Chianti, It’s Not Just About The Wine – ARISTA DI CINTA SENESE and TAGLIATELLE WITH GUANCIALE AND TREVISANO (radicchio)

A familiar face

It was 10:30 am when we rolled up to the front gates of Casamonti Estates in the heart of the Chianti Classico region. After ringing the buzzer and waiting impatiently for the gates to open we heard a beep as a car approached, looking in the mirror I saw the familiar face of an Austin Mini driving up behind us with a smiling blonde haired woman waiving as she remotely opened the gates.

My beloved Mini

As many of you know, I recently sold my beloved Mini and I have a soft spot for this iconic classic. This Mini, as I later learned, was bought from Innocenti in Italy who had a license to assemble the cars and sell them with the Innocenti badges and Italian trim (very rare).

Anna Rita

Our host for the day, Anna Rita, has owned the car for forty years after her father bought it for her off the showroom floor.  With the common bond of the love of Minis, we were sure that the day ahead was going to be a good one.

4000 olive trees

Casamonti Estates is one of the largest in the Chianti Classico region and is home to a 6-hectare specialized vineyard and a 4000 tree olive grove. The main reason for our visit today though was to learn about (and taste) an ancient breed of pig, the Cinta Senese, which is raised, butchered (not killed) and cured on the estate.

Cinta Senese

The Cinta Senese (Cinta meaning sash or belt in Italian) gets its name from the distinct band of white fur, behind its front legs, over a predominantly black coat. The Cinta Senese is portrayed in frescos as early as 1337 in the Palazzo Comunale in Siena’s Piazza del Campo and probably dates back to the mid centuries.

Casamonti

In the early 1990’s the pig was listed as endangered and was close to complete extinction. Since then, with the efforts of farms like Casamonti, the pigs are off the endangered list and are strictly raised under the supervision of the Italian government and the Consortium.

No soy products

The breed was recently awarded D.O.P. status. “Cinta Senese D.O.P.” means that the pigs can only be raised in Tuscany, are free range and can only be fed with a combination of natural grazing and select cereals, free from any genetic modification.  This means that there are no soy products, for example, fed to the pigs because soy cannot be proven to be non-genetically modified.  

Piglets

The piglets are fitted with an ear tag if they meet D.O.P. standards, that lists their genetic backgrounds. The pigs are then raised until 2 years of age when they are slaughtered to produce fresh meat and typical Tuscan cured meats such as finocchiona, capocollo, guanciale and the famous prosciutto, among others. All the products carry a plastic band that certifies it’s authenticity and could allow you to trace its origin back to the original animal it was produced from.

Hilltop view

Our visit started with a hilltop view from the estate overlooking the olive grove and some of the grape vines.  Anna Rita enthusiastically described why the plantings occurred as they do (for the benefit of pollination among other reasons) and pointed out the forest in the distance where the pigs are allowed to roam free eating truffles, mushrooms and the like.

Built in 1000 AD

Next, we went back to the estate, a marvelous stone building constructed originally around 1000 AD by monks as shelter for pilgrims on their way to Rome. The building has been beautifully renovated and includes a state of the art modern kitchen and a hand-cranked Bizerba slicer that I would die for!

Salumificio

A new wing of the estate houses the “salumificio”, our next stop, where the pigs are butchered after their return from the abattoir and then transformed into the various delicacies we would sample later.  

Ageing rooms

The ageing rooms above it are a series of walk-in coolers kept at different temperatures and humidity depending on what is being stored or cured in them. The first one we entered was filled with different salamis and capocollo hanging until they have reached the perfect stage for consumption.

The next cooler was slightly colder and was filled with legs of curing prosciutto.

Cinta prosciutto is considered to be one of the very best and can be easily identified by the black hoof that is left attached.

2-year curing

The legs will cure in this room for 2 years before they are sold at which point the meat has been transformed into some of the silkiest, melt in your mouth, prosciutto you have ever tasted.

Olive oil

Next, on the tour, we visited the packing room for the olive oil where the freshly pressed oil was bottled, labelled and packaged for sale. The smell of olive oil was incredible and, we would soon find out, equalled the taste. There was also a small showroom where Anna Rita had different local products as well as her own for sale including some amazing salts, soaps, estate sun-dried tomatoes and herb mixes.

Like mama used to make

From there we were led back up to the main estate into an outdoor dining area where we were seated for a light lunch which included an array of Cinta products as well as a tasting of their wines and olive oil.

First off

First off was a piece of bread drizzled with their Extra Virgin Olive Oil. The oil was a bright green and had a fresh olive flavour with low acidity but still a bit of pepperiness, one of the finest we have tasted. The wine to start us off was their ’08 Chianti Classico a pure Sangiovese partially aged in large wooden casks and partially in barriques. It was a refined wine that was smooth with a rich berry smell and a deep ruby colour.

Tagliatelle

Next, we were served a simple dish of Tagliatelle with sautéed Guanciale (cured pork cheek) and grated Pecorino cheese (Anna Rita’s grandmother’s recipe) served with it was their 07 Chianti Classico Riserva.

Don’t get me started on the wine

This was a much more complex Chianti with a brick red/ruby colour, a full body and subtle tannins. The ageing process for the Riserva is fascinating in that the wine is barrel aged for 6 years; the first year in a new barrel, the second in a barrel that has had wine stored in it for one year, the third year in a barrel that has had wine stored in it for two years, the fourth for three years, the fifth for four years and the sixth for five years, each barrel adding something from the wine stored in it previously.  

a 93 rating

Wine Spectator gave this wine a 93 rating! Next on the menu was an array of Cinta products including some finocchiona (fennel salami), a straight Cinta salami and prosciutto. There was also a nice rice salad, estate sun-dried tomatoes in their olive oil and herbs and a plate of simple crostinis (egg, parsley, garlic/spicy tomato passata/pickled veg., mayonnaise).

Super Tuscan

Served with this course was their Super Tuscan which is a blend of Sangiovese, Canaiolo and Merlot, a bolder but easy drinking wine that retained the smoothness of its  Chianti companions. Last on the menu was the most delicious cherry crostata you could imagine made with Amarena (sour) cherries.

Visiting the piglets

As we stood up from lunch Anna Rita invited us to walk down to the pig barn, to visit the piglets and see the breeding stock, on our own. It was a good way to walk off the wine and see these ancient swine up close. We walked quietly through one barn with tiny feeding piglets and moaning mothers and then to another with rambunctious, slightly older pigs waiting to be certified and put out in their range. Lastly, we stopped at a large pen where some of the breeding stock lived (one male for up to 12 females).

Bathing beauties

Heavenly pork

When I arranged our visit I told them that I did not want to just come and visit but I wanted to cook and eat some of this heavenly pork myself. After a brief back and forth it was decided that I should go with a pork roast, a rack of ribs and a guanciale. We also added a bottle of Chianti Riserva (to go with the roast!) and a bottle of olive oil. Anna Rita also generously gifted us with some handmade soap and some porcini flavoured olive oil.

Advice

Stuffing the cooler full, I asked Anna Rita for her advice on the preparation and cooking of the pork roast in particular.  She said that because of the nature of the meat and the heavy marbling, she cooks her roasts low and slow and that the Cinta takes almost twice as long to cook as regular pork. Italians, unlike North Americans, like their pork cooked through, not pink.  They do not believe in a heavy marinade or constant basting and babying, just in pure simple time-proven flavours.

Omega 3

The fat in fresh Cinta meat (said to contain beneficial fats like olive oil including Omega 3) is very peculiar in that it melts easily and can even render at room temperature.  I was told that Cinta lardo (cured back fat) will melt quicker than butter on a piece of bread.

Arista di Cinta Senese

Taking Anna Rita’s sage advice and wanting to do justice to this unique product I have chosen to do a simple “Arista di Cinta Senese” with the roast. Arista is what Italians typically call the pork loin roast with ribs attached. Apparently, the name Arista was given to this recipe way back in 1430 when in a meeting between the Greek and Roman churches this roast was served.  The Greeks loved it so much they were shouting “Arista! Arista!” (good! good!) and the name stuck.

Guanciale

With the cheek (pictured above) guanciale (gwan-chi-ah-ley), I decided to make a non-traditional dish (sorry Anna Rita) of “Tagliatelle with Guanciale and Trevisano”.

Carbonara

Traditionally the cured cheek is used in the world famous carbonara made with hot pasta (bucatini or spaghetti) tossed with egg yolk, Parmesan and fried guanciale or Amatriciana which is simply sautéed guanciale and a bit of onion, deglazed with white wine and finished with a small amount of marinara sauce.
The ribs? Look for a recipe for them in an upcoming post.