Montalcino Report

The "pappa col pomodoro", a Traditional Tuscan Summer Dish

 

The "pappa col pomodoro" is a great Tuscan summertime dish. It is a bread soup made with our characteristic saltless Tuscan "type 00" bread, fresh summertime tomatoes and basil. It is always served tepid or just warm (never hot). It is one of the many dishes in Tuscan cooking that make use of "yesterday's bread", in other words, stale bread from the day before. It is usually topped with drizzled extra virgin olive oil.

The pappa col pomodoro in the photo is made at Trattoria Il Leccio in Sant'Angelo in Colle our village. The word "leccio" means "holm oak" in Italian, from the Latin "ilex", and, in fact, the toponym Montalcino comes from a combination of "monte" or "mount" and "ilex", in other words, the "holm oak mount". People from Montalcino are called, in fact, "ilcinesi" from the Latin "ilex".

Il Leccio
Via Costa Castellare 1
Sant'Angelo In Colle
0577 844176

Il Leccio also serves traditional Tuscan cusine but you will find some classic Italian dishes as well and a great wine list, with a lot of wines from many different Brunello producers, including Il Poggione, of course.

Another favorite at Il Leccio is "zucchine in three ways" (above), stuffed, fried, and with fried zucchine flowers — a classic springtime Tuscan cooking dish.

The best restaurant in the Montalcino area: Il Silene of Roberto Rossi

When we make an important dinner at Il Poggione, like the dinner we have made to taste the old vintages of Il Poggione and Col d'Orcia Brunello di Montalcino in Feburary, we rely on the chef of Il Silene in Seggiano (southeast of Montalcino) Roberto Rossi, whose restaurant is considered by many as the best restaurant in the Montalcino area.

The name "Silene" derives from the name for a flower also called "strigolo" in Italian, called the "Bladder Campion". This name comes from the ancient name "Silenus" of the accompanier of Bacchus (probably because the flower of the plant looks like the chalice). Silene is also used in the cuisine.  

These are the ravioli stuffed with cheese and herbs and topped with the shave black truffles, as is the custom of our cuisine in Toscana. This photo and that below are by the food and wine writer Robin Goldstein (we have found them in his Flickr page).

This is the "cervello in cartoccio", the "brains in parchment paper". 

When you come to visit the Toscana and Montalcino this summer, we invite you to dine at this amazing restaurant and to know the cuisine of Roberto Rossi, the best chef in our area.

Ristorante Il Silene
Località Pescina
58038 Seggiano (GR)
Tel 0564950805
Fax: 0564950553

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Tasting 1967 Il Poggione and 1969 Col d'Orcia Brunello di Montalcino before the Benvenuto Brunello

Thursday evening we have organized the press dinner for some journalist, in cooperation with Col d'Orcia. Chef Roberto Rossi from Ristorante Silene was cooking and the following wines have been served:

Il Poggione Lo Sbrancato Rosé with the aperitif

Rosso di Montalcino 2008 Il Poggione and Col d'Orcia

Brunello di Montalcino 2005 Il Poggione and Col d'Orcia

Brunello di Montalcino 2004 Riserva - Vigna Paganelli Il Poggione

Brunello di Montalcino 1999 Riserva Col d'Orcia

Brunello di Montalcino 1967 Il Poggione

Brunello di Montalcino 1969 Riserva Col d'Orcia

Moscadello di Montalcino Il Poggione and Col d'Orcia

Also Leopoldo Franceschi (owner of Il Poggione, left) and Francesco Marone Cinzano (owner of Col d'Orcia, right) attended the dinner.

 

A beautiful video about the Val d'Orcia (Orcia River Valley)

Even if you do not speak the Italian, I think you will like the beautiful video on the Val d'Orcia, "Orcia River Valley", from the RAI Uno Linea Verde Show. 

Our zone of the Toscana is one of the most beautiful places in the world. In the video, the announcer speaks about the Chianina, a special breed of cattle that is used for the bistecca fiorentina, sheep raising, and also, of course, about the Brunello di Montalcino. It is very beautiful to watch. 

Buona visione!

The Tuscan meal: "eating is important, eating healthy is indispensable".

The friend of Il Poggione wine writer and blogger Franco Ziliani recently reminded us that it was just more than a year ago that one of the great personages of Brunello left us and is still sorely missed. Franco wrote a beautiful and emotional memory of Gianni Brunelli with tasting notes of Gianni's great, very traditional Brunello di Montalcino wines in the Association of Italian Sommelier website. I also remembered another emotional post about Gianni Brunelli by a wine writer in New York City named Susanah Gold She took the photograph of Gianni herewith.

Gianni may no longer be with us but his family restaurant Le Logge of Siena is still one of the great food and wine destinations of our province. I looked at his family restaurant website and found this description of one of his favorite meal:

"Eating is important, eating healthy is indispensable… Three important things: olive oil, wine, and bread are the three basic ingredients of the cuisine of the Mediterranean civilizations. Salads of mushrooms, ribollita (Tuscan twice-cooked bread, Swiss chard, and white bean soup), Swiss chard pies, roasted vegetables, fresh lettuces, and for the finale a Tuscan short bread with strawberries. This is a typical meal".

Gianni was not just a great producer of Brunello di Montalcino. He was also a living and breathing element of Siena and Montalcino and the beloved Toscana. His family restaurant is still a part of him and an excellent place to visit to taste Brunello di Montalcino wines and to have a typical Tuscan meal.

Osteria Le Logge
53100 Siena (SI) - V. Del Porrione, 33
tel: 0577 48013
fax: 0577 224797

Requiescat in pace Gianni Brunelli.

Il Poggione likes Gene and Georgetti "bisteccheria" in Chicago

This is the famous "insenga" or the "sign" of Gene and Georgetti "bisteccheria" in Chicago. They serve Il Poggione Brunello di Montalcino and the Rosso di Montalcino there, too.

Gene & Georgetti's Restaurant‎
500 N Franklin St
Chicago, IL 60610
(312) 527-3718

The U.S.A. importer of our wine is our family friends Terlato. The company is located in the Chicago area and so when we visit them, we always like to go to one of my favorite American "steak houses", what we would call a "bisteccheria" in Italy: Gene and Georgetti, which is a classic American restaurant in the "old Chicago", they say there.

This is the "bistecca" in the fashion of Chicago. The difference between the American "porterhouse" and the Tuscan "bistecca fiorentina" is that in America the top of the bone is not charred as is in Tuscany. This is a review of Gene and Georgetti with the photo of the "bistecca".

We know and love our beef very well in Tuscany! We are famous for our "bistecca fiorentina", the "Florentine style steak", which is the same cut of the meat as the American "porterhouse". The only big difference between the American porterhouse and the Tuscan bistecca fiorentina is that the bistecca fiorentina is charred on the flat side of the T of the bone before it is seared on the either side of the meat.

Also is famous the dish "chicken vesuvio" at Gene and Georgetti. I do not know why it is named after the famous volcano of Napoli. Probably, Il Poggione Rosso di Montalcino is a better pairing for this dish. Our rosso is less strong in the body than the Brunello and is good with the onions and peppers in this preparation. Here is a review of the chicken Vesuvio and more photos.

The last time I was there at Gene and Georgetti, I talked to Mr. Rich Ciota who has been the Gene and Georgetti's general manager and wine director for 16 years.

"Il Poggione is one of our top five wines" Mr. Ciota told me. "It sells itself. We have two or three Brunellos but people ask for Il Poggione by name. Sangiovese goes well with the hearty heavy meats and proteins on our menu".

Thank you Mr. Ciota! Il Poggione likes Gene and Georgetti too!

Tuscan cooking and Il Poggione in Cincinnati Ohio

My father and I were really happy to hear from our friends Nicola Pietoso our fellow Tuscan and one of his wine buyers Pete Sedgwick (in the picture above) at Via Vite and Nicola's in Cincinnati where Nicola and his son the chef Cristian make some classic favorite dishes from Firenze, like veal and ricotta meatballs "alla Cibreo" like the ones they make at the famous Trattoria Cibrèo in Firenze by Fabio Picchi. Nicola's was called the number 2 top 10 restaurant in Cincinnati this year.

Pete who is the general manager and also one of the wine buyers wrote us:

“Il Poggione Rosso di Montalcino goes really well with our signature dishes, like the penne alla bolognese and braised lamb shank, any type of hearty, braised meat, and rich pastas… Since its price point is really good, it’s more accessible to people who don’t know Italian wine yet.”

We are very happy that people are eating good Tuscan cooking in Cincinnati and drinking traditional Rosso di Montalcino made from 100% Sangiovese Grosso grown in our vineyards in Sant'Angelo in Colle!

Organic Market today in Montalcino

If you happen to be in Montalcino today, please visit the "Organic Market" mercatino that highlights biologic and organic foods and products of the Val d'Orcia. The market is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. today in the Piazza del Popolo in the centre of Montalcino. 

You can see a calendar for the itinerary for the "mercantini" here. Throughout the year, the markets are held in different villages.

The Organic Market features all kinds of the wonderful agriculture products of the Orcia river valley or the "Val d'Orcia". It is a great way to experience the foods of our lands and I highly recommend it.

Hoja santa and Il Poggione at the Four Seasons in Big Texas

Our friend Jeremy Parzen sent us this photo he took of Il Poggione Rosso di Montalcino 2006 at Trio, the restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin Texas (where Jeremy now lives). That's the cheese plate that chef Todd Duplechan serves during happy hour at the bar at the Trio (that is a steakhouse, which is very popular in Texas where they eat a lot of steak like in Sant'Angelo in Colle except for Sant'Angelo in Colle which is a "frazione" of Montalcino is very small and Texas is very BIG!). Sommelier Mark Sayre, says Jeremy, is the "best sommelier in Austin" and he serves our wine at his restaurant.

The second cheese from the left is a goat cheese produced by Paula Lambert's the Mozzarella Company in Dallas in Texas. The cheese is wrapped in "hoja santa", "holy leaf" that is grown in the garden of another friend of Il Poggione, Alfonso Cevola who is the Italian Wine Director for Glazer's Distributor.

The world is such a big place and Sant'Angelo in Colle where we make our wines is so small but the internet makes the world feel smaller. We are happy that Jeremy is enjoying our wine. Thank you Mark, Todd, Alfonso, and Jeremy! We hope to see you soon in Sant'Angelo! :-)

Il Poggione Rosso di Montalcino by the "quartino" at Mario Batali's Otto

We were very happy to learn that Il Poggione 2006 Rosso di Montalcino is being served by the quartino and is featured in a "Tuscan wine dinner" at Mario Batali's Manhattan restaurant Otto Pizzeria.

"The 2006 Rosso di Montalcino by Il Poggione is drinking very well right now," said Otto wine director Dan Amatuzzi, above. "It's extremely approachable but it still expresses the unique qualities of Montalcino. At a restaurant like ours, where we often have patrons who are new to Italian wine, it's a wine that is accessible and affordable and extremely food friendly for the dishes that we offer."

"It goes great with all of the in-house cured meats that we serve and the imported Italian cheeses but my favorite thing to pair it with is the Rigatoni with Stracotto, pasta served with a tomato-based sauce of slowly braised pork — similar to the classic Tuscan pairing of wild boar ragù and Sangiovese."

Dan "grew up in a typical Italian household consisting of long sunday dinners with extended family members. Wine was always consumed, and it was then I was introduced to the divine drink. The interest to learn more than the average Joe blossomed only after my return from a semester in Florence in 2003." He has been working at Otto since May 2008. He also contributes wine and spirits articles to the New Jersey-based publication 201 Magazine.

Otto's Italian wine education program is widely considered one of the best in the U.S. and celeb Italian chef Mario Batali and leading Italian wine expert Joe Bastianich often drop by for tastings and demonstrations. 

Check out the schedule here. And click here to find more and to inquire about availability.