Ciao Tutti!
This weekend we will travel to Calabria, which forms the ball and toes of Italy’s foot where the Apennines end at the Ionian and Tyrrhenian Seas. We will taste Mabilia, a DOC Rose’ ($18.95) from the Cantine Vicenzo Ippolito winery in the Ciro Region. Mabilia is made from 100% Gaglioppo grapes, one of Italy’s oldest varieties from the time when this part of Italy was colonized by the Ancient Greeks and named Magna Graecia.
Calabria is separated from Sicily by the narrow Straits of Messina, a perilous and rocky waterway where two currents meet that Homer immortalized in his epic poem “The Odyssey” as Scylla and Charybdis. The former was a six-headed monster who plucked men from their ships for her meals. If sailors passed safely by Scylla, they had to escape Charybdis, a giant whirlpool that swallowed everything in her reach three times daily. Ippolito named the wine “Mabilia” for an 11th century Norman princess who lived in the Ciro Area.
To reacquaint myself with Calabria, I rewatched its segment on Stanley Tucci’s TV series “Searching for Italy”. Members of both of his parents’ families still live in Calabria and his parents accompanied him on his visit. Calabria is Italy’s poorest region and is surrounded on three sides by seas. Most Calabrians make their living from their daily catch or from farming, including the famous sweet red onion found only in Calabria, along with oranges, bergamot, citron and chili peppers that are highly by prized by chefs including Nino Rossi, of Qafiz, whose inventive cuisine has earned his restaurant a Michelin star.
Gaglioppo is the best known of Calabria’s indigenous grapes, and Ippolito’s Rose’ has a light, almost clear color, with a delicate, fruity aroma of grapefruit, melon and violet. This Rose’ is an excellent aperitivo or brunch wine to accompany spaghetti with garlic, EVOO and chili peppers, white meats with polenta or roasted Mediterranean veggies. I know it must be spring when I see Mabilia once again grace Piazza’s shelves.
Jennifer Martella has pursued dual careers in architecture and real estate since she moved to the Eastern Shore in 2004. She has reestablished her architectural practice for residential and commercial projects and is a referral agent for Meredith Fine Properties. Her Italian heritage led her to Piazza Italian Market, where she hosts wine tastings every Friday and Saturday afternoons.
