A Sentimental Wine For A Sentimental Night

Last night as I sat down to dinner, I was exhausted.  Movers had left after 3 days of packing up my home (I say home because the building is only a house – the home part went away in boxes and crates).

A few hours earlier, I had stopped by my favorite caseficio to pick up a few goodies.  Since my time in Italy is getting short, I am filling myself with as much of the local products as possible.  Tonight, I shopped for mozzarella di bufala, proscuitto crudo, bresoala, and rustic bread. I added a few ingredients from my nearly bare cupboards to throw together simple and delicious antipasti.  I’ll give you the recipe for bresaola salad at the end – it is one of my favorites!

My wine collection shipped back to the states a few weeks ago but my husband had enough foresight to set aside a few special bottles for the end.  We have been working hard the past few days and are aware of our limited time left  in Italy so decided to open a sentimental bottle for dinner. We chose a 2003 Piedirosso DOC from Cantine del Mare. This bottle was sentimental for several reasons. The vintage, 2003, was the first year Cantine del Mare produced wine. The winery is in our quaint, little town of Monte di Procida. Our dear friend, Pasquale Massa, is one of the owners and was generous enough to give us this bottle to enjoy.

The wine was medium bodied, ruby red and really lovely.  The bouquet was quite light.  My husband put it well when he said it was like a Pinot Noir with a little tannin.  There were aromas of plum, black cherry, raspberries, leather and earth.  The tannins were smooth verifying the wine’s age.  Upon sipping, I tasted raspberries, strawberries, cherries, a hint of leather and a hint of spice.   As I ate, drank and wound down from the week, I was impressed with what a delightful addition this wine was to my candlelit meal – even if it was on a patio table in the middle of my empty living room.

Bresaola Salad

2 servings

6 slices bresaola

1 handful rucola (arugula)

6 shavings of parmigiano reggiano

1/2 lemon

olive oil

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

On a platter, spread out the handful of rucola.  Drizzle with olive oil and the juice of the lemon.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.  Place bresaola slices on top arranging in a circle, then parmigiano reggiano.  Enjoy!

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