Can you believe that an independent Sicily would rank seventh in the world for wine production? Again and again I had to strike suggested wines off the list because they aren’t available in North America, at least not yet. So maybe you should plan a trip to this lovely, distinctive island and get local treats that just don’t make it to North America such as Sicilian ices made from the snows of Mount Etna. Sicilian wine is meant for food. I remember bringing a $40 bottle to my wine class. Nobody, including me, was impressed. They didn’t even finish the bottle, leaving me a single serving. I paired it with brought home just enough for one meal, slow-cooked beef ribs. How do you say ooh-la-la in Italian?

Caponata Siciliana (Eggplant and Tomato Stew) is a great appetizer or side dish. My local supermarket sells a passable version, but obviously homemade is the best. I haven’t tried the sweet and sour version that often includes raisins. That’s not my way of consuming grapes. The wines that are recommended for caponata are rarely available here, but one matches I liked was with the Novio Mezzacorona produced from Teroldego and Lagrein grapes native to the Trentino-Alto Adige region in northeastern Italy. It’s a new wine, similar to the French Beaujolais Nouveau and is available for a few weeks after mid-November. Don’t make a special purchase, after all we’re not talking about a main dish.

Falsomagro (Stuffed Beef Roll) is made from ground beef, steak, and several cuts of pork including Italian ham and Italian bacon. You may find it hard to get the ingredients as is the case for many recommended wines. You should be able to find a Valtellina Superiore DOCG which comes from Lombardy.

Bollito Misto (Mixed Boiled Meats) is popular in many parts of Italy including Sicily. Every traditional cook and chef has his or her own recipe. This is one case where we can say the more the merrier. One of the many suggested sauces is mostarda di frutta (preserved spiced fruit), and the leftovers are delicious. Among the wine pairings are Barbera D’Alba (Piedmont) and Rosso Piceno (The Marches).

Like in so many parts of Italy and frankly just about everywhere else, spaghetti and pizza are popular. Among the many local versions alla Norma (tomato, fried eggplant, ricotta cheese, and basil) is a real favorite. Variations abound, for example, the ricotta may be raw or baked. Serve them with a Chianti Classico from Tuscany or with a wine based on what is becoming Sicily’s signature grape, Nero d’Avola.

Here is some startling and great news for chocolate lovers everywhere. It is good for us! But only under certain circumstances.

In an article in the Washington Post dated 9 February 2005, Katherine Tallmadge a spokesperson for the American Dietic Association states that “cacao or cocoa beans contain “Flavanols” a naturally occurring plant compound also found in tea, red wine and apples. Their properties have been studied as a heart disease inhibitor”. Also in the same article Carl L Keen the Chair of the Department of Nutrition at University of California states that “the Flavanols in cocoa help maintain a healthy vascular system. They reduce blood clotting – an aspirin like effect – reduce oxidative damage and improve blood flow”.

Yet is the Flavanols in the chocolate which are bitter and often extensively taken out of processed chocolate. Each level of processing that takes place when the bean is being made into chocolate the level of flavinols decreases. Yet nowadays you will find some of the top producers of chocolate products such as Nestle and Mars Inc are trying to produce items that are good for you. It should not be too long before you will see bars and candies made from chocolate with high levels of flavanols included within them. However, if you are looking for a bar that does at present state the flavanol levels contained within it you only need to look at “Mars Dove Dark Chocolate” which contains 150mg of flavanols in every 1.3oz’s of this chocolate ( a very high level indeed), but the downside to this product is that it contains 200 calories. But we do not live in the perfect world yet.

However, Ms Tallmadge recommends that whilst waiting for more high levels of flavanol products to be made you should take unsweented cocoa powder (not the Dutch processed kind (alkalized) as this has reduced flavanols). The next item you could try instead is either semi-sweet or bitter-sweet chocolate which has a high cocoa percentage. You may find some chocolates contain as much as 70% cocoa, but some may only have as much as 35%, and certainly with milk chocolate products you will find that the percentage will be even lower, and Ms Tallmadge suggests that these should not be eaten. In fact she states in the article that “I recommend cocoa or an ounce per day of dark chocolate, which will may be about 110 to 150 calories, depending on the chocolate. Any more than that and you’re probably going to take in too many calories for weight control.”

Are you sure that what you just read is too true. A person of some note in the nutritional field is RECOMMENDING that we eat chocolate? Okay she may state that we should not eat too much of it, but its still chocolate.

Calabria is the toe of the Italian boot. It is located in the southwest corner of Italy, with 500 miles of coastline on the Gulf of Taranto and Ionian and Tyrrhenian Seas. Its total population is about 2 million. The countryside is mountainous, and prone to earthquakes. Over the centuries the peasants learned how to extract the maximum from the poor soil. The red onions from Tropea are as good as they get. Some people eat them raw. Does anybody out there have a wine pairing for raw onions?

An excellent starter or side vegetable dish is Carciofi Ammollicati (Artichokes with Breadcrumbs) that also includes grated Pecorino cheese, lemons, and olive oil. Some say that artichokes are difficult to pair with wine. They haven’t tried this dish with a Vermentino di Sardegna DOC, a Vermentino di Gallura DOCG from Sardinia, or an Italian Gewurztraminer, Pinot Grigio, or Sauvignon Blanc.

Another first dish is Bucatini con la Mollica (Bucatini Pasta with Breadcrumbs) that includes salted anchovies, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Use whole-wheat breadcrumbs. This dish is traditionally served without cheese and works best with Bucatini, large hollow spaghetti. Enjoy with an Italian Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio.

An alternative local pasta dish is Spaghetti al Ragù di Totano (Spaghetti with Squid and Tomato Sauce). Of course the hardest part of preparing this dish is cleaning the squid. Other ingredients include onion, garlic, and basil. If you are up to it, save some of the squid rings for your second course. Wine pairings for the pasta dish (often made with angel hair spaghetti) include Italian Pinot Grigio and Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi DOC or Verdicchio di Matelica DOC from The Marches.

Pesce Stocco alla Calabrese (Salted Cod Calabrian style) is made with tomato sauce, black olives, onion, potatoes, and some herbs and spices. The real thing is cooked in a terracotta dish. If you like salt cod, you’ll enjoy this meal with an Italian Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc.

I’ve saved the best for last; namely Pesce Spada alla Bagnarese (Swordfish Bagnara style). Bagnara is a fishing and now tourist village that is also known for Torrone, a delicious almond-nougat candy. The swordfish is roasted with capers, chopped parsley, lemon, and olive oil. Suggested wine pairings include Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG from Tuscany but you have to get a good one, an Italian Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio.

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You read about a wine that is strongly reviewed and hustle off to your local wine shop to get a bottle. You have some friends over and pop the cork for dinner. Much to your disappointment, the wine is okay but not nearly as good as the review suggested. The issue might be the temperature of the wine.

Wine is not like water. You can drink water at room temperature, ice cold or even a bit warm and still get relief. Warm wine is rarely very tasty. This is because the temperature plays a role in bringing out certain flavors and elements of the vintage. The temperature can also inhibit certain flavors and elements that might be to strong when the wine is at room temperature. Put another way, temperature is a key factor in bringing balance to the wine.

White wine is a classic example. It should be served just a bit cooler than refrigerator temperature in the 43 to 46 degree range. Obviously, that is Fahrenheit as the equivalent in Celsius would be a boiling wine! Regardless, this temperature range provides a perfect balance of the competing elements of the white. What if you serve it below this temperature range? The flavors all become bland and hard to distinguish. Serving the wine at room temperature, in contrast, produces a wine that is very acidic. Generally, it is best to start a white at around 43 degrees. As it warms up slowly in the glass, more flavors will emerge.

What about reds? Well, they say you should serve a red wine at room temperature. This cliché is from an older time and actually is incorrect in most modern environments. A red should be served at a temperature equivalent to the water coming out of your tap. I don’t know about where you live, but that is a lot colder than the rooms in my home. To resolve the issue, just put your red in a tub of tap water for a few minutes and the temperature and flavor should balance out nicely.

Wine is very temperature sensitive. While we’ve covered the general guidelines for whites and reds here, always take the time to find out the optimal temperature for the specific wine you are going to drink. If you don’t, you might think an otherwise fine wine has something wrong with it.

There are two fundamental types of wine based on grape color — red (from red or black grapes) and white (from white grapes). Grapes of these different colors can have hundreds of varieties, which is why types of wine are so numerous on store shelves. Consumers are the most familiar with names given to the different varieties of grapes. The grape variety is the most important factor in how the wine will taste.

The most popular red types of wine are cabernet sauvignon. Connoisseurs will tell you that the best cabernet sauvignon types of wine come from the Bordeaux region of France. Merlot is another red wine that holds flavors of chocolate and cherry. Grenache is a red wine derived from grapes that hold a raspberry and/or “smoky” flavor. Pinot Noir is a red wine that is very important to the Burgundy region of France. It is difficult to cultivate, but when done right, it gives hints of mint, raspberries, and black cherries. Zinfandel is a very popular red wine that comes from Europe but is grown mostly in
California.

The most-purchased white types of wine are chardonnays. Chardonnay contains fruity tastes mixed in with hints of vanilla. The most cultivated white types of wine in California are Chenin Blancs. This grape is an inexpensive alternative to chardonnay, and has hints of fruit in its taste. Pinot Blanc is often compared to chardonnay, containing tastes of apple and spice when you drink it. Pinot Gris hails from Oregon and is rich in spice flavors. Riesling is grown predominantly in Germany, and has a fruity taste. Semillon contains a peachy flavor and is inexpensive to produce. White Zinfandel is produced in California and has a sweet taste. To produce this wine, red zinfandel grapes have their skins removed during processing, giving a pink end result.

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Campania is the shin of the Italian boot. Its capital is Naples and if you don’t want to “See Naples and Die” you can always visit upscale Sorrento and Pompeii, frozen in time with the eruption of Mount Vesuvius some two thousand years ago. Campania claims to be the home of pasta and pizza. We do some pasta below.

I’m a real fan of Parmigiana di Melanzane (Eggplant Parmigiana) and Campania has some great recipes. In spite of the dish’s name, tradition calls for more Mozzarella than Parmesan cheese. Suggested wine pairings include the local Aglianico del Taburno DOC, Monica di Sardegna DOC from Sardinia, and Rosso Barletta DOC from Apulia. If you can’t get any of these I would suggest trying a Chianti DOCG or Chianti Classico DOCG from Tuscany.

Another eggplant dish is Pasta ‘Ncasciata (Baked Rigatoni with Eggplant) which also includes some veal, chicken livers, and Mozzarella cheese. The full list of ingredients is fairly long as is the preparation. Purists use grated Pecorino cheese instead of grated Parmesan cheese. Wine pairings include Latium’s first DOCG Cesane del Piglio, Chianti DOCG or Chianti Classico DOCG, and Rosso di Montepulciano DOC also from Tuscany.

Braciole di Maile alla Napoletana (Pork Loin with Garlic) is one of those recipes that requires string or toothpicks to roll up the meat and the fixings. I would be tempted to forget the raisins but I’d keep the pine nuts, garlic, and capers. What about the wines? Suggestions include the local Pollino DOC, the Rosso Canosa DOC from Apulia, also known by the ancient Latin name Canusium, and the local Savuto DOC. The latter is probably the easiest one to find.

Time for some beef, such as round steak. Carne alla Pizzaiola (Beef Pizzaiola) includes fresh tomatoes, oregano, olive oil, garlic, and chopped parsley. Some people including me would add chopped olives and anchovies. Recommended wine pairings include Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG from Sicily, Rosso Piceno DOC from The Marches, and Sangiovese di Romagna DOC from Emila-Romagna.

Yellow or golden in color, white wine tasting is a sensual and rewarding experience. Pair the wine with any type of white meat and transform your dinner into something amazing. Don’t know anything about white wine? We can fix that.

White wine is, as you can probably tell, not so white. Most are made from the skins and juices of gold and green grapes. Grape-skins can be held responsible for the color: the skins are in contact with the inner grape, including the juice during the fermentation process, which causes the diffusion of color. Each wine has a particular color, which depends on the grape used and the length of time the skin’s pigmentation is in contact with the juice (that’s why red wines are redder when the skin is fermented with the juice longer). Some Champagnes include select juices from red or black grapes, though omitting the skins in the fermentation process.

Turn to white wine for a light dinner, or a picnic at the beach. It is more refreshing and lighter tasting than that of a bold red wine, making it perfect for spring and summer occasions. Its taste is often described as dry or sweet. When pairing with foods, think “white with lighter food,” and you won’t be led astray.

For serving, use narrower glasses for drinking. White wine doesn’t need to breathe as much as red wine. Also, serve it at fifty degrees Fahrenheit, too warm and you’ll be able to taste the alcohol. Why serve it cold? The colder the temperature, the less tart, sweet and aromatic it seems. Wine strives on three basics: sugar, acid (which your tongue tastes), and aromatics. Aromatics must dissolve and disperse in the air before you can smell the wine. So, by chilling the wine, you’re going to cause the flavor to lessen. If you’re paying for the bold flavor of a white wine, why chill it at all? White wine is refreshing for two reasons. First, when you drink the wine and it comes into contact with your tongue, the sourness causes you to salivate, making you want more. Second, because the wine is chilled. So, if you don’t want a refreshing white wine, don’t chill it.

Remember these little tips before cracking open that bottle at the beach, and you’ll be sure to have a fantastic wine experience. Remember to drink safely and sensibly.

Any lover of wines will tell you that a good palate is not something one is born with. It is a skill that is acquired over a long course of time and education. For those of you who are not yet loves of this fine liquid, a little education may be in order. There are basically four types of wine: red, white, blush (or rose), and champagne and contrary to popular belief, good wine doesn’t come in a box, that is unless it’s a small box that has been gift wrapped.

For my purposes here I will focus on red and white wines, as they are by far the most common. The general rule about red and white wines has for years been that in general if you are eating a more delicate dish such as chicken or fish you should choose a subtle wine that won’t overpower the dish. That is why red wine is traditionally associated with darker meats and white wine with lighter meats and vegetable dishes. This rule however, is not inviolate and if you are spending your hard earned money, you should be able to drink whatever you darned well please with your dinner. But hey, that’s just me. But I think this rule kind of hit the wind when people began wearing white after Labor Day.

While France has for many years been known as wine country the U. S. and Australia are producing some really good wines lately and Italy has always had an excellent selection. Each process will produce a different flavor and texture, as you learn more about your particular likes and dislikes make note of where the wine was made, what specific type of wine it was and what the approximate age of the wine is.

Find what you like and work with that. Branch out from there and try to find similar wines in flavor, body, and texture without buying the same identical bottle of wine over and over again. If you find a wine you really like, purchase a few bottles so you have some on hand. Slowly build your collection in this manner and you will eventually have a nice collection of wines that you enjoy.