This month we travel to Campania, a region of southern Italy located on the Italian Peninsula. It is bordered by Lazio to the northwest, Abruzzo and Molise to the north, Puglia to the northeast and Basilicata to the east. The Tyrrhenian Sea lies to the southwest and west and the small Flegrean Islands and Capri are also considered part of Campania. We're pleased to present two wines from Feudi di San Gregorio, a modern winery that spares no expense to make quality wines.  Campania’s premier winemaking estate is situated in the tiny village of Sorbo Serpico in Campania's Irpinia region.  Feudi has aggressively tapped into the enormous potential of Campania's unique terroir and ancient varieties by placing a contemporary spin on indigenous grapes such as Fiano di Avellino, Fallanghina, Greco di Tufo and Aglianico. The estate proprietors have pinpointed the region’s finest vineyards and work closely with consulting enologist Riccardo Cotarella, one of Italy’s most esteemed winemaking talents. The results have been remarkable – the wines of Feudi di San Gregorio have met time and again with stellar reviews and continue to garner international critical acclaim.


Serro Cielo ($28.50)
A single vineyard Falanghina, that Forbes Magazine called one of the top 30 Italian wines under $30.  This intensely aromatic wine is packed with spicy minerality, and screams for seafood, light pasta, and mild cheese pairings.








Rubrato ($22.50)
A 100% Aglianico that Saveur Magazine called "opaque, deep, and black-red in color, with aromas of ripe blackberries, earth, and tobacco; a lean, inky intergration of black cherry and mineral flavors; and a long midpalate with well-wrapped tannins."






Recipes

For the Falanghina:  Linguine With White Clam Sauce

• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3/4 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 1/3 cup bottled clam juice
• 1 lb linguine
• 2 lb small Manila clams or cockles (up to 1 inch across; 5 to 6 dozen), scrubbed well
• 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Accompaniments: extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling; dried hot red pepper flakes

Heat oil in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté onion, stirring, until golden, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, red pepper flakes, and oregano and cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic is golden, about 2 minutes. Stir in wine and clam juice and boil, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until slightly reduced, about 3 minutes.

Cook pasta in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water until al dente, then drain in a colander.
While pasta is cooking, stir cockles into sauce and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until cockles open wide, 4 to 6 minutes. (Discard any cockles that have not opened after 6 minutes.) Remove from heat and stir in butter until melted.Add pasta to cockles along with parsley and salt to taste, then toss with sauce until combined well.

For the Aglianico Pizza Margherita with Tomatoes, Mozzarella, and Basil

This is the pizza that has made Naples famous the world over. It was first baked in 1889, in honor of the visiting Queen of Italy, Margherita, and topped with ingredients that recalled the colors of Italy's flag: red tomatoes; green basil; and white Mozzarella. Making pizzas at home can yield a great product and can make a Friday gathering fun.

This recipe outlines the basics that can be adapted to all your favorite toppings.

• 3 and 1/4 cups bread flour, plus extra for the counter
• 1 teaspoon instant yeast
• 1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for greasing the bowl
• 1 cup canned chopped Italian plum tomatoes (preferably San Marzano)
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced (optional--in Naples they don't use garlic)
• 3/4 pound Mozzarella, grated (fresh buffalo's milk Mozzarella is traditional in Naples; slice it if using)
• 16 basil leaves

Mix the flour, yeast and 1 tablespoon of the salt in a food processor. With the motor running, add enough warm (110°F) water (about 1 and 1/4 cups) to make a soft dough that rides the blade. Process for 45 seconds. Add a little water if the dough is dry or a little flour if it is sticky. Lightly oil a bowl, place the dough in it, shape into a ball and wrap. Let rise at room temperature until doubled, about 1 hour. (Or allow to rise in the refrigerator until doubled, about 4 hours; when you are ready to shape the dough, return it to room temperature before cutting it and shaping it.)

Preheat the oven with a baking stone in it to 550°F.

Cut the dough into 4 pieces. Shape into 4 balls on a lightly floured counter. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes (this allows the gluten to relax, making stretching easier).

Using a rolling pin (or your hands for a lighter texture), roll into 10-inch circles; the edges should be slightly higher than the center. Place 1 circle on a generously floured baking peel. Working quickly from this point forward so the dough does not stick to the baking peel (if it sticks you will have a lot of trouble transferring it to the baking stone) rub with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Spoon on 1/4 cup of the tomatoes and spread gently with the back of a spoon (pressing will make the dough stick to the peel). Season with 1/8 teaspoon of the remaining salt. Top with 1/4 pound of the mozzarella and 4 basil leaves.
Stretch into an 11-inch circle with your hands, being careful not to tear the dough as you do so.

Transfer the pizza directly to the baking stone and bake in the preheated oven for 5 minutes, or until the crust is crisp and the mozzarella is bubbling. Continue in the same manner with the remaining ingredients and serve each pizza as it emerges from the oven.

Makes four 11-inch pizzas

Five Essential Pizza Facts
1. High Oven Temperature Preheat your oven at the highest possible temperature with a baking stone in it for at least 30 minutes before baking pizza; baking stones emulate brick burning ovens by drawing out moisture from the pizza crust. Traditional wood-burning (or coal-burning) pizza ovens heat up to 950°F, which ensures that pizzas bake quickly (in 2 or 3 minutes maximum) and emerge light and crispy rather than heavy and dry. A home oven can usually reach 550°F, which will bake a pizza to a crispy, crunchy, lightly brown in 5 minutes or less--provided you are using a baking stone, which you can buy at Sur La Table or King Arthur Flour

2. Great Flour Use a top-quality flour--I like King Arthur Sir Lancelot High Gluten Flour, which you can order at King Arthur Flour

3. Little Yeast Use little yeast in your dough (I use 1 teaspoon of instant yeast per 3 and 1/2 cups of flour) and let it rise slowly; don't add a lot of yeast, as most recipes call for, or the dough will be fluffy and soft and will taste distinctly yeasty. Check my recipe for dough above

4. San Marzano Tomatoes Buy genuine canned Italian plum tomatoes--San Marzano are the best. In Italy, we don't cook the tomatoes before adding them to our pizzas, yielding pizzas that taste fresh and vibrant

5. Go Light on the Toppings Exercise restraint when creating toppings: in Italy, we use one or two toppings per pizza, if any (aside from tomatoes and cheese)--the result is that each ingredient brings its own personality to the pizza without fighting the other ingredients. Also, the more you load your pizza with toppings, the heavier it will be, making the crust soggy rather than crisp

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