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Fall Tour Report, Seasonal Specialty and Veneto Wines!

Ciao a tutti!


We have returned from our September/October tours and we’re getting back into the swing of writing a newsletter for you all. It was a super short summer and a super busy fall for us! Our fall season began with our niece's wedding in Belgium, which was a great time for all as we love to celebrate with family!


After the wedding festivities we went on to Napoli and the Campania region for our first fall tour. We loved the energy of our group and loved sharing our favorite parts of Naples, delving into the history, the pizza and seafood the area is famous for. One of the highlights was a pizza class taught by a famous local pizzaiolo. We are still reminiscing about the boat ride to Sorrento and around Capri. Then it was on to Puglia!  The seafood is always outstanding and we loved learning about the history of olive oil, seeing how burrata is made, and walking through the white-washed hilltop towns. In our cooking class we learned to make the local cavatelli pasta, foccacia and a special way to cook octopus. The wines of this region and history were a highlight for many of our group.


After 3 weeks in southern Italy it was time to head to Tuscany, which always feels like home to us and is a comfort to return. Our Tuscany week had lots of returning customers, who had been with us to other regions, so we toured with old friends!  


Fall is a wonderful time to be in Italy, especially Tuscany when there’s a big fireplaces warming the home after a chilly day out. During October and into November, there’s a special bread called Pan co’Santi, named in honor of All Saints Day on November 1st.  Literally “bread of the saints”, Pan co’Santi is a great example of the foods used to celebrate seasons and holidays. Available in bakeries now, it will be replaced by panettone and pandoro for Christmas, then frittelle for St Joseph’s Day and then colombo for Easter! Always something fun to try no matter when or where you are in Italy!


Below is Gina's recipe for Pan co' Santi. She's been tweaking her recipe and thinks she might have finally got it right! Filled with raisins and walnuts and spiced with black pepper, it’s delicious for breakfast or with a creamy cheese and a glass of wine!


Looking for a big, bold red wine this fall, maybe something from Italy, not California? You can’t go wrong with a Valpolicella Ripasso or Amarone from the northern region of the Veneto. Our tour to the Veneto is based near Verona, with our villa smack dab in the middle of a Valpolicella vineyard!


There's still availability for our Veneto tour next spring (May 25 - June 1). We absolutely love this region - the wines are so varied (and deliziosi!) and range from these big, bold reds to easy drinking white wines to Prosecco. Click here to jump to more info - Veneto


A big Grazie Mille to you all for following us,checking in with us and reading our newsletter. We love keeping in touch and having us be a part of your inbox and journey!



Buon appetito!

Gina and Mary

Pan co' Santi Recipe

Pan co' Santi - "bread of the saints" and available in late September through November in Tuscany. You can find it in bakeries and bars, and homes with many variations of this basic recipe! This slightly sweet bread is perfect for breakfast or on your cheese board or sweeten it up a bit more and it's an ending for a meal.


Makes a small loaf or flatbread

2 cups flour

1 1/2 teas yeast (I use gold yeast which was developed for rich doughs or doughs with nuts and raisins)

1/2 teas salt

1/2 teas black pepper

3/4 cup water plus 1 tbsp

1 tbsp olive oil

1 cup raisins

1 cup walnuts

   Mix dried ingredients in a bowl, add the water and olive oil and use a beater to mix together until the dough forms a ball and comes away from the sides.

  Turn onto a board and knead it until it's elastic. Put the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place it in a warm spot to rise.

 When it’s double in size, add the raisins and walnuts and knead to incorporate. Form into a round if baking a loaf or flatten the dough into a rectangle. Allow to rise again, sprinkle top with sugar and bake at 400 until browned.

  Serve as is or with a soft cheese like Brie or robiola


Buon Appetito!

Big, Bold Red Wines from Veneto

The view from our Villa in the Veneto!

This month's Italian saying:

"Ascolti il tuo cuore"

(Listen to your heart)"


Valpolicella Ripasso

One of our favorite wines of the Verona region, Valpolicella Ripasso evolved over time from the production of Amarone wines. Sometimes called a “baby Amarone”, it was developed from reusing the dried grapes after maceration was completed for the bigger wine. Let’s say it increased the quality of the basic Valpolicella. Many of the guests on our Veneto tours prefer it to the higher alcohol, more expensive Amarone wine.

It’s interesting to think of the areas of Italy that still produce wines that were famous during the Roman Empire, 2000 years ago. In Campania, the area north of Naples produced Rome’s most important wine, Falernum. That area still produces Falerno di Massico in the same area, albeit very different in taste, as the Romans added honey, sea water and herbs.


In the Veneto, the Romans produced a sweet wine from local grapes called “retico”. Made from drying the grapes to increase sugar content, it exists today in the dessert wine called Recioto della Valpolicella DOCG. And that is where, in the past 80 years, the evolution of Valpolicella zone wines really started Amarone was created by accident and is now one of the most important wines made in Italy. From there, the wines progressed to the creation of Valpolicella Ripasso: using dried grapes used to make Amarone, the Valpolicella wine is “repassed” over the skins, rinsing the grapes to increase the sugar, depth and color of Valpolicella.


Widely available, look for Valpolicella Ripasso DOC. If the label also says “classico”, it’s made in the historic area around Verona.


A glass of Ripasso would be delicious with a slice of Pan co’Santi and a piece of Montasio cheese!  Enjoy!

Travel with us - Small group opportunity in the Veneto

Plan to join us next year to the Veneto on our wine and culinary adventure to this northern region. Our tour is off the beaten track from Venice, as we're based outside of Verona in the Valpolicella wine region famous for its Amarone and Valpolicella Ripasso wines as well as many other red and white wines. We also spend a day or two learning about the complexity of Prosecco in its region at the foothills of the Alps. Come learn about these along with the special regional foods and history of Veneto.


Our tours are always small groups no more than 12 or 14 and are perfect to explore the culture and history of Italy through its foods and wines! Here's what people say about us:

Trip Advisor reviews, we're also on google reviews!


Contact Mary (972-342-8308, email) or Gina (321.412.2011) with any questions or for more info. If you have a group of 10-12 contact us for a private week.

2026 dates coming soon! Stay tuned...

Visit Our Website

Beautiful Veneto - Join us next May!

Our group touring Verona one evening

Tasting the variances in Amarones!

Selection of Amarone at

our private wine tasting

Vineyard of glera grapes for Prosecco

Gina Stipo and Mary Stipo Potter | Ecco La Cucina | 1-972-342-8308| Email | Website
 
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