One of his suggestions was this red wine blend from Terredora di Paolo.
I decided to buy this bottle and while waiting for it to arrive started looking at the foods of Campania.
Susannah of Avvinare is hosting this month. You can learn all about her visits to Campania and her reasons for choosing to have us explore these wines in her Invitation Post. Those who want to join her, buy a bottle of wine from the area and blog about their impressions. Some of us choose to pair our wine with food but that is not a requirement of this group.
Once we have done our tastings we all get together on the first Saturday of the month to talk about it on Twitter Chat at 11 AM ET. Anybody is welcome to join us and learn more about the wines we chose. You will find us following #ItalianFWT. You can learn more about this in Susannah's Preview Post and in these articles written by the members.
- Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares “Melanzane a Scarpone + Cantine Astroni Gragnano Penisola Sorrentina 2018”
- Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm posts “Polpette and Terredora di Paolo Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio Rosso”
- David at Cooking Chat discusses “Salmon with Pesto and Orzo with Wine from Campania”
- Pinny at Chinese Food and Wine Pairings adds “Campania’s Donnachiara Greco di Tufo Paired with Fish and Chips #ItalianFWT”
- Gwendolyn at Wine Predator shares “3 Wines from Campania’s Feudi Di San Gregorio paired with pizza and wild boar ragu #ItalianFWT”
- Cindy at Grape Experiences writes “Exclusive to Campania: Coda di Volpe Bianca, the Tail of the Fox”
- Linda at My Full Wine Glass posts “A Coda di Volpe wine from Campania’s protector of native grapes (#ItalianFWT)”
- Jen at Vino Travels joins with “The Lycrima Christi wines of Vesuvio”
- Terri at Our Good Life shares “Chicken Pot Pie and A Beautiful Wine from Campania for a Spring Day”
- Katarina at Grapevine Adventures muses “Campania Makes You Dream Big About Amazing Wine”
- Nicole at Somm’s Table dishes on “Donnachiara Taurasi and Lamb Spezzatino”
- Jeff at Food Wine Click writes about “Vini Alois: Champions of Campania’s Native Grapes”
- Rupal at Syrah Queen brings “NYC Somm Jordan Salcito Making A Splash With Campania Wines”
- Lauren at The Swirling Dervish adds “Mastroberardino Greco di Tufo: White Wine from Campania’s Volcanic Arch”
- Sussanah at Avvinare is “Taking Another Look At Falanghina from Campania.”
Terredora di Paolo has been making wine in Campania since 1978. Campania is an ancient wine region that was famous for producing the finest wines of the Roman Empire. Terradora di Paolo is the areas biggest wine producer and vineyard.
The area is mostly made up of small artisan and family run wineries. It is near Mt. Vesuvio and the terroir reflects that with volcanic and sandy soils. The wines go by the name Lacryma Christi which translates to the Tears of Christ.
I don't know what varietals were used for the wine we enjoyed but it poured a deep red, nearly violet, and had a little bit of spicy notes along with the fruit. It was soft and medium bodied and paired very well with the Meatballs I made, adapted from a recipe found at Food Network.
Hope to see you at Twitter chat later this morning. Until then Stay Home/Stay Safe/Stay Well.
Yield: 4 servings
Polpette (Italian Meatballs)
These meatballs are a combination of beef and pork mixed with bread crumbs and grated parmesan cheese and then stuffed with fresh mozzarella.
Prep time: 25 MCook time: 1 hourTotal time: 1 H & 25 M
Ingredients:
- 2/3 c. fresh bread crumbs (2 slices of bread)
- 1 c. milk
- handful of parsley leaves, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 4 oz. ground beef
- 4 oz. ground pork
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper, to taste
- several bocconcini (small mozzarella balls, halved or quartered)
- Panko bread crumbs for coating
- 1/4 c + 1 T. olive oil, divided
- 2 (14 oz) cans petite diced tomatoes
- 1/4 c. diced onion
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 t. Italian Herb Seasoning
- 8 oz. cooked pasta for serving, if desired
Instructions:
- Put the fresh bread crumbs into a bowl with the milk and let soak.
- Place the beef and pork into a large bowl with the garlic and parsley. Squeeze the milk out of the bread and add it to the bowl. Add the eggs, salt, pepper and grated cheese. Using clean hands, mix the ingredients until well combined. Shape into meatballs using about 1/4 c. mixture for each. Push a piece of the Mozzarella into the center of the meatball, and form again to cover.
- Heat the 1/4 c. olive oil in a large skillet over med high heat. When hot coat each meatball with the panko and fry for about 5 minutes per side until golden brown and crusted. Remove to a plate and set aside.
- Add the onions and garlic to the skillet along with the Tablespoon of olive oil, if needed. Cook, stirring up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan until the onions are translucent and the mixture is fragrant. Add the tomatoes, Italian Herb Seasoning and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, mashing the tomatoes slightly to thicken the sauce.
- Add the Meatballs to the sauce, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until the meatballs are cooked through and the sauce is reduced by half, about 45 minutes.
- Serve over pasta if desired.
Notes:
Adapted from a recipe found at Food Network
Calories
516.59
516.59
Fat (grams)
22.83
22.83
Sat. Fat (grams)
8.10
8.10
Carbs (grams)
45.88
45.88
Fiber (grams)
4.75
4.75
Net carbs
41.14
41.14
Sugar (grams)
5.27
5.27
Protein (grams)
31.21
31.21
Sodium (milligrams)
721.10
721.10
Cholesterol (grams)
159.12
159.12
Property of A Day in the Life on the Farm
I have never met a meatball I didn't love. Yours look delicious. And that wine?!? It's always a favorite. Can't wait to track down another bottle soon. Cin cin, Wendy.
ReplyDeleteThanks Cam....enjoy your birthday weekend
DeleteMy Italian-American husband gave a big thumbs-up to your polpette! They look delicious and will probably be on our menu within a few days. Cheers Wendy!
ReplyDeleteWell that makes me very proud. Thanks Lauren.
DeleteWendy - your polpette did look delicious and that wine is always a charmer. Glad you found something new to you and to your liking.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for hosting Susannah.
DeleteSpaghetti and meatballs with an Italian red - what could be better! Would love a seat at your table.
ReplyDeleteWould love to have you Linda.
DeleteWow, mozzarella in the meatballs, I like it!
ReplyDeleteYes, delicious.
DeleteGreat looking meatballs! Have you ever enjoyed them without pasta? It's more true to Campania. But my wife refuses meatballs without pasta!
ReplyDeleteWe sometimes have meatball sandwiches but I have never had them without some kind of addition.
DeleteI wrote about Lacryma Christi but didnt get my hands on any bottles. Was nice to read yours. Salute!
ReplyDeleteI was very pleased with it.
DeleteOuuu, we love polpette. Looks like dinner and wine was a treat at your house on May 10th! Overall as far as pairing, would you do it again? (Imagine yes ;-)
ReplyDeleteYes, I would certainly do the pairing again.
DeleteGreat that you could find a Terredora wine...they are from the same family as Mastroberardino...but they split the properties some years ago.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that. Interesting.
Delete