Category Archives: Italian cinema

August 10, 2011 · 5:27 pm

Wine Wednesday: La Notte di San Lorenzo Calls For A Morellino di Scansano

August 10 is celebrated in Italy and by Italians throughout the world as the night of the shooting stars. This film by the Taviani brothers is one of my old time favorites. This night is famous because you can see a host of shooting stars in the night sky and of course, as we all know, you make a wish when you see one.

Historically, the night of the shooting stars is supposed to commemorate the tears of San Lorenzo who met his end on this day in the III century.

The movie set in Tuscany brings to mind Tuscan wine and “una voglia pazza di essere in Italia” (great desire) to be in Italy watching them this evening. Even if I’m not going anywhere, if I see a star I too can wish it on saying “Stella, mia bella stella, desidero che…”, and waiting for the event to happen sometime this year.

I’ve never seen as many shooting stars as when I have been sailing and anchored out at sea. I’m sure the mountains and camping provide an equally spectacular view but I don’t have much experience in the latter. In any event, wherever you are this evening, think of the stars.

The first time I saw this movie was when I lived in Tuscany. Back then, I drank a lot of Morellino di Scansano as did all the Florentines I knew. It was the go-to-wine in Tuscany for all occasions. This fresh red is perfect for summer foods but its’ versatility allows it to be drunk throughout the year. It seems like the right fit to celebrate San Lorenzo to me.

Morellino is made predominantly from Sangiovese but 15% of other varietals such as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Ciliegiolo can be included. Morellino is made in the Maremma area of Tuscany, a memorable place to visit.

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June 12, 2011 · 11:11 pm

Weddings, Friends & Nostalgia

I haven’t written in a long while it seems but I was working very hard before going on a 10 day trip to Il Bel Paese. I’m staying with friends at the moment near my second home, Milan. My dear friend Silvia got married yesterday in Bobbio, a beautiful little town near Piacenza to a lovely man named Michele. As luck would have it, while it was hailing in Milan, the sun was shining over their beautiful church in Bobbio.

I’m a bit overcome with emotions at seeing my friend so happy and about 120 people I know well from Milan. La nostalgia sta salendo…Meaning, I’m getting very nostalgic for this country and that life that I loved so well.

Oddly enough, the last weekend in New York before my trip, I saw a movie set in Bobbio called Le Sorelle Mai by Marco Bellocchio. It was fascinating as only a European film can be, small and intimate about families and their intricate balancing act.

Emilia-Romagna has been at the front of my mind for weeks now. In addition to this wonderful event in Bobbio (Emilia-Romagna), I just saw a group of friends from my master’s program at SAIS in Bologna and went to an event in New York for alumni from the school.

Additionally, I just worked on a great project for the University of Bologna Alma Graduate School, a new MBA in Food and Wine. For more information on the program and the 10 scholarships being offered by Ferrarelle, read this article from I-Italy.

At the wedding, we had traditional wines from the Colli Piacentini – Ortrugo, Gutturnio e Malvasia. As a fan of indigenous grapes, I was happy to drink light hearted wines with local fare. Emilia-Romagna is very well known for its salumi which pair perfectly with both Ortrugo and Gutturnio, although the first is a white wine and the second a red. I’ve had still and frizzante Gutturnio throughout the years and have voted for the still each time.

In sum, I think I may need to make a stop over in Bologna before heading towards Tuscany later this week, after my brief trip to the Veneto. It’s nice to be back and see so many smiling faces, especially these three.

Weddings & Friends

My dear friends, Anne Caterine and Stefano at their wedding a few years ago who are wonderful friends, perfect hosts and amazing cooks and their little jewel, Matilde, one of my favorite little girls.

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December 6, 2010 · 5:17 pm

Wine of the Week: Cabanico from Alovini

I had the good fortune to try a lovely wine at DOC in Williamsburg this weekend that I had never had: Cabanico from Alovini. I’m a Brooklyn moonie, meaning I love Brooklyn, as my dear friend Nicole would say but I do have enough sense to know a good wine when I taste one.

This blend of 50% Aglianico and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon made from grapes grown on volcanic Soil in Basilicata on the slopes of Monte Vulture was perfect. A great blend of minerality, fine tannins and fruit and spice made it silky and smooth without being cloying. This wine is the work of Oronzo Alo, an enologist originally from the Salento in Apulia who has been working in Basilicata for more than 15 years.

The wine spends nine months in barriques and then time in the bottle before being released but it is not at all overdone. His reduced yields, 40-60 hl/ha, are surely part of the reason that the fruit is so elegant as heavier selection leads to choosing better more phenolically ripe fruit. I am always drawn to wines that come from volcanic soils because they tend to have better minerality and sapidita’ or saline notes. Additionally, volcanic soil usually has good drainage and the fruit is almost always quite healthy.

Lucania is a region that has been repeatedly in my mind these last weeks thanks to numerous great wines from the area but also to a few movies that I have seen of late. The first is Rocco e I Suoi Fratelli by Luchino Visconti. This seminal work relates the story of a mother and her four sons who move to Milan from Lucania. The fifth son already lives in Milan. An amazing portrait of a certain time in Italian history, this immigrant story can be applicable to generations of people from many cultures. The film is great also in its regional accents and at showing the differences between the North and South of Italy at the time of the movie, 1960.

The second film is Basilicata Coast to Coast. It is the story of four friends who walk across Basilicata in order to go to a song contest on the other side of the region. They want to do something grand, a big gesture It’s somewhat of an “on the road tale” like Salvatores’ Tournee, part travelogue, male bonding friend movie, a love story and at the same time a love note to Basilicata. You see beautiful views of the countryside and of course meet colorful characters along the way. I saw this movie for the first time in April in Italy at the cinema. I also saw it on an Alitalia flight from Italy last week. It’s a small movie, a slice of Italian life, but one I really enjoyed and highly recommend.

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August 10, 2010 · 10:42 pm

La Notte di San Lorenzo – The Night of the Shooting Stars

August 10 is officially known in Italy as la notte di San Lorenzo or the Night of the Shooting Stars. This is because, apparently, tonight if there were clear skies, one could see many shooting stars. I always thought this was very poetic but somewhat of a myth. Until I went sailing in the Mediterranean some years ago on August 10. I saw tens of shooting stars and it was indeed magical. I have no idea why this is the case, from a scientific point of view, but effectively everyone in Italy looks to the sky on this evening to make a wish on a shooting star.

There is also a very famous movie called the Night of the Shooting Stars by the Taviani Brothers. I love that movie and most that have to do with World War II.

Recently I had the pleasure of translating for Giovanni Taviani, the daughter of one of the brothers, at an event hosted by I-Italy in New York. She runs a great documentary film festival in Salina, one of the Aeolian Islands off the coast of Sicily. Salina is a magical place and Giovanna, a fascinating woman.

Salina is the island where Il Postino was filmed, that wonderful film with Philippe Noiret and Massimo Troisi about Pablo Neruda. Salina also has the best granitas, especially the one made from Almond milk or latte delle mandorle. I went sailing around those islands and am a very big fan despite having encountered 100 knot winds….yes 100 knots.

I wish I could go to the festival that starts on September 12 but I think it may have to wait until next year. Giovanna’s own film was very interesting and I hope she gets to show it to a wider audience in the United States. I’ll be looking up at the sky tonight. Remember you can make a wish on every star you see, as many times as you want. Sounds like a good deal to me.

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November 16, 2008 · 5:49 pm

La Notte di Toni D’Angelo & A Glass of White Wine From Campania

I am having a wonderful time going to the N.I.C.E. film festival at the Tribeca Cinema. Yesterday’s films included one by Toni d’Angelo, a young director from Campania. The film is a love letter to Naples in a sense. It is truly worth seeing and made me want to go right out and have a nice white wine from Campania. I might like something from the Campi Flegrei. I remember how surprised I was to find an entire page of wines from that area on the list at Paul Grieco and Marco Canora’s wine bar Terroir.

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They also had an Asprinio, an indigenous variety from Campania on the list which was a surprise. Falanghina, Greco and Fiano are all getting a lot of press and placement on wine lists in New York but I would like to see a number of other grape varieties from Campania. I am looking forward to the new wines that Domenico Selections will be bringing in from that area. One of the owners, Terry Hughes of Mondosapore , is very plugged in to the Campania wine scene and I expect to see some interesting stuff in their portfolio. Naples is such a beautiful city although these last years it has been in the news primarily for its garbage problems, the Camorra, and other violence. Gomorra, another film in the festival, is also about Naples but this time about the Camorra. I saw it in Milan last year. The film is subtitled even in Italian and is very well done but truly hard to watch. It leaves you feeling indignant that people have to live in those conditions. La Notte’s director, D’angelo said that he sees Naples as being similar to New York. I can see what he means. Neapolitans of all ages have come into my life over the years and left a deep meaningful trail. Nonna Bianca was one of these people.

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The grandmother of a person in my life she was full of joy and Neapolitan song. I will never forget her and the way she used to get all dolled up to go out to the circolo degli ufficiali at 86 years of age. She was one of the most joyous people I have had the good fortune to encounter. Whenever I see anything that has to do with Naples, I always think of her and smile.

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