More Piedmont Specialties - grissini and delicious wines
Ciao a tutti!
Those of you who know us well, know that we luuuuvvv, and we mean LOVE, Piedmont! This last week we did a Zoom presentation on Piedmont wines to the Dallas chapter of Women for Winesense. It’s a national association of women who love wine and are dedicated to learning more about it. We were thrilled to share our knowledge of Piedmont and its diverse wines with these women. And as it is Women’s History Month, it was extra special. So, we decided to share some of Piedmont’s diversity with everyone in this month’s newsletter!

Grissini are those crisp, thin breadsticks for which Piedmont is known. Wrap a thin slice of prosciutto around one or just snack on them with a glass of barbera or dolcetto. You can buy them easily enough, but we are including an easy recipe below because homemade is always better!

We took a fun trip to the new Eataly in Dallas this week! More on that in our next newsletter. We still prefer the stores in Italy best, but after being locked out of Italy for so long, it was wonderful to see our old “friends” and the products we love to search out and bring back from our travels. They even had a wide variety of cheeses from Piedmont, one of which we broke down and bought, even though it was 3x what we pay in Italy. Yikes!

Spring is almost here so enjoy the last gasps of winter! Use the time wisely to taste some great red wines from Piedmont before we “have to” start drinking rose` with the warmer weather!! Below is a primer on barbera and dolcetto!

We are still planning to return to Italy in September/October. Travel with us - we know everyone is chomping at the bit to start traveling again! We are ready to go!!!

Buon appetito e cin-cin!
Gina and Mary
Various Barbera DOC & DOCG!
Dolcetto DOCG
Piemonte (Piedmont) "Foot of the Mountains"
Surrounded on three sides by the Alps and Apennines, the mountains, hills, and plains work together to produce an incredible diversity of food and wine. The mountains are home to numerous dairy and beef cows, sheep and goats, producing a wide array of cheeses. Rolling hills are home to the most densely packed vineyards in Italy and miles of hazelnut groves. The flat plains of the Po River valley produce the most rice in Europe, as well as an abundance of vegetables and fruit. The wealth of the royal Savoy family introduced chocolate to Europe in the 1700’s, and the invention of vermouth gave rise to an aperitivo culture that spawned gorgeous cafes. This region is rich in history and culture!

The south-central area of Langhe is home to barbera, the most widely planted red grape in Piedmont. With its deep, plum color, high acidity but low tannin, it is a favorite everyday wine with the locals. Highly drinkable it has notes of red cherries and spices. Look for Barbera d’Asti and Barbera d’Alba, there are many choices in the wine stores here.

Going further south in the Langhe, on the border of higher elevations where the hazelnuts grow, the dolcetto grape is king. Too cool for nebbiolo and barbera, the hills of Dogliani are perfect for this early-ripening, prolific grape. The wine is dark ruby and tastes of ripe black fruit and licorice. It has moderate acidity and moderate tannins. Not a wine to age but meant to be enjoyed young. Look for Dogliani, Diano d’Alba or Dolcetto d’Alba, which are all 100% dolcetto grape.
Grissini - Breadsticks from Piedmont
2 ¾ cups all purpose flour
1 teas instant yeast
¾ cup water
¼ cup olive oil
1 teas salt

Mix the flour, salt and yeast together in a large mixing bowl. Add the water and olive oil and mix together until a soft dough forms. You can use a mixer for this if you like. If the dough is too wet, add more flour until it pulls away from the bowl. If too dry, add water. You want a soft, slightly tacky dough, not so sticky that you can’t knead it. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Grease a bowl with olive oil and place the dough in it, covering with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rise until doubled, 2-3 hours.

Punch down dough and turn out onto a surface, flattening the dough with your hands but not working it too much to redevelop the gluten. If the dough is sticky, dust it with flour.

Preheat the oven to 375F. Line baking sheets with parchment. Cut the dough into strips and pull them until you have the length and breadth you’d like your grissini to be. The size is up to you! Bake until they’re golden brown, put the grissini on a rack until cool.

The key to making grissini is to have the dough very relaxed. If you pull the grissini and it shrinks back, let it rest until it doesn’t do that. You can use non-instant yeast, just dissolve it in the water first.
This Month's Italian saying...
"Chi non beve vino è un asino,
Chi ne abusa è un porco"!

Translated to: Whoever doesn't drink wine is an ass, whoever abuses it is a pig.

Need we say more?
Our Grandmother had this tile hanging in her kitchen for years! We still hear her explaining it to me.
Travel to Tuscany this fall - Announcing our 2022 Dates!
We are planning to return to Italy this September and start our fall tours in Puglia. Then we'll move on to Tuscany in mid October A few spots are open - we are ready to go and "non vediamo l'ora!!" (we can't wait - looking for the hour!) Join us this fall or next year! Check out our website more all the trip details.

  • Tuscany 2021 - October 16-23 and October 24-30, 2021
  • Puglia 2021 - 2 openings - October 3-10, 2021

2022 Tour Dates
  • Piedmont: May 24-31, 2022 and May 31- June 7, 2022
  • Tuscany: June 11-18, 2022. October 1-8, 2022, October 8-15, 2022
  • Puglia: September 12-19, 2022 and September 20-27, 2022
  • Veneto tour - dates to be determined!

Contact Mary to reserve your spot!
Autumn grapevines in Tuscany
Puglia sunset over the Ionian Sea
Gina Stipo and Mary Stipo Potter | Ecco La Cucina | 1-972-342-8308| Email | Website