Hotel Phoenicia's Executive Chef Saul Halevi and his award-winning brigade of chefs has a new challenge set by Food & Beverage Manager Francesco Perricone, to design a gourmet 5-course dinner primarily using the hotel's 5 hectare kitchen garden that will compliment the highly regarded Gambino Winery's scintillating wines. Stars of the evening's pairings include an Alicant I.G.P. Cabernet Sauvignon-Grenache paired to a wild salad of baby spinach, arugula, daikon cress and melissa leaves with red forest berry sorbet,salty truffle chocolate powder and a Feud’o I.G.P. Nero d’Avola-Nerello Mascalese paired with a duo of Valrhona chocolate served with orange and vanilla coulis.
Sicily is now the home of truly exceptional wine with wineries such as Planeta, Tasca D'Almerita and on the Eastern slopes of Etna, Gambino, whose owner Francesco Raciti is holding a very special dinner to pair Chef Halevi's ultra-fresh cuisine combined with the Italian winery's top wine releases.
Etna's international profile received a particular boost in 2001 when Mick Hucknall of British pop group 'Simply Red' established his Il-Cantante winery there. Today, the terraces of alberello-trained bush vines are of age, and have contributed to the rising fortunes of Etna wines, where it's impossible to find anything much for less than €50 per bottle from that operation. Celebrity-driven wine is not Sicily's niche, however, the island is Italy's biggest producer, given its fertile valleys and reputation as Italy's fruit basket. That said, there's a similar story unfolding on another Sicilian volcano, Lipari, to the north in the Aeolian Islands, where designer Carlo Hauner has helped to bring attention to the near-extinct 'Malvasia delle Lipari' wines. Volcanoes, clearly, breed superior products. Etna's rich black soil is regarded as the finest on the island and produces tastes like heaven in so many ways, it's finest expression is embodied in the range of Gambino wines, floral and mineral flavours teased from altitude and cut through with the bite of citrus that covers the coastal regions.
Volcanoes in every age gave rise to fear and admiration in human beings as they linked the manifestations of fire, smoke and noise to the presence of Gods or monsters. It is no coincidence that Homer placed his terrifying Cyclops on the slopes of Etna. The definition "earth machine" given to volcanoes describes perfectly the role they have in modeling rich fertile soil perfect for supporting high-quality grapes. This combined with over 800m altitude above sea level for a longer growing season persuaded the family-owned Gambino Winery's Francesco Raciti to site at Linguaglossa 20 years ago. On the eastern side of the Etna volcano, in the woods of the National Park and facing the sea of Taormina, the Gambino vineyards are a pleasure for visitors in an exclusive natural environment, the vineyards lie on sunny and airy terraces that enjoy a breathtaking panorama.
The dinner prepared by Chef Halevi and hosted by Mr. Raciti covers five of the Gambino Winery stars, Tifeo Etna Bianco, a marriage of East and West, Carricante - Catarratto blends are a specialty of eastern Sicily, notably in wines made around the ancient stratovolcano Mt. Etna. Both varieties are quintessentially Sicilian, paired daringly to foie gras by Phoenix's culinary masters which then build on four other marvellous wines and courses. True to tradition, Tifeo, for those who do not appreciate the immediate literary origins, means 'Dragon on the Etna mountains' in Greek mythology!
Among the wonderful wines to be enjoyed during the gourmet evening at Phoenix and ably introduced by Mr. Raciti include the Alicant Sicilia Rosso, which wine-lovers will recognize as an intense ruby red coloured wine. Strong notes of mature red fruit, such as blackberry, cherry, blackcurrant and plum, force themselves upon the nose followed by hints of cocoa and skin. Balanced and lingering on the palate. On the other hand, Feud'o Sicilia Rosso with its imprint of Sicily's famous indigenous grape, the nero d'avola, is a red wine comprising of pleasant fragrances with lingering hints of voluptuous red fruits and the island's liquorice. "Sambuca" is just around the corner and those tones smoulder below the surface.
Mr. Raciti says, "We wanted to ensure that our products were matched to Malta's finest cuisine and that's why we asked Saul and Francesco to work on this, their international reputation and the talented team at Phoenix impressed us, we think this just might be the perfect marriage."
Food & Beverage Manager Perricone says, "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to savour what the soils of these two Mediterranean food capitals have to offer with a fixed tasting price at only €48 per person; Gambino have an unparalleled range of satisfying wines and the pairings have been carefully constructed to maximise pleasure from Phoenicia's kitchen garden for everyone attending Mr. Raciti's landmark dinner here in Malta. We are grateful to Gambino, Red October and 20 Knights for selecting Phoenix as the optimum venue for this event."