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Rome – Page 2 – GT Food & Travel
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GT Food & Travel

Category: Rome

  • Les Vignerons on Natural Wines

    Les Vignerons on Natural Wines

    Happy New Year! 2016 is off to a great start especially since Les Vignerons is moving from the off-the-beaten-path area of Tor Pignattara to Trastevere which is a mere 15 minute tram ride from my home. Les Vignerons is my favorite wine and craft beer shop in Rome. While there is no shortage of wine shops and markets in Rome, for a natural wine drinker like me, there is no substitute for Les Vignerons. I’ve been fortunate to get to know owners Antonio Marino and Marisa Gabbianelli over the past few years as they have evolved along with their knowledge of natural wines and craft beer.

    Antonio_Marisa_LesVignerons

    Clients often ask me why I break out into song and dance when talking about natural wine? We’re used to hearing “we are what we eat”. I’d say “we are what we eat and we are what we drink”. Natural wines – not necessarily organic which I’ll leave for another post – in its simplest definition is a wine made with minimal intervention and no artificial additives, it’s nothing new. It’s the way wine has been made for thousands of years. I had the chance to chat with Antonio and Marisa about the definition of natural wines over coffee as well as their philosophy, their individual paths and craft beer. Continue reading “The naturalists” for excerpts from our talk.

    Les Vignerons (opening in February 2016)
    Via Goffredo Mameli 61 in Trastevere
    Opening hours: Monday from 16:00-21:30; Tuesday-Saturday from 10:30 – 21:30

     

  • Christmas Eve & the Feast of the Seven Fishes

    Christmas Eve & the Feast of the Seven Fishes

    DSC_3674

    As an Italian-American I grew up with traditions that arrived on the shores of Boston with my grandparents from Southern Italy in the 1930s. These traditions remained somewhat frozen in time and for that I’m lucky. My most cherished tradition – the feast of the seven fishes prepared for Christmas Eve – involves, family, food and wine. Surprise!

    My maternal grandparents, the Pompeo-Aliberti’s from the region of Campania hosted this meal. At its height we numbered 70+ (aunts, uncles, cousins and the plumber). Family and friends trickled in and out of the Aliberti kitchen for an afternoon brandy to to toast to the holiday and years gone by. Fried crustaceans and eel (pictured above) were devoured and wine was at the ready, always red, in a jug by Papa’s feet.

    As the 24th quickly approaches prep in underway at Casa Tringali. I’ve become mom’s sous chef and this year I’m having a blast choosing wines for our seafood marathon. I’ve shared my wine and beer pairings with the American Magazine | In Italia but remember my rules are made to be broken. Please drink what you love. That’s what I’ll be doing on Christmas Eve as I pull up my chair to our table with spirits of Christmas past and a jug of red wine by my feet.

    Continue reading “The sumptuous 24th”  for my wine and beer suggestions.

    Happy Holidays!ValCerasaWhite

  • Casa Mia Blog nominated for Italy Magazine Blog Awards!

    Casa Mia Blog nominated for Italy Magazine Blog Awards!

    In the event that you missed it, I launched  Casa Mia – Italy  Food & Wine – an expanded private food and wine tour company in May 2015. I’m over the moon thrilled to announce that only 8 months after the launch, the Casa Mia blog has been shortlisted in not one, but two Italy Magazine Blog Award categories: “Best Travel Blog” and “Best New Blog”.

    Casa Mia nominated for Best Travel Blog
    I’m very proud and excited to have Casa Mia recognized and nominated along with other noteworthy contestants. The Casa Mia Blog is a team effort in which the founders, editors and guest contributors pour limitless passion, research and dedication.

    I’d like to thank everyone who nominated us into the Italy Magazine Blog Awards shortlists and I would love your vote for the win! Voting is easy and quick:

  • Puglia Wine Discovery

    Puglia Wine Discovery

    I’d been meaning to visit Puglia for years. Its raw beauty, fabulous beaches, crystalline sea and uncomplicated food like burrata cheese, orecchiette pasta with turnip tops and grilled fish make it a destination for beach, food and wine lovers alike. Reading that half of Italy’s olive oil is produced in Puglia and that Puglia produces more wine than any other Italian region didn’t quite prepare me for what I’d see on our three-day August family escape. As we drove across the Pugliese border my eyes were drawn to the whitewashed flat-roofed houses, the sea and seemingly endless olive groves littered with gnarly thick trunked trees and curved grapevines. Greece came to mind.On this trip, my brother-in-law and I — he’s a sommelier — decided to shake things up a tiny bit by seeking out and trying some more obscure Pugliese wines. Part of the joy of wine is discovering new ones, and for wine-lovers learning means tasting. A tasting in a relaxed setting among friends and family can be a memorable occasion. Setting aside Negroamaro and Primitivo, for a list of four local wines (two whites and two reds) well worth discovering take a look at my “Southern Gems“.Puglia_grisola

     

     

     

  • Italian Craft Beer

    Italian Craft Beer

    ginabeer

    I’m a wine drinker to the core. I hadn’t been romanced by Italy’s booming craft beer movement until this year’s unrelenting summer-long heat wave started in June. My interest in craft beer inched higher alongside soaring temperatures. The last time I hosted a beer tasting, a group of enthusiasts challenged what I knew about beer given my wine bias. As a perfectionist, I stubbornly hit the books and the pubs.

    Despite Italy’s ingrained wine making culture, you’d be missing an aspect of Italy’s food and beverage scene if you didn’t indulge in craft beer. The striking rise in popularity is driven by renewed interest in beer making and drinking.The renaissance of the malty hoppy beverage started in the mid-90s in Northern Italy when a handful of home beer makers got brewing. Today the number stands at about 600 producers sprinkled across diverse regions. From home-brewers to microbreweries and styles inspired by classic Germany, Belgium, UK and U.S. brewers to Italian born brews, there’s been an explosion from the top to the bottom of the boot and let’s not forget the islands.

    For more of my beer musings and a list of my favorite beers check out “Veering to Beer“…

    Photo credit Andrea Di Lorenzo

  • Mazzo – The Fooders for Off the Beaten Path Flavors

    Mazzo – The Fooders for Off the Beaten Path Flavors

    Whether you’re a Rome resident or visitor if you’re curious to discover another side of the eternal city, where talented chefs are transforming top notch ingredients into creative plates, Mazzo may be the spot for you. Located in Rome’s off the beaten path Centocelle district, Mazzo opened in 2013. The founders , Francesca Barreca and Marco Baccanelli aka “the Fooders“, are not strangers to the Roman food scene. The menu changes daily; always seasonal and creative. Expect classic Italian flavors with a twist as well as a classic American dessert. Mazzo also has a solid beer and wine list and stellar gin & tonics. For more on Mazzo read here.

    Pastasnails MazzoMudpie

    Mazzo – The Fooders
    Via delle Rose, 54, 00171
    +39 06 6496 2847

  • The King of Lazio Red Wine – Cesanese

    The King of Lazio Red Wine – Cesanese

    When I share a meal with family and friends, I often ask them which Italian wine they like best. Many will mention a red from Tuscany, most likely a “super Tuscan,” a 1980s term for Tuscan red blend that uses wine grapes not indigenous to Italy, including Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.cesaneseWhen I suggest a wine from Lazio dazed and confused faces abound, never mind the eyebrow raising glares when I utter the red wine grape Cesanese. Lazio does have some identity problems. It’s a somewhat indistinct central region that has long been overshadowed by more renowned neighbors Campania, Tuscany and Umbria. Even visitors to Rome don’t always know that Lazio is the region that Rome calls home. Rome’s importance as the capital make it feel like an oasis in the desert, a landlocked island enclosed by the Grande Raccordo Anulare (GRA), the ring road/highway that encircles Rome. Just a short ride beyond the motorway lie rolling hills speckled with olive groves, orchards and vineyards and land of the antique grape variety Cesanese. ciolli

    Continue reading about Cesanese and Lazio vineyards here.

     

     


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