Buridda for Befana + Còlpetrone 2011 Montefalco Sagrantino #ItalianFWT

Jeff of FoodWineClick! is hosting the Italian Food Wine Travel bloggers as we explore Umbria and the Sagrantino grape for February's #ItalianFWT. You can read his invitation here. He's encouraged us to learn how to tame the Sagrantino beast. This month, our group of bloggers have been wrestling with Sagrantino, take a look at their posts below. On Saturday Feb. 2, our posts will all be live and we’ll be chatting about our discoveries. Join us on Twitter at 10am CST by following #ItalianFWT, we’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences with Sagrantino! Take a look at all the great ideas our group will be posting

The Line-up

• Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares Buridda for Befana + Còlpetrone 2011 Montefalco Sagrantino.
• Marcia from Joy of Wine shares The Power of Sagrantino.
• Jill from L’Occasion shares Azienda Agricola Fongoli: Making Natural Wine In Umbria.
• Katarina from Grapevine Adventures shares A Biodynamic Expression of Sagrantino in Umbria.
• Susannah Gold from Avvinare shares Nectar of the Gods: Antonelli's Montefalco Sagrantino Passito DOCG.
• Lauren from The Swirling Dervish shares Antonelli San Marco: Umbria’s Wine History in a Glass.
• Lynn from Savor the Harvest shares Italy’s Finest Wine At A Great Price.
• Giselle from Gusto Wine Tours (in Umbria!) shares #ItalianFWT – Sagrantino For The Win(e).
• Gwen from Wine Predator is Getting to know Sagrantino.
• Jennifer from Vino Travels Italy highlight Lawyers to Winemaking with Antonelli San Marco.
• Nicole from Somm’s Table shares Cooking to the Wine: Còlpetrone Montfalco Sagrantino and Pasta with Red Pesto & Truffle Meat Sauce.
• Jeff from Food Wine Click! shares Sagrantino to Warm a Minnesota Winter Night.

In My Glass

This is actually the second bottle of Sagrantino I found and paired, and only the second Sagrantino I've ever tried. The first one was, in Denmark, on New Year's Eve. We opened a bottle of 2012 Montefalco Sagrantino and paired it with a rosehip glazed roasted chicken. This bottle - Còlpetrone 2011 Montefalco Sagrantino - I found online and was excited to pour it for Befana. More on that in a second.

But, before Jeff suggested this as our February exploration, I had never heard of the varietal. He shared, "Unless you know Umbria, you’re unlikely to have encountered it anywhere else, as the grape is indigenous to the region and rarely found outside. Historically, this tannic bruiser was tamed by making it into a passito-style sweet dessert wine. However, since the 1970’s, Sagrantino has also been made in a dry style." Happy to have made its acquaintance now!

This bottle, compared to the only other one I tried, was more polished. By that I mean less tannic, more balanced. But it still had that edgy finish that I've read is characteristic for the varietal. Moist dirt, smoky notes, and spicy flavors all made this a savory treat.

Befana

Back to Befana. According to Italian folklore, Befana is a woman on a broomstick, enticed by gifts of wine, who brings treats for all the girls and boys on the eve of January 6th, the Epiphany. A baking, tipsy witch. Sounds like my kinda gal.

So, Befana is always something we celebrate. With small gifts and an Italian dinner.

Funny thing: Befana must have made a pitstop in Denmark before making her way to California this year...all the boys' gifts (and mine and Jake's, too) were Danish!

In My Bowl

Whether you call it cioppino, ciupin, cacciucco, or buridda, I think this is a quintessential Italian seafood stew. It's made with whatever seafood is readily available; the flavor combinations are all very Italian. And just as every, and I do mean every, Italian dish is made differently by each Italian cook, here's my version...that we made for Befana 2019.

Ingredients

• 1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon anise seeds
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• pinch of saffron
• 2 cups fresh tomato sauce
• 6-7 cups vegetable stock (or fish stock)
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 to 3 pounds of mixed seafood (I used chunks of cod, scallops, peeled shrimp, and squid rings)
• splash of any licorice-flavored liqueur or licorice extract (I have used Liquore Strega or Sambuca in the past, for this version I used aquavit, a Danish spirit flavored with caraway and star anise)
• fresh herbs (I used oregano and parsley)
• freshly ground sea salt
• freshly ground pepper
• hearty greens, destemmed and chopped into 1" ribbons (I used dinosaur kale)
• slices of bread, toasted, for garnish

Procedure
Brown onions and fennel in a large stockpot with a butter and a splash of olive oil. Add anise seeds, fennel seeds, and a pinch of saffron. Cook till everything begins to soften and the onions have become translucent.

Pour in the tomato sauce, stock, wine, and bay leaves. Stir and bring to a boil for 1-2 minutes. Reduce heat and simmer for at least 20 minutes to let the flavors meld nicely.

Add and cook your seafoods. Once everything has cooked, stir in fresh rough-chopped herbs. Pour in a splash of licorice-flavored liqueur. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the greens and cook until they are just wilted.

Ladle into individual bowls and serve with a piece of toast floating in the center. Offer more bread on the side for sopping up the broth as you eat. Pronto al tavolo!