tasca d’almerita {regaleali – sicily}

This past Monday I had a marvelous dinner at Casa Bleve, in Rome. As I wrote about a few months ago, Tina and Anacleto are back to their old ‘formula’ at lunch time, laying out the buffet that we all knew and loved for years.

On Monday evenings, though, they have started a new tradition. Every two weeks a different wine producer is invited to present their wines, and a four course menu is served. Prepared by Tina of course. And so delicious, of course. Food plus wine all at an incredibly low price of 40 euros.

But this post isn’t about that dinner. It’s about the fact that the featured wine producer this week was Tasca d’Almerita from Sicily. And the first wine we enjoyed (I actually enjoyed three glasses of it) was their sparkling Almerita Extra Brut. To go with the wine, Tina prepared a scrumptious dish of pan fried green peppers coated in crunchy toasted breadcrumbs. Which is exactly what you want to go with one of my favorite bubbly wines. Something fried, crunchy and full of intense flavor.

And then I realized I’d never posted about the magical evening when I discovered this wine right at the source. Sophie and I spent a whirlwind 3 days traveling across Sicily about a year ago, visiting the Tasca d’Almerita vineyards. From Etna to Mozia, we traipsed through vineyards, hiked up hills and even got to ride a ferry across salt flats.

But the highlight of the trip was our night at the heart of Tasca d’Almerita: the Regaleali Estate . We stayed at the baglio, the farm/villa which has been the center of the Estate since the 19th century. One of the reasons that I hadn’t written about it until now, is because I didn’t know how to describe it. It’s not really a hotel. And it’s not a private home. It’s something in between. The handful of rooms that surround the courtyard are luxurious, and if you’d like to spend the night there you can.

Like we did.

After walks around the vineyards, and a visit to the cantina, we met up in the courtyard as the sun went down. We then proceeded to go though a few bottles of Almerita as we nibbled on panelle (chick pea fritters), potato croquettes, and the most delicious fried string beans I’ve ever had. Everything was crispy and salty and went perfectly with the incredibly dry, bubbly, cold Almerita. Of course we followed that with a lengthy meal in the family dining room, enjoying – of course – more of their wines.

The Regaleali Estate is also home to a cooking school, which is run by the family. But if you don’t have a week to spend cooking, and just want to spend one special night, while sipping fantastic wines, eating delicious food, in the middle of one of the most dramatic landscapes in Italy, you can do that too.

Regaleali
Contrada Regaleali – 90020 Sclafani Bagni (PA)
Tel. +39 0921 544011
E-mail: [email protected]

To find out more about Casa Bleve’s “Meet the Vintner” dinners:
+39.06 686 5970 – [email protected]