Italian wines in Santa Barbara
Traveling through the Santa Barbara region last week, we were delighted to find two wineries that are featuring wines from Italian varietals. If you want to try the risotto al Baolo of the previous post, here are two places to get those Piedmont grapes in the U.S.
One is Palmina: www.palminawines.com. Christina crafts some very special and highly regarded wines from her Italian grapes. She does a Savoia -- a combination of Nebbiola, Barbera and Syrah, plus a Nebbiola and a Barbera by themselves. And a Dolcetto.
Mandolina is in the village of Solvang, "Sideweays" country, and they actually do a pinot nero. They are located at www.LLwine.com. They do a beautiful set of Italian varietals: Barbera, Sangiovese, Dolcetto, and a fine Nebbiola. Plus a pinot grigio. A wonderful find!
The evening before the wine excursion, we had a lovley pasta dinner in Santa Barbara, at a small, charming trattoria, Bucatini. Located on lower Ocean in Santa Barbara, it is within a block or two of the ocean, and is well known, deservedly, for its fresh mussels. We had mussels and spaghetti in a red sauce: simple, perhaps, but the perfection of all the parts made it memorable. The mussels, as fresh as any could be, were arranged in a circle around the outer edge of the plate, and the spaghetti and red sauce, steaming, were in the center. The wonderful treat was that the tomato sauce was a sweet, buttery one, not a sharper marinara. It was the kind of sauce we call Marcella #3, and can be found at www.classicpasta.com, under sauces.
Give the sauce a try. And if you are in Santa Barbara you know where to find your pasta dish. And Italian wines.
One is Palmina: www.palminawines.com. Christina crafts some very special and highly regarded wines from her Italian grapes. She does a Savoia -- a combination of Nebbiola, Barbera and Syrah, plus a Nebbiola and a Barbera by themselves. And a Dolcetto.
Mandolina is in the village of Solvang, "Sideweays" country, and they actually do a pinot nero. They are located at www.LLwine.com. They do a beautiful set of Italian varietals: Barbera, Sangiovese, Dolcetto, and a fine Nebbiola. Plus a pinot grigio. A wonderful find!
The evening before the wine excursion, we had a lovley pasta dinner in Santa Barbara, at a small, charming trattoria, Bucatini. Located on lower Ocean in Santa Barbara, it is within a block or two of the ocean, and is well known, deservedly, for its fresh mussels. We had mussels and spaghetti in a red sauce: simple, perhaps, but the perfection of all the parts made it memorable. The mussels, as fresh as any could be, were arranged in a circle around the outer edge of the plate, and the spaghetti and red sauce, steaming, were in the center. The wonderful treat was that the tomato sauce was a sweet, buttery one, not a sharper marinara. It was the kind of sauce we call Marcella #3, and can be found at www.classicpasta.com, under sauces.
Give the sauce a try. And if you are in Santa Barbara you know where to find your pasta dish. And Italian wines.
posted by Pietro at 5:35 PM
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