It's nearly Easter and today’s episode is all about Italy. I'm speaking with Gaetano Peragine, Managing Director of Straitalian, who represents winemakers across Italy and manages vineyards from Piemonte and Veneto in the north, through Tuscany and Abruzzo, all the way to Campania, Puglia, and the island of Sicily in the south. We talk about everything from explosions and bank robbing to doves, lamb, Nutella, and wine. We’ll taste four Italian wines from our collection and hear detailed flavor notes, behind-the-bottle stories, and, of course, perfect pairings.
It’s nearly Easter! Today’s episode is all about Italy. We’ll chat about everything from explosions and bank robbing to doves, lamb, Nutella, and wine. Pasqua, or Easter, is a huge holiday in Italy, so we’ll first talk a lot about tradition. From Florentine fireworks and Milanese celebrations to the food that graces the lunch table.
Halfway through the podcast, we'll uncork four very unique wines perfect for pairing to your Easter festivities:
White - 2019 NovaPalma Pinot Grigio D.O.C.
This is an excellent cocktail hour wine that also pairs to light dishes your will be serving friends and family.
Sparkling - Bocciamatta Sparkling Ice
Every celebration needs a sparkling wine, so our selection is this mad bottle of Bocciamatta Sparkling Ice, which pairs perfectly with Colomba if you are having a traditional Italian dessert but also can be used to make light, fruit-infused spring-inspired afternoon cocktails.
Red - 2018 Abbazia Dolcetto d'Alba D.O.C.
Don't be fooled by the name. This wine is a gorgeous dry red wine with amazing aromas as floral as the Easter bouquet on your lunch table. It pairs well with any meats you are serving.
Red - 2018 Baccolo Rosso Appassimento Veneto I.G.T.
This is the showstopper that you uncork at any time to delight in the elegance of its flavor notes. The appassimento process brings adds a sophistication that will blow you away.
At Wine Insiders, we love Italian wines. Italy is the leading producer worldwide of wine and their regions offer rich, world-class taste steeped in tradition and technique with an unparalleled history. We especially love Straitalian wines because what they bring to our collection are special, niche grapes and blends difficult to find outside of Italy. We know you'll enjoy hearing from our delightful guest, Gaetano Peragine, and sipping alongside as he talks about these extraordinary wines.
Sniff Sip Repeat is brought to you by Wine Insiders, leaders in online wine. Wine Insiders makes buying great wine easy. Founded in 1982 as a club for California wine enthusiasts, Wine Insiders now offers high-quality wines from around the world for the best value and conveniently shipped to your door in just days. The collection is curated by a host of food and wine industry and lifestyle experts, such as Martha Stewart, Chef Geoffrey Zakarian, and Chef Ludo Lefebvre. Learn more about the wines or shop now to taste alongside our podcast guests.
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Easter in Italy
Podcast Intro
Kristin:
From Wine Insiders, this is Sniff Sip Repeat—a monthly podcast for lively discussions all about wine. In each episode, we’ll be speaking with industry experts from vineyards and tasting rooms to restaurants and retail to give you a little inspiration for what to pour next.
I’m your host, Kristin. I’ve worked in the wine industry for many years now and I’m excited to bring my conversations with peers directly to you.
Are you ready? Let’s take a sip.
[Episode Intro]
It’s nearly Easter and today’s episode is all about Italy. We’ll chat about everything from explosions and bank robbing to doves, lamb, Nutella and wine. This is because my guest today is this the STRA-delightful, STRA-funny Gaetano Peragrine, Managing Director of Straitalian, who represents winemakers across Italy and manages vineyards from Piemonte and Veneto in the north, through Tuscany and Abruzzo, all the way to Campania, Puglia and the island of Sicily in the south.
Pasqua, or Easter, is a huge holiday in Italy, so we’re going to talk a lot about tradition. From fireworks, parades and celebrations to the food that graces the lunch table. It would not be complete without a wine tasting, so Gaetano will walk us through four Italian wines that make the perfect pairing for your holiday festivities.
Let’s get chatting.
Ciao Gaetano! Como stai? Tutto bene?
Gaetano:
Ciao Kristina! Tutto molto bene. Grazie. Tu? How are you.
Kristin:
Molto bene. I’m very good thank you. It’s so nice to see you thank you so much for joining me today.
Gaetano:
It’s very, very nice to see you to speak to you and thank you very much for having me.
Kristin:
I'm really excited to have you because we've known each other for a few years now and you're so much fun, so I’ve been dying to have you on the podcast. So, I thought Pasqua was perfect because in the 90s—I don't know if we talked about this—I spent a spring semester abroad living in Florence Italy and France and I recall how important Easter is in Italy. It's one of the biggest holidays there isn't it?
Gaetano:
Very much so, absolutely. Italy is a predominantly Catholic country, so Easter celebrations are very important. We actually have a saying in Italy, “Natale con i tuoi, Pasqua con chi vuoi” which means Christmas with your family and Easter with anyone you like. Because it stems from the fact that Christmas is in the winter and everybody stays home with family while Easter usually, you know, occurs at the beginning of springtime, so it allows people to spend more time outdoors with friends and family.
Also, very important in Italy, aside from Easter Day, is the following day, Pasquetta, which literally means little Easter. So Pasquetta, or the following Monday after Easter, it’s a must to do barbecues. To go visit the farmhouse and agriturismo, which is a farmhouse. And you go out with friends and family to have a grilled labm and lots of wine.
Kristin:
I know each town celebrates it differently, but I think my favorite tradition that I’m aware of is the Scoppio del Carro in Florence. For our listeners can you explain a little bit about what that is?
Gaetano:
First of all, very charming the way you say Scoppio del Carro.
Kristin:
Ahhhh! Did I say it wrong?
Gaetano:
No, you said it perfectly.
Kristin:
Scoppio del Carro. Scoppio del Carro. I’m a little rusty on my Italian.
Gaetano:
You are very good and very charming. Yes, as you know, Italy is made of 20 regions and every region and every town has its own tradition. Florence, Firenze, has this very famous Scoppio del Carro, which is the explosion of a chariot, which is a popular tradition that Takes place Easter Sunday in the historical center of Florence. It's a legend that goes back to 1099, so the eleventh century. 1000 years ago. The noble Florentine Captain, the legendary—listen to the name—Pazzino de' Pazzi, he was the first to climb the walls of Jerusalem. He was the first to raise the Crusader banner above the city. So, in recognition of his courage he received as a gift some flintstones from the holy sepulcher, which are still kept in the cathedral and represent the Holy Fire with which il brindellone will explode. Il brindellone is the actually chariot. Brindellone is the Florentine jargon to refer to il carro.
After the procession through the streets of Florence il brindellone, which is pulled by two pairs of oxen, is positioned between the baptistery and the cathedral. At the culmination of the ceremony at the Song of Gloria the bishop lights a dove-shaped rocket, which is called la colombina, so it's a dove-shaped rocket from the altar over the cathedral which runs through a rope mechanism and runs through the entire central nave of the church and reaches the chariot outside making the chariot explode. So this is the story of Scoppio del Carro.
Kristin:
And I believe it's the cart that is used it is like four hundred years old. I don’t know if it’s Medici old, but it’s very old and they’ve used the same cart every year. Do you know if that’s true?
Gaetano:
Definitely so. It’s the same chariot every year. It does not date back the thousand years I was talking about. The chariot dates pretty much three to four hundred years old. It is absolutely the same one only the fires are added year over year, but the chariot is very historical.
Kristin:
I love it. It’s amazing to watch, so our listeners are going to have to get on Youtube and find a video of Scoppio del Carro because it’s beautiful to watch.
Kristin:
You currently live in Milan, correct? I think owing to COVID last year there weren’t that many celebrations, but I remember Andrea Bocelli sang Amazing Grace by himself in front of the cathedral. I’ve seen the video of that. Aside from Easter service at that cathedral, are there any other Milanese traditions that happen?
Gaetano:
First of all, allow me to say when Bocelli sang last year in front of the cathedral it was very, very emotional for all of us. I’m sure for you guys as well. It was a very intense moment. But, let’s go back to your question. No, there aren’t really any real parades or particular celebrations happening during Easter in Milan. It’s very much centered around the Duomo and what happens in the Duomo. What I can tell you that the peculiarity of the religious celebrations and the mass in the Duomo in the city of Milan is that the mass are done with the Ambrosian rite, which is not the Roman rite, which is slightly different in the practices and even better it’s done in Latin. So the whole easter day mass is done in Latin, which is very unique very fascinating to hear.
Kristin:
That is. I did not know that.
Gaetano:
It refers to the Ambrosian, St. Ambrose, St. Ambroglio. It still refers to Roman, because of the pope—same boss—but it’s slightly different the way they actually do the mass. So very fascinating to attend Easter Sunday in the Duomo of Milan. Itself already is a beautiful, beautiful church, but then with the intsensity of the Easter Day Sunday and the mass said in Latin it’s very fascinating.
During Christmas and Easter Italians are very much focused on the religious aspect more than others. The other aspect is wine and food, but that’s a separate matter.
Kristin:
Before we get to wine and food—fashion. Italians are so fashionable and the clothing is amazing. Do people dress up for Easter?
Gaetano:
Yes. And there is no difference if you live in a small town, in a village or a big city, you still dress up. There is an unwritten rule that you dress up. People dress up to go to the supermarket.
Kristin:
Yes.
Gaetano:
They do! They do.
Kristin:
It is amazing to travel and remember how impeccably dressed everybody is and even when it’s just a pair of nice shoes and it's not a not a suit. It's just a very elegant attire all the time.
Gaetano:
It’s just a touch. A touch.
Kristin:
Fancy shoes and gelato is what I remember.
Gaetano:
Absoloutely. Shoes are very important, though! Very important.
Kristin:
Here in the states as a kid we used to do Easter Egg hunts and I think it’s originally a German tradition, so I never know if everyone has it. Do you do Easter Egg Hunts for the bambini or ragazzi?
Gaetano:
No, we don’t have Easter Egg Hunts, not at all.
Kristin:
But you have chocolate eggs?
Gaetano:
Exactly, we have big chocolate eggs. Big chocolate eggs in a whole bowl with a nice surprise in it. We do decorate hard-boiled eggs. The little kids decorate hard-boiled eggs, which in Italy symbolize resurrections. So this is why the hard-boiled eggs decorated. They are also given out to friends, family neighborhoods. They actually are showcased on the table Easter Sunday to make the table nicer.
Kristin:
Speaking of the Easter Table, let’s talk about Easter food. I believe supper is the tradition, but am I wrong? Do you do brunch?
Gaetano:
No, we do lunch.
Kristin:
Oh, you do lunch? Okay.
Gaetano:
Lunch actually has strict timing.
Kristin:
Is it before the afternoon siesta or after? I remember siesta. I really like siesta.
Gaetano:
We call it pisolini.
Kristin:
Pisolini?
Gaetano:
Take a nap. We take a nap. Pisolini. After three hours of lunch, you need some rest.
Kristin:
Okay, so you do Easter lunch. So what would a typical Pasqua Easter lunch menu contain?
Gaetano:
The king, the undisputed king, of the Italian lunch is lamb. Lamb in any way shape or form—grilled, stuffed—but lamb is really tradition. That you cannot really miss. You can see that it’s Easter in Italy when you go a buy a lamb and the price is tripled. It’s the signal that Easter is approaching. Lamb is very much tradition in Italy. Also, very traditional, I don’t know if you have ever seen those torte salate, they are called. They translate to stuffed crusty bread. They are crusty on the outside and they are stuffed with local sausages, eggs, pancetta, cheese and sour curd. And they are, as you know, Italy is made of twenty regions and everyone calls it differently. It can be called casatiello in Naples, it can be called cuddureddi in Sicily, ungernot in southern Italy. This is typical from Bologna and southern Italy. But this stuffed crusty bread is very typical. The lamb and this torta salata are the two dishes that cannot really miss the table.
Kristin:
I’m going to go off topic for a moment because you just reminded me of something I love about Italy. Each of the towns have their own pottery style. I remember in Cortona getting plates and each of the towns have their own design. Is that tradition still alive?
Gaetano:
Yes, they do. Each town has its artisans. Some towns are more famous than others, like Cortona or Mallori. The ceramics of Mallori are very, very famous. I have to say, this is widespread from north to south. The ceramics, the pottery are very much handpainted throughout Italy. It’s something that is still very much used today. Not only for tourists, but also for Italians that like to decorate their house with nice, handmade stuff.
Kristin:
I really loved the Cortona pottery. I had a very important birthday and I was going to visit friends and they surprised me with a ticket to Italy to go olive-picking. It’s probably the best birthday I’ve ever have. It was great. I had so much fun. It was amazing and right outside of Cortona. And I got to experience—not on Easter Sunday—but we went into town on a Sunday and I said to my friend “is there a celebration?” because all of the local men had brought their instruments and were playing and people were dancing and he said “no, this is what we do on Sunday.” “Every Sunday?” “Yes, every Sunday”. When I think of Italy I think of those trips that I’ve had and those trips that I’ve had and those stories.
Gaetano:
They need to be refreshed.
Kristin:
I am going to come visit. I promise.
Gaetano:
It’s not that difficult.
Kristin:
So, I want to share with our listeners also the joy of “Colomba”. You explained a little bit about the Scoppio del Caro and the dove that flies out—doves are very significant, I know—so, Colomba I believe is the word for dove. Can you explain about those little (or big) dove cakes?
Gaetano:
Here the doves again come back. So Colomba is the quintessential of Easter Sunday, the period of the Easter week. It's a dove-shaped cake; very, very soft, very buttery, very creamy. There’s a little bit of a sharp taste even buy the candied fruit. It’s topped with a hazelnut glazed sugar and also whole almonds. Preferably you have it on its own. You don’t have any cream or any shanty cream, nothing. You have it on it’s own at the end of the meal. Nonna doesn’t make Colomba because usually—
Kristin:
Granny?
Gaetano:
Yes, Granny—because it’s very difficult. It takes a lot of time to make it. It’s very time consuming so it’s usually bought at your local pasticceria which is your local pastry shop. You cannot miss Colomba during Easter. And again, the it’s dove-shaped because the dove is the symbol of peace in Italy.
Kristin:
I love it.
Gaetano:
Yeah, Colomba, it’s something you can also buy in the supermarket, but the real Colomba like the real panettone you do not buy in the supermarket because it’s a crime to buy Colomba or panettone at the supermarket. Honestly, if you taste the Colomba made by your local pastry shop you’ll know the difference.
Kristin:
I imagine in the pasticceria everything is made fresh that day. Is that pretty typical?
Gaetano:
Hopefully. If you go to the right one.
Kristin:
I just have this romantic idea of Italy. You know, everything is perfect there.
Gaetano:
Yes, that's right. Pretty much. I don’t want to ruin the romance. You know, I lived eight years in London. I lived in the US a little bit, I travel a lot. But there's no place like Italy. I love the world, I love U.S. I love everywhere. I even love Germany, mind you.
I love the world, I love travelling, I love new people, new cultures. I don't care about their religions, race anything. I just see the person in front of me. I love everyone, but there's no place like Italy. Just because for me, because I was born here. Even if there are things that don't work the way the way they should be, I don't care. I still love it.
Kristin:
I agree it's a magical place. I am so grateful that I was able to spend even a little bit of time there. For today’s episode I put together a wine list of essentials for anyone entertaining for Easter. And all the wines are Italian and all wines that you’ve brought to our collection at Wine Insiders.
But before we start tasting—I already gave her listeners a quick introduction to you and who you are and what you do, but maybe you could stay in your own words a little bit more about Straitalian?
Gaetano:
Straitalian—it's a group of wine makers. First of all, the word Straitlian says, the precise meaning is—every word in Italian which is preceded by the phrase “stra” means quintessential. So the phrase Straitalian means quintessentially Italian. In Italy, we say “I get up early”. “I get up stra-early”, very early. So this is the meaning of Straitalian is quintessentially Italian.
What we do at Straitalian is we make our unique wines travel the world. We talk to a little growers, unknown growers in unknown, secluded areas in Italy. Growers that don't have the chance to see international markets. We do unique blends and we offer them to the international market, on the side of being the face of a famous winemakers from north to south.
Kristin:
Okay! Let’s get tasting with some of your wines. I thought we could start with a quintessentially Italian white, so I chose a Pinot Grigio. Before we go any further I want to remind everyone listening in case there's any customers out there that attended our last two events before the pandemic that they were sponsored by you, Gaetano. I was really sorry that you couldn't join us, but we had a wonderful and intimate dinner with Tim Hollingsworth at Otium in downtown LA where we had customers come. And then we had a fun olive oil tasting at upper west on the west side. So we poured two of your Pinot Grigios at both of those events and they were amazing and everyone loved them. So for anybody out there listening you can thank Gaetano for those events.
So today we're going try a new one. We’re going to pour the 2019 Nova Palma Pinot Grigio D.O.C. So, can you tell us a little bit about this wine?
Gaetano:
First of all, Nova Palma means new hands, which is “new hands” in a new winemaking approach using only organically grown grapes and most advanced technique with one sole scope: to really enhance what nature has given us—intense flavor. Nova Palma also refers to Palma Nova. I’m not sure if you’ve seen in your research or travels, it’s an eponymous star-shaped fortress town in Friuli. The town is star-shaped! If you if you take a snapshot from a drone from the top you can see it’s a fortress in a star shape.
Kristin:
I’ve not been there. What did you say the town is called?
Gateano:
Palma Nova. It’s very, very unique. It’s got this unique shape of a star. It used to be a fortified town. Friuli, as you know, is the land of fantastic wines.
Our Pinot Grigio NovaPalma is cultivated with a very typical limestone soil of Marin region because we had the sea there a thousand years ago with subcontinental temperate climate, mild winters, very rare late frost and windy summers. The rainfall is very scarce and we have some accentuation during autumn. In the dry summers we are allowed to do some emergency irrigation. Our Pinot Grigio, the grapes are manually harvested because there is no chance to do automation there and which would ruin the grapes. After the grapes are manually harvested, they are softly, gently pressed. The fermentation is without any maceration and is done using selected yeast at a controlled temperate of 20 degrees Celsius.
If you can take the glass of Pinot Grigio Nova Palam you can see clearly with your eyes the light, straw yellow color. You can take it to your nose and it has got an excellent impact with a fresh and fruity, pleasant and gentle notes of wild flowers. Now you take a sip and taste that it’s fresh, lightly mineral balance with a persistent taste which is very elegant. It goes out at least ten to fifteen seconds in your mouth. There is no oak treatment for this Pinot Grigio. I would pair Pinot Grigio Palma Nova with any antipasti, light aperitive, and of course, I personally love it with fried fish, like squid or calamari. I would also pair it with light, creamy pasta dishes. Do not forget to chill it with a temperature that goes between ten and eleven degrees Celsius.
Kristin:
I think Pinot Grigio is perfect cocktail hour wine. Although I do love it with coastal food, I think it’s great by itself.
Gaetano:
Pinot Grigio you can really drink it throughout the day. It’s the sort of wine you can drink over a meal, to unwind before dinner, for your Aperitivo, it’s very versatile.
Kristin:
It’s very refreshing. It’s very crisp and refreshing.
Gaetano:
And Nova Palma is from Friuli, which is really a region devoted to fantastic wines. It’s not the typical Veneto Pinot Grigio. It’s from Friuli. And Palma Nova, the city we mentioned before, is actually in Friuli, which is a little bit north of Veneto. Neighboring Slovenia.
Kristin:
Next up, we’re going to pop a cork on Boccimatta.