfy these carnivorous cravings. A blend of Sangiovese, Merlot and Syrah creates a richly knit cloak that wraps the palate with jammy berry and plum fruit, spice and meaty accents and full, firm tannin. Combining Old and New World flavors Sassabruna is delicious with costata alla Fiorentina (a thick cut of famed Florentine beef, seared over wood embers) or your favorite steak on the grill.</p>