Last night was a perfect evening for outdoor dining in our backyard.
The meal, all from the Montclair Farmers Market or our own garden, included delicious, fresh from the sea, sauteed scallops, baked stuffed heirloom tomatoes and just picked milk and honey corn on the cob.
I was torn between opening a white or a red, and decided on a red, Le Focaie Maremma Toscana Sangiovese based on the tomato recipe.
This wine by Rocca di Montemassi turned out to be a very good choice. With great savory flavor and finesse this old world style wine was perfect with a dinner that could pair with a red or a white. Read our recipes and more about this wine.
The sea scallops came from our favorite fish monger who brings his best catch up from Barnegat Light to the
Montclair Farmers Market every Saturday. Diana lightly dredged them in flour, sauteed in butter and garlic and seasoned with fresh herbs from our garden and sea salt and fresh ground pepper. For a finishing touch she poured a half cup of sweet Riesling into the pan to make a browned glaze.
The tomatoes were stuffed with mozzarella cheese and bread crumbs, all from from Vacchiano Farms. We used a Mark Bittman recipe found in the NY Times Magazine last weekend.
The corn we just pealed and boiled, my favorite method, and doused with EVO, sea salt, and pepper.
Now that the weather has cooled down our garden is producing a much better herb crop that makes any meal delicious.
The wine, Le Focaie Maremma Toscana Sangiovese, took a little time to appeal to me. On first taste it seemed dull, not interesting. But within an hour when the food was ready it had opened up to reveal a nice rich cherry nose with a pleasing earthiness. This wine is full and has great finesse with distinct yet gentle tannins overlaid by a flavor I best compare to vanilla that glistens through the plentiful herbal fruit flavors.
It complemented the garlicy brown butter flavors of the scallops, the acidity of the tomatoes and the creamy flavor of the cheese perfectly.
Le Focaie is done in an "old world" style of 100% Sangiovese in the coastal region of Toscana called Maremma. By old world I mean the wine is made in a traditional methods allowing the grapes to be just what they will be.
The winemaker is the very accomplished Stefano Ferrante who is also the director of the estate. "I am fascinated by the beauty of nature: as a winemaker, my philosophy is to produce unique wines that tell the earth from which are born" Stephen Ferrante.
This vineyard, the Rocca di Montemassi estate, has a long history the vineyards is "overlooked by an old fortified stronghold which probably dates back th the 10th century. This castle was initially owned by the Aldobrandeschis, and then by the noble
Pannocchieschi family. It was then usurped by Cappuccini di Sticciano who, in 1328, rebelled against Siena with the help of Castruccio Castracani. The casle was, however, conquered by the more powerful Sienese troops after a siege that was immortalized in Simone Martini's famous painting, now in the Palazzo Pubblico di Siena. It depicts Guidoriccio da Fogliano on horseback, with the Casle of Montemassi and his troops' campsite - surrounded by vineyards. In 1632, Gran Duke Ferdinando II of Tuscany established the Marquisate of Montemassi and Roccatederighi and put it in the hands of the Malaspina di Mulazzo family, the title later passed to the Cambiaso di Genova and Bichi di Roccalbegna clans, and then to Marquis Bichi Rispoli until, in 1826, the Marquisate was finally dissolved." Snooth
Imported by Casa Vincola Zonin, your wine store can order from these distributors in NJ, Fedway & Associates and in NY, Lauber.
Things to do, places to see, with food and booze
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