Food and Wines of Sicily, Cheeses in Piemonte

Sicily, the Land of Figs and Olive Trees ...The name Sicily is a combination of Greek words, "syke" and "elaia" meaning figs and olive trees, given to this fertile island by one of its early inhabitants.

Sicilian cuisine has perhaps the longest history of any Italian regional cuisine. It was mentioned in Plato's "Gorgia" where Socrates quotes Mithalcos, the author of the treaties on Sicilian cooking.

The events of Sicily's historic past and the many civilizations that have occupied its land have all played a part in shaping its cuisine and its traditions. From the Greeks and the Romans to the Arabs and the Normans, the Anjous and the Argons and the Spanish and English, all have left their mark on Sicily.

Experience first hand Sicily's gastronomic traditions as you savor specialties such as spaghetti alla Norma made with tomato, eggplant, basil and salty ricotta cheese or eggplant parmigiana. Other famous Sicilian dishes are caponata, a bittersweet salad made with celery, eggplant, tomato sauce and capers and falso-magro made with beef, hard-boiled eggs and ground beef rolled up and cooked in red wine and tomato.

Sicily is famous throughout the world for its sorbetti (from the Arab work "sciarbet"), its ice creams and its sweets and an experience in Sicily is not complete without trying the regions' fabulous almond pastries, its torrone or its pasta reale.

The Wines and Cheeses of Piemonte ...There are many cheeses in Piemonte and they play such an important role that practically every area has its own cheese. Usually a variety of toma, the list includes favorites such as gorgonzola (a mature green and blue-veined cheese), castelmagno (produced in the town of the same name with milk solely from the Val Grana), rabiola di Roccaverano (a soft, mild handmade cheese in a distinct cylindrical shape), battelmatt (a slightly bitter cheese), murazzano (a slightly aromatic cheese) and bra (a soft cheese from the area of Cuneo).

With an expert, learn to taste these fabulous cheeses and then with the help of a professional sommelier, match them to an extensive variety of Piemonte's fine wines; robust and elegant red wines and full aromatic white and dessert wines.

Piemonte's noble reds include Barolo, Barbaresco, Gattinara, Barbera, Dolcetto, Nebbiolo, Ghemme, Carema, Freisa, Grignolino and Bramaterra while the whites include Erbaluce, Roero Arneis, Gavi and Cortese. Dessert wines include Asti Spumante, Brachetto, Mascato d'Asti, Malvasia and Caluso Passito.