December 2011: time budgets for Italian wine

The favorite wine by the Italians during the Christmas and New Year? Red and strictly Italian! And to toast to the end of the meal Italians prefer sparkling wines to champagne. The same line of thought has been applied to Christmas gifts: Italians have decided to give made in Italy wine and liqueurs.

Primitivo di Manduria

The Primitivo di Manduria is a DOC wine, whose production is strictly permitted only in the provinces of Brindisi and Taranto.
The rediscovery of the primitivo di Manduria is happened when the producers of wine from the Salento area have realized that the variety of the primitive is the same of the Californian Zinfandel. And so, if Californian winemakers were able to give pride to this wine from premature aging, they were also capable.

Neapolitan-style dried cod

Christmas in the wind. Windows are decorated and colored lights illuminate the still mild evenings, warmed by Christmas music.
But what to prepare on the occasion of the Christmas eve?
Today we suggest you a doc Neapolitan recipe: Neapolitan-style dried cod, simple, traditional and effect.

Lemons of Sorrento

One of the most famous images of Sorrento, is that of the Bay of Naples surrounded by lemon trees. On the other hand, Sorrento lemons are one of the most characteristic typical Sorrento coast products.

Gourmet gift ideas

It 'already taken the race for gifts, there are those who anticipate and who waits to the last day to amaze your family and friends with the latest.

Evening Champagne in Sorrento

Bubbles... a French passion which has conquered the Italians. There is nothing to make: fizzy bubbles are synonymous with luxury and festivity, and give that extra touch to any dish. Great to drink on special occasions, champagne is the typical French product par excellence.
The restaurant O 'Canonico, one of the most renowned Sorrento's historic restaurants, has decided to devote an evening to the French champagne, strictly in magnum size. The event was held Friday, December the 2nd.

Pairings pandoro, panettone and wine

Christmas Eve dinner. After a sumptuous lunch, comes the dessert time. And here begin the classic opposition between the fan of pandoro and the fan of panettone.
Above all it is a battle between generations, between those who love the classic and sweet taste of the Milan dessert for excellence and who prefer the taste of its Veronese rival. If the panettone is characterized by an intense and bold aroma of raisins, and candies, the pandoro wins for the soft, sweet and intriguing vanilla scent.

Eco Friendly paper wine bottle

Oenophiles are skeptical, while the environmentalists are thrilled about the news that you can see on supermarket shelves from January 2012:  the bottle of wine for the paper.
From the synthetic closures, recycled cork, lighter bottles, cellars "grip off" and labels "carbon footprint" we're coming to bottles of paper to a future increasingly eco for the wine industry.

Salad with truffle, artichokes and Parmesan

The truffle. The name evokes a rich flavor and opulent, precious and rare, like all good things that are hidden at the first sight.
The first news about the truffle go back to the time of the Sumerians, who are used to prepare soups with barley, chickpeas, lentils and mustard. The success of the truffle was unstoppable and  arrived to Piedmont, where the search for the truffle was a real noble divertissement. Still in Piedmont, the Count Camillo Benso di Cavour used the truffle as a diplomat means.

Christmas Gifts: give a little bit of Sorrento

It is almost Christmas and starts the inevitable stress related to gifts. What to give?  Do you have forgotten anyone? The grandfather, the grandmother, the aunt ... and what about the inevitable friend / relative / colleague who shows with the gift. And here starts the classic banal excuse “what a combination: I have forgotten your gift at home ..."

Chili and chocolate muffins

The chili and chocolate muffins: an intriguing and aphrodisiac recipe that combines the delight of the chocolate and the spicy chili flavor in a marriage of flavors that is very hard to resist.
The muffins are very easy and quick to prepare, also excellent as a gift.

Tignanello: a wine, a style

Today we talk about the Tignanello, firstborn of SuperTuscans. It’s the first of innovative wines that have shocked the wine history of Tuscany and all Italy. “Tignanello of the onset, that of the vintage of the 1971", Piero Antinori precises, "did not have these characteristics: it was a Chianti with no white grapes matured in barrels. Caused a sensation because it was more expensive than a table wine of the Chianti Classico Riserva.

Sorrentine Gastronomic Days

During pre-Christmas period between  decorations, music and folklore Sorrento will host the eighth edition of Sorrentine Gastronomic Days , a sort of States-General in Sorrento Peninsula that have international relevance.
At the heart of the manifestation  the excellent cuisine of Sorrento, tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, orange olive oil, lemon trees, but also national and international products.

Struffoli

 Christmas in Naples and Sorrento means also struffoli, which are the typical Christmas sweets. Struffoli are not born at the shadow of Vesuvius, but in Greece, and from there arrived in the country of Pulcinella.
Each family guards jealously its recipe. Besides, there are those who prefer them small, some larger, those who add the chocolate, customizing at will the recipe.

Greco di Tufo

It is one of the rare wines of Campania, a white wine, the class rivals of the Fiano d'Avellino, who was born in the same area, the high hills of  Irpinia. Many people prefer it to Fiano for its sharper fruity and more lively flavor . Besides aging nearly as well, but emphasizes its quality already in the first 2-3 years, especially when it is served on plates of fish.

The ideal temperature for wine tasting

 The temperature of the wine has a profound effect on olfactory, gustatory and tactile sensations. For this reason a wine too hot or too cold cannot be tasted.
Scents can feel better at 18 ° C. Already at 10 ° C, the sensitivity decreases, while at 4 ° C, the taste buds are numb. High temperature, at contrary, emphasizes sugary sensations, as well as a low temperature enhances the bitter and salty taste and the sensation of astringency due to tannins, so tannic red wines do not want low temperatures.

Haute cuisine McDonalds size

If Gualtiero Marchesi’s haute cuisine meets McDonald's, we have the Mc Italy Menu signed Marchesi, a new and original combination, result of the skill and the imagination of the Italian great chef.
The collaboration has turned up the nose at more than an Italian purist's gourmet, but the Mc Italy menu is designed to sparks. This involves, to be more precise, of two sandwiches and a dessert.

The oil of Sorrento

Sorrento is not only sun, sea and landscapes. Sorrento is also a land that abounds with local products, the ingredients of a healthy and tasty cuisine, characterized by simple and inimitable flavors. Tomatoes, olive oil, mozzarella, lemons, nuts and precious Provolone del Monaco are just some of the fruits of the peninsula. Among the most popular products, extra virgin olive oil deserves a partisan discussion, so much to win the title of DOP product.

Grapes flat cake

 It is enough sink the teeth into its soft dough to smell the sweet taste of the grape, one of the best autumn products.
Simple, rustic and fragrant, the grape flat cake retains the genuine flavor of the one-time cakes. Why do not try to make it?

The increase of organic products

Economic crisis, but not at the table, fortunately.
The increase in VAT and prices have affected very strongly on the dietary habits of the Italians and on the amount of food consumption, which have marked a fall. Minor amounts do not necessarily imply a lower quality of food, instead of the organic sector recorded positive data.

According to data supplied by the CIA, the Italian Confederation of Farmers, organic products have surged of the 13% in the first six months of 2011, a trend destined to grow and transform itself from a fixed point.

Harry Cocktails

Are you tired of the usual cocktail?
Do you feel like a little bit of magic?
The solution is called Harry cocktail, and no, it's a drink for children, but a selection of fancy cocktail created by the blogger Backyard Bartender, specializing in original cocktails.
The inspiration is obviously the last episode of the saga of the famous boy wizard, born from the fertile imagination of the writer JK Rowling, which in Harry dabble behind the counter of a bar making drinks.

Italy Girolio 2011

The National Association of Oil City has organized a truly all-embracing relay team dedicated to the diffusion of olive oil italy, the strength of our agriculture.
This is the Girolio of Italy, a tour from 15th of October to 18th of December 2011 will be held in 17 Italian cities united by the cultivation of olive trees, and with the intention to obtain an extra virgin olive oil of quality.

The wine meets history

One of the hallmarks of Italy and one element that unites this country from north to south is undoubtedly the wine culture strong point for its tourism.
In March 2011 began a review of wine tasting in a new and original way to celebrate the unification of Italy.

The magnificent five to stop snoring

Snoring is not just a question of the people who snores but also of those who are forced to endure it. If nasal strips and other remedies are not enough, you might as well start from the table, from the foods that can help you to stop snoring.
Snoring is nothing more than a direct consequence of the partial airways blockage, whose reasons are manifold.

Aubergines in oil

Good beyond measure. A typical summer vegetables that everyone loves and suitable to be cooked in a thousand ways: we are speaking about eggplant.
What a pity that when the summer ends, we have to wait the next summer to enjoy the full flavor of this tasty and inviting vegetable. Unless prepare the eggplant in oil, one of the most good preserved.

Italian wine and tourism: Qualitalia project

The link between Italian wine and tourism is getting stronger and now it is estimated that over two million tourists visit the Italian countryside and its famous wine cellars and enjoy Italian wine tasting.

Lemon chicken

We are in summer. What fresh and tasty dinner to eat? Hot temperatures and muggy heat would go hungry even the most greedy.
What to cook of light and fresh?
Today we proposes you the recipe of the lemon chicken, a second course coming directly from distant and exotic China, even if the ingredients are all strictly Mediterranean.

The holy beer

Now it is a real trend that is affecting wines, beers and spirits. We are talking about custom bottles.
Among the final marketing operation beer of Pope Benedict XVI, a beer created by a Bavarian brewery, the Weideneder Bräu, in honor of the pontiff.

When the wine is corked

Situation: have you buy Italian Wine but it is corked? Have you ever asked which the cause is?
In 70-80% of cases the direct cause of cork taint is the presence of chlorine anisoles inside the cork, and, to be more specific, the presence of 2-4-6 trichlorineanisole (TCA), the number one cause of the bad taste of wine.

How to match food and wine

Matching food and wine is a real art, dedicated to harmonize and bind the flavors r, enhancing both food and drink.
Any taste must not prevail over the other. Instead it must combine the elements: none of the features the acid, bitter, sweet, salty, greasy or spicy must to be overwhelming to the palate.

Extra virgin olive oil: the new frontiers of taste

Olive oil, a good all-Italian goodness, one of the the Mediterranean diet cornerstones, characterized by genuine and unmistakable flavor.
A drizzle of olive oil and also the simplest dish colours of taste and goodness comes life. Always equal to itself, for centuries if not millennia. Although in the kitchen is starting to feel a breath of fresh air, thanks to new textures and new formulations.

Wine and health in the history

The use of wine as a medicine has ancient origins. You can find citations about the medicinal use of the wine even in the Bible, in some passages in the Book of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes and the First Letter to Ptolemy.
Even before the Egyptians used wine as a local anesthetic.
The Greek physicians Galeno and Celso instead recommend it to all those who suffered from stomach pains and chronic fatigue.

Paccheri eggplant and mussels

Paccheri eggplant and mussels combine all the taste of the kitchen garden products with the intense and strong flavor of the mussels.
Sea and mountains in a fine and easy to realize dish.

Feast in Vico, in Amalfi Coast

Yesterday at the seaside complex Axidie will be held the last of three events of the Vico Feast, an event dedicated to the world of enogastronomy and its key performers born eight years ago thanks to an idea of Chef Gennaro Esposito and ithat grows every year, is renewed and follows a specific theme.
This year the theme was "space odyssey 2011" which Esposito calls "a choice that opens up scenarios that will certainly give moments culinary worthy of attention".

Olive oil production

Olive oil is one of the most precious a Made in Italy product. Rich in nutrients essential for our health and tasty seasoning for our plates, olive oil has always been a leader on the table.
The finest olive oils are obtained by cold pressing, a process which is divided into five main phases, by it is obtained a refined olive oil:

Grapefruit and prawns salad

With good weather increases the desire for light and fresh summer dishes, and, above all, capable to satiate but with a special care to the taste, because even if you are on a diet or want just to feel healthy, it must never forget the taste.
The grapefruit and prawns salad combines the liveliness of the grapefruit with the delicacy of the vegetables season in a rich and complete dish.

The truffle and its uses

The truffle is a type of rare and valuable tuber which belongs to the family of Tuberaceae. It grows usually in the soil near the roots of certain trees or shrubs, oaks and holm oaks in particular, who form a relationship of symbiosis.
Its typical intense and persistent scent aims to bring wild animals to allow a better dissemination of spores, and then the continuation of the species.

Wine and climatic changes

In recent years we are witnessing to climate changes unexpected for a country as Italy. In addition to adversely effects on the human health, climate changes cause also adverse effects on the wine compartment, altering the taste of the Bacchus nectar.
The increasing in average temperatures, in particular, affects the vines, helping to obtain more full-bodied wines, but much more alcohol and more sugar and acids.

Capri Salad

The Capri salad is an Italian dish that can be served either as a single dish or as appetizer. The caprese salad can be chopped or sliced, but in any case it is always good, fresh and light, both in summer and in winter!
The name fails the origin of this Italian delicious, created in Capri in the early years of last century and valued by the elite of the visionary Futurist artists and of the Egyptian King Farouk, who desired a light meal. His requests were satisfied with a sandwich filled with caprese salad.

Red wine and chocolate to boost the brain

The brain leads and coordinates all our body functions and, in adition, our desires, our fears, our
emotions, our ideas come from the brain. It is a perfect machine that gave us the ability of analysis and synthesis, creativity and empathy and memory.
But not all have the same capabilities, and then how to stimulate and increase the ability of our brain?

Quiche of zucchini

Not everybody loves the vegetables ...
Unfortunately, not only children ... Cooking the vegetables in a tasty way can make even more pleasant to eat them.
For this reason, we propose the zucchini quiche, creamy and smooth.

How to reduce water retention

Summer is approaching, and if need sunny days and sea, it is also true that with the approaching summer is approaching even the nightmare of cellulite and water retention.
Water retention is a common problem that affects millions of people, mostly women (about one third of the Italian female population). The problem is not just aesthetic, but with the passage of time can lead to more serious diseases such as kidney failure circulatory inadequacy.

Wine and Easter diet

Do you put on weight after the Easter and Easter Monday?
If this can console you, you are not the only one; in fact you're in good company. On the other hand it says: " A trouble shared is a trouble halved …"
The problem is that between casatiello, lasagna and chocolate eggs, at the end of the Easter holidays we have some kilos more, especially in view of the dreaded bathing suit test!

Biol: the organic olive oil prize

Organic extra virgin olive oil even more protagonist in a return to healthy authentic and genuine food.
It has been multiplied the awards dedicated to one of the cornerstones of our diet. Among the latest events we want to highlight you the XVI edition of the Premio Biol which will be held on April 26th to 28th, 2011, in Andria (BT). The city, which has a long and ancient tradition in the olive oil cultivation, is part of the “National Association of Oil City”.

Crepes with mushrooms

Crepes with mushrooms are a tasty main dish, easy and sophisticated. Great to prepare for a special occasion or to change the classic weekly menu.

Drink fashion

Continue the long wave of collaboration between Coca Cola and the great designers.
After Roberto Cavalli and Manolo Blahnik is the turn of the fashion guru, Karl Lagerfeld to "dress" the Coca Cola light. The creative mind of the unforgettable Coco Mademoiselle maison has worked to redesign the famous beverage.
The used colors? Obviously, ultra chic and trendy as pink, white, gray and black, a fashionable and contemporary collection and, ça va sans dire, trendy.

Organic olive oil, a quality choice

Organic is not just a trend, but a lifestyle that fortunately is becoming apparent in the homes of many Italians.
Ended the era of the at “all cost saving”, since many years has affirmed a healthier and balanced lifestyle, based on one of our most important asset: the Mediterranean diet and its products. One of the core Mediterranean diet foods is surely the olive oil, better if we are talking about organic olive oil.
But what differentiate the organic extra virgin olive oil from all other types of oil?

Pizza and wine

Wine and pizza matching? Do not turn up your nose!
The marriage between two of our symbols products in the world is an happy union, starting under the counter, in an underground way, then officially recognized by the "priests" gourmet food and wine, trends barometer.
In fact, the pizza is accompanied usually by the usual classical "lager", but, you know, we Italians give up with difficulty to a good glass of wine.
The main problem is harmonizing the flavors.

Wine therapy: the beauty ally

If a glass of wine a day keeps the doctor away, it is also true that wine is an ally of the beauty and so the makes the wine so healthy and beautiful inside out.
The wine therapy is certainly not new. The beneficial effects of wine are widely cited in the "Beauty Recipes" of Caterina Sforza which enhances the softness of the skin of the wine and mauve flowers of borage or beans. ". The forerunner of the wine therapy is the Ampeloterapia, a treatment based on grapes and grape products, already known at the time of the Greeks and Romans in order to purify the body.

A king wine for the king of hats

The Montecarlo white of the Tenuta Buonamico was presented at the presentation of the new collection Borsalino "Tiny Musicl Hats" made in collaboration with Paola Maugeri.
A real link between fashion and wine, played by two award titled players of their respective universes: