Two great Easton entrepreneurs joined forces with Folio Fine Wine Partners to produce an extraordinary tour through Sicily’s Donnafugata winery. With Amy, Chef Chris and the Out of the Fire Restaurant team preparing a perfectly paired five-course meal to match the carefully selected wines by Emily and her team from the Piazza Italian Market, the nearly forty who signed-up for the event were in for an evening of sensational taste experiences.
Out of the Fire was opened only to the wine tasting guests and they were greeted by pickled shrimp with melon, speck and basil at the table as they entered and Donnafugata’s Anthilia was poured. That was followed by grilled swordfish on a perfect green heirloom tomato accompanied by the second white wine, the Lighea from Italy’s Zibibbo grape.
The red wine courses were remarkable and really highlighted two very popular Donnafugata wines. The Sherazade was paired with a Sicilian-style pizza topped with heirloom tomatoes, anchovies and calabrese sauce. The Nero d’Avola grape from Sicily delivered on Donnafugata’s promised ” pleasantly fruity bouquet with fragrant notes of cherry and red plum, combined with light spicy scents of black pepper.
The Nero d’Avola grape blended with Petit Verdot and Syrah provided the second red wine in what Donnafugata calls its “flagship red,” Mille e Una Notte. Paired with lamb meatballs that included toasted semolina polenta, arrabbiata sauce and ash goat cheese, this course made for a magnificent conclusion to the dinner entrees.
Of course, Out of the Fire and Piazza had one wonderful treat left, a fresh goat cheese cheesecake and peach preserve, paired with Donnafugata’s Ben Rye 9, described as “one of Italy’s most appreciated sweet wines.”
Thus, another of Piazza’s wine tasting dinner came to a fulfilling conclusion.
Watch Piazza’s website for information on future wine tasting dinners and drop by after 1 PM on Friday’s for the weekly tasting of a featured wine.
Chip Heartfield says
The food was fantastic and the great wines were perfectly matched. Service was the usual awesome. A great time!