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di seguito in italiano

The Amalfi Coast, south of the bay of Naples, is one of the most beautiful, famous and well-known parts of Italy: it welcomes visitors with a feast of light and scents: the only condition necessary to enjoy its spectacular landscape is to carefully follow the roads and paths as they slowly wind their way around the land.

The hills are steep and rocky and offer only one way to farm: by patiently removing the stones and using them to support the soil, creating sweeping walls of terraces where vineyards overlook homes which overlook lemon orchards, all tenaciously clinging to the mountainside. Working this land demands constant care and stubborn passion. The thin soil is protected against the wind from the sea by growing grass and vegetables, putting every square inch of land to good use. 

These criteria are being diligently put to work by two exceptionally polished producers: Patrizia Malanga in the tiny coastal town of Raito  and Luigi Reale in Tramonti, in the green hills directly behind Ravello.

Le Vigne di Raito is a jewel of an organic vineyard and lemon orchard, sitting on terraces of abandoned land that Patrizia has lovingly nurtured back to life, surrounded by the classic Mediterranean shrubs and woods and with a view that will take your breath away.  Patrizia fell under the spell of the wine-making in 2002 and her enthusiasm, with the competent support of renowned experts, have already shown great results.  Her Ragis 2007 expresses all the fragrances of the sea and lush vegetation, skillfully matched with the flavor of ripe berries and the oak barrels where the Aglianico and Piedirosso bled matures. An additional treat is a visit next door, at the workshop of master ceramicist Lucio Liguori, whose extraordinary creativity and unusual technique have helped made the ceramics of Vietri famous around the world.

Snaking along the scenic road inland, into the wooded heart of the peninsula, is a vineyard set in a totally different landscape: from the young plants that Patrizia nurtures like her own children, to Tramonti where we meet champion vines that are well over a hundred years old.  Luigi Reale and his family work these vineyards according to the ways of the generations that planted them, using branches of nearby willow trees to tie and support the sprawling vines that weave like tentacles on the traditional wooden pergola. Good roots bear good fruit and his varietals include Tintore, Aglianico and Piedirosso for the red and rosé, and Biancolella and Biancazita which are used for the white. Winter weather here is rough, giving the wines a robust personality. The best way to taste them is in Luigi’s well-established “Osteria Reale”, right next to the cellar, where the atmosphere is warm and his excellent food is traditional and hearty.

versione in italiano

Una delle parti più visitate ed apprezzate dell’Italia Meridionale a sud di Napoli e del suo ampio Golfo, la Costiera Amalfitana accoglie con luci e profumi intensi: unica condizione per godere i frutti di questa zona di vedute e panorami magnifici, è muoversi con cura lungo le strade e sentieri che si snodano, o meglio si avvolgono intorno alle forme di queste terre.

Le colline ripide e sassose impongono un solo modo per coltivare, ma ne forniscono anche i mezzi: così si spostano faticosamente le pietre per liberare il terreno e costruire il muro che lo sostiene, trasformando il paesaggio in una fuga di terrazze, con la vigna che guarda sulla casa, e questa sul limoneto che ombreggia la strada. La terra è poca, va protetta con erba e orti per resistere al vento del mare, con le sue piogge.

Coltivare queste coste, come quelle delle Cinque Terre, richiede ancora più esperienza, dedizione e passione.

A Raito e Tramonti due appassionati produttori fanno nella vigna tutto questo, provenendo da esperienze diverse, ma raggiungendo simili risultati di qualità e finezza nei loro vini.

Le Vigne di Raito è un piccolo gioiello di vigna e limoneto biologico su terrazze circondate dal tipico bosco mediterraneo e da ulivi in un terreno precedentemente incolto. Le note delle essenze profumate e del mare quasi a portata di mano, arrivano nel bicchiere di Ragis 2007 in compagnia dei toni delle bacche rosse e del legno di rovere. Patrizia Malanga è caduta nell’incantesimo del vino recentemente, ma il suo entusiasmo e l’aiuto di capaci consulenti stanno già dando notevoli risultati, in un’atmosfera resa ancora più affascinante da una visita al suo vicino, il maestro ceramista Lucio Liguori. In pochi passi si apprezzano in pieno le artigianali meraviglie per cui Vietri e la sua gente sono famosi.

Serpeggiando sulla strada verso l’interno a Tramonti si arriva nel cuore boscoso della penisola a conoscere un diverso paesaggio ed una diversa vigna: dalle giovani piante che Patrizia accudisce come bambine, alle mature viti, guidate da campioni secolari, che Luigi Reale lavora con la lunga esperienza della famiglia che le piantò e fece crescere. E’ forte la tradizione locale anche nelle uve tipiche: Tintore si trasforma nei vini rosso e rosato, Biancolella e Biancazita nel bianco. Il paesaggio ed il clima d’inverno qui possono essere aspri, dando grande personalità ai vini, ma la buona stagione e l’accoglienza della ben stabilita Osteria di fianco alle vigne sono il modo più dolce e familiare di gustarseli.

Vedere ulteriori informazioni sul wine blog di Luciano Pignataro

Festa di Vico at Vico Equense is where the great chefs gather to cook, compare recipes and compete in a relaxed and festive atmosphere.   

In its 4th year, this is an unrivaled culinary event organized by Gennaro Esposito, the Pavarotti of chefs and owner of the restaurant Torre del Saracino on the Amalfi Coast.
If you love good food, wine and chef-talk, this is one occasion you won’t want to miss!

This year’s objective is to raise money to outfit an emergency syncope unit at the Santobono Hospital in Naples. This year’s principle sponsor is the Pastificio dei Campi, historical pasta-makers of Gragnano. Visit their website at http://www.pastificiodeicampi.it/

The Sannio Star - April 2010 n.5 Download PDF

Recipe for 15 people:
500 gr Flour
3 Eggs plus 3 egg yolks
100 gr Sugar
40 gr Butter
Pinch of Powdered yeast
Pinch of Salt
1 Small Glass of Rum or Sambuca
300 gr Honey
Candied Fruit
Grated Rind of 1/2 Lemon
Peanut Oil for frying

On a pastry board make a well in the flour and mix in the eggs, butter, sugar, yeast lemon rind, salt and the liquor. Knead until the mixture is homogenous, then shape into a ball and let stand for half an hour.

Lightly flour the pastry board and roll dough into into long round strips that are no wider than your pinky.  Cut the strips into tiny pieces the size of chick peas and place on a clean kitchen towel sprinkled with flour.  Before frying take the excess flour off the dough by shaking them in a sieve.  Fry until slightly golden and drain on paper towels.

Pour the honey into a large double boiler and heat until it is liquified.  Add the fried dough and mix gently, making sure that the honey pentrates evenly over all the balls.  Add the candied fruit and stir again.

Pour onto a plate.  (The traditional composition is made by placing an empty jar in the middle of the plate and pouring the honeyed mixture around it in order to form a ring.  When the mixture has cooled, carefully take away the jar)

The area around present-day Vairano has been inhabited since prehistoric times: first by the Oscans, the Etruscans and then the Samnites.  In 290 B.C. the territory was conquered by the Romans.

After the fall of the Empire the region was overrun by a series of barbarian tribes. The Longobards lived here in the 6th century and were themselves conquered by the Normans in the 11th.  These in turn built a fortress designed to defend them from Saracens invaders. In 1191 the fortress was given as a gift to the Abbot of Montecassino by Henry VI of Hohenstaufen.

In 1590 Vairano was purchased by Baron Mormile who turned the military fortress into a residential castle where generations of his family lived for over two hundred years until the year 1806.
In nearby Teano the treaty of the Unification of Italy between Garibaldi and Victor Emmanuel II was ratified in 1860.

Housed in what was originally the manor built into the battlements of the ancient fortress, the restaurant overlooks the medieval town of Vairano Patenora and its fertile green fields.

Restaurant owner and chef Antonio Ruggiero is a well-known expert on wines and oils and offers creative renderings of traditional dishes.

Program
10:30am - Arrival at Vairano Patenora
Sample Menu (recipes will vary depending on the vegetables that are in season)
Ravioli made with borage and stuffed with meat, mozzarella and tomato concassé
Black Casertan Pig with pappacelle (pickled peppers)
Baked Sheep Ricotta
Diced oranges with citrus-flavoured bavarian cream and extra-virgin olive-oil sauce

After lunch you will visit the Franciscan Monastery at Roccamonfina.

Price: 120,00 euro per person (4 people or more)
200,00 euro per person (2-3 people)

price includes: cooking course, ‘Oil Apèritif’, meal, wine, personal guide and interpreter

It is possible to visit a mozzarella cheese producer early in the morning.