Solevino: Food and Wine of Southern Italy

06/17/2026

2026 is officially Southern Italy’s summer. We’re seeing Campania and Sicily lead a huge shift toward lighter, lower-alcohol wines that were made for warm nights and good food. Think crisp Fiano and Falanghina from volcanic soils, and Etna’s Nerello Mascalese served with a slight chill. Earlier harvests are helping growers work with the climate, not against it, keeping freshness in the glass and water use down in the vineyard. Less oak, more transparency, and native grapes doing what they do best. If you’ve been curious about “chillable reds” or want a white that pairs with everything from grilled fish to tomato pasta, this is the moment. Which one are you most excited to try first, the zippy whites or the cooled-down reds?

06/01/2026

Here's a super yummy, light Summer cocktail -- you can easily change it up to suit your taste! No set recipe. I used two tablespoons of Campari, one tablespoon of blood orange vodka, and Italian blood orange soda. I wanted to use Aperol, but the bottle was stuck shut (rude!).

05/18/2026

Sometimes the fridge makes the decision for you!

I had big plans. Arugula, mixed greens, beets, burrata, mixed nuts.... A composed salad that looked intentional from the start. Then I opened the crisper drawer and the arugula and mixed greens had other ideas. :-(

What was left: microgreens, a head of iceberg I'd bought by accident and silently judged all week. Also, a handful of herbs from the garden — basil, parsley, a little mint.

The iceberg got its moment. Here's the thing about iceberg that nobody says out loud: its crunch against cold, creamy burrata is actually perfect. It doesn't compete. It doesn't wilt under a drizzle of herb oil. It holds its ground. Sometimes the humble ingredient is the right one!

The dressing came together in three minutes — herbs from the garden, a fistful of heart-healthy nuts toasted in a dry pan, lemon juice, good olive oil, just enough water to make it pour. Not quite pesto, not quite vinaigrette. Something better than both.

This is the kind of cooking Southern Italy understands instinctively: work with what's available, don't apologize for what's simple, finish with good salt and a little lemon zest.

The iceberg is redeemed. I may even keep it in the rotation.

🌿 Microgreens · Iceberg · Roasted Beet · Burrata · Garden Herb-Nut Pesto

What's the ingredient you've been quietly dismissing that actually deserves a second look? Tell me in the comments.

05/11/2026

Good advice for whatever food you're cooking!

How to Make Restaurant-Quality Pan Sauces | Learn more at the link in the comments!

05/08/2026

My chives were getting out of hand and blooming. I had intended just to make some chive butter, but then I thought, why not an entire dish centered on chives and butter? So, here's what I made! I'll go out on a limb and say that with this amount of butter, it doesn't really qualify as "southern Italian," but.... it was delicious! Really a pretty Spring dinner, too. Did I mention it was also delicious?!? So, recipe: I used linguine. I would have preferred bucatini, but didn't have any. About a 2-1 ratio of butter (Kerrygold) and olive oil (Sicilian). Chopped chives and chive flowers. Oh, I added some white wine (grillo, bc that's what I had open) and a little more than a 1/4 cup of pasta water. Finished with some lemon juice, finely grated Parm (Pecorino would work, too), and chopped parsley. I think this would be GREAT with some shrimp, but I'd leave out the Parm probably, or go very light with it; with a few notable exceptions, any fish with any cheese just gives me the ICK. (Some things with canned tuna, like tuna mac and grilled cheddar with tuna salad, are a couple of exceptions.)

05/05/2026

This Sicilian salad of fennel, blood orange, and red onion on an arugula base is delicious and even looks pretty here. I still find it a struggle to make! The oranges make a huge mess and I'm not sure whether it's more of a pain to remove the peel by hand and section them, or use a knife to remove the peel and slice them into disks. I'm leaning toward the latter. I also need to keep working on the dressing. It was okay last night, but didn't reach the required threshold of "yummy"!

Two things that help: soaking the sliced onion in water to remove some of the "bite" and soaking the fennel in lemon juice and salt to soften it a bit.

05/05/2026

In Abruzzo, the meal is not over when the plates are cleared. Not even close.

The digestif tradition here is old, herbal, and — I will be honest with you — not for the faint of heart. Centerbe is the most famous, and the name says it all: a hundred herbs. This is a potent green liqueur made from dozens of mountain plants and roots, and it often comes in at over 70% alcohol. It is medicinal, intensely herbal, and completely unlike anything you have tasted before. The first sip is a bit of a shock. By the second, you understand it.

Genziana is quieter but no less interesting — a bitter, earthy distillate made from wild gentian root gathered from the Apennine hillsides. It has a depth that feels genuinely ancient, like something people have been making in mountain kitchens for a very long time.

And then there is ratafia, which is my personal favorite of the three. It is a sweeter, dark-red liqueur made from wild cherries and Montepulciano wine, and it has a richness and warmth that feels like the end of a long, beautiful autumn day in the valley. It is approachable, it is delicious, and it is a wonderful introduction to the digestif tradition if you are new to it.

These are not just drinks. They are the flavors of the Abruzzese landscape, distilled and bottled. Sharing them with people is one of the things I look forward to most when our tasting events are up and running. Stay tuned.

To learn more: https://www.tasteatlas.com/best-rated-spirits-and-liqueurs-in-abruzzo

List includes: Punch Abruzzo, Corfinio, Aurum.

05/04/2026

Two wines I want to shine a light on today — both from Abruzzo, both worth getting to know.

First, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo. I want to clear something up right away, because this confuses people all the time: this wine is named for the grape, not the Tuscan town of Montepulciano. The Montepulciano grape is indigenous to Abruzzo and has been grown here for centuries. The wine it produces is deeply colored — almost inky purple — with aromas of dark plum, blackberry, a hint of to***co, and a warmth that feels like the sun-baked hillsides it comes from. The tannins are firm but never harsh, and the finish is long and generous. This is a wine that belongs on a table with food: slow-roasted lamb, porchetta, aged Pecorino. And it punches so far above its price point that once you start drinking it regularly, you start wondering why you were spending more on other bottles.

Second, Trebbiano d'Abruzzo — and I want to tell you why this one is different from what the name might suggest. Most Trebbiano grown across Italy is fairly neutral and high-volume, the kind of grape planted to produce large quantities of inoffensive white wine. But the Trebbiano of Abruzzo is widely believed by producers and researchers to actually be a different grape entirely — Bombino Bianco, a local variety that produces something with real personality. Crisp and dry, with notes of apple, lemon, and a characteristic minerality that feels like sea air and stone. It is a genuinely lovely white wine, and a perfect introduction to the idea that in Southern Italy, the name on the label is just the beginning of the story.

Both of these wines tell you something true about Abruzzo — one powerful and generous, one light and precise. Together they give you the whole picture.

Here's some additional information: https://www.grape-experiences.com/immerse-yourself-wines-abruzzo-genuine-taste-italy/

When you aren't able to visit a wine region, find a few bottles of wine then sip and savor as you learn about that fascinating place you've longed to experience. How about Abruzzo?

05/03/2026

Sometimes this and a monster latte are all you need on a Sunday morning: just a sliced, toasted ciabatta with some butter and blood orange marmalade. Yum. I use the one shown here: https://amzn.to/4eZnjXP