Food In Italy, Part 2

In Puglia, be sure to try the oricchiette.

There are two different red wines from Puglia that I really love: Primitivo and Negroamaro. Be sure to try both.

My experience with wine is, the closer to the point of origin, the better the price. Many very good wines are not made for export. I've had house wines in Montalcino (Brunello) that were fantastic.

Diana, Another wine I'd recommend (didn't see it on the list above) is Orvieto Classico. I tend to drink more Vino Rosso, but that's one white wine that I enjoy. I tend to just order the Vino Rosso della Casa whenever I'm travelling, and in most cases that's a decent wine. There's no way I could finish a bottle! Cheers!

Orrechiette ("little ears"), definitely, usually served with broccoli rabe (no red sauce). If you are near the coast, any seafood is good. Red wines are robust. In and around Bari, there's a two-crusted pizza made with onions and olives that is traditional and delicious, sold at bread bakeries as street food.

Yes make sure to try primitivo! I'll look again at the places you said you're visiting Diana so that I can tell you some other good wine if you're interested.

Yum! Thank you one and all for your tips. Yes, please keep the suggestions coming. I'm so excited about our upcoming trip. Twenty-eight days in Italy and so much food and wine to experience! However will I cope? ;-}

YOU NEED TO TRY: - AMARONE DELLA VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO - VERONA AREA - BAROLO - PIEMONTE. THE ONE THAT I LOVE IS MADE BY SILVANO BOLMIDA, A SMALL-FAMILY PRODUCER http://www.silvanobolmida.com/ - CHIANTI CLASSICO (RISERVA) - TUSCANY - MAKE SURE IT'S NOT JUST CHIANTI, BUT IT'S CHIANTI CLASSICO, BETTER IF RISERVA. - IF WHITE WINE, I PREFER THE ONES FROM ALTO ADIGE (KERNER). - DOLCETTO - PIEMONTE. I WOULD CHOOSE EITHER DOLCETTO D'ALBA, DOLCETTO D'ASTI OR DOLCETTO D'OVADA. - BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO - TUSCANY - - BARBARESCO - I'VE TRIED BARBARESCO CASCINA LUISIN 2007, BARBARESCO MONTESTEFANO 2007, BARBARESCO RABAJA' 2005 AND BARBARSCO BRUNO GIACOSA 2005 (LAST ONE PROBABLY THE BEST). I CAN'T THINK OF OTHER WINES RIGHT NOW, BUT I'LL LET YOU KNOW. REMEMBER WHEN DRINKING WINE, IF YOU WANNA HAVE A DECENT ONE, MUST BE AT LEAST 20€/BOTTLE (IN RESTAURANTS EVEN MORE) WHILE A REALLY GOOD WINE STARTS FROM 40-50€/BOTTLE. IN RESTAURANTS IF I WERE YOU I WOULD ORDER A GLASS INSTEAD OF THE BOTTLE, IF YOU'RE JUST 2 PEOPLE. IF MORE JUST GO WITH THE BOTTLE.
WHEN TRAVELLING AROUND IF YOU STOP AT SHOPS, YOU'LL FIND REALLY GOOD DEALS. REMEMBER BEST ITALIAN WINES ARE FROM PIEMONTE, ALTO ADIGE, TUSCANY AND SOME SICILIAN (NERO D'AVOLA) OR FROM VENETO (AMARONE). BUT NOBODY CAN BEAT PIEMONTE AND TUSCANY.

Hi Cristina, Thanks for all the wine suggestions. Can't wait to try them! Only 20 days to go before we take off!

Christina, no offense, but you are way off the mark on what to pay for good wine. You can get good wine here for much less than 20 euro and you can get world class wine for far less than 50 euro. You are spot on with some of your recommendations though; Brunello is my favorite wine in the world and many Barolo's are right up there. Certain Barbaresco's can rival even the best Barolo but they are hard to find. Closer to home, Amarone is indeed a magnificent wine, the perfect compliment to a good steak but some of the Valpolicella Classico Superiore's and Ripasso's from the Valpolicella region are equally good. I have an enoteca in that region where I buy most of my wine and I get my Amarone for about 10 euro a bottle and Valpolicella Classico Superiore for about 5 euro a bottle. As far as the price range, my "vino mentore" (Giampietro, an old man who has forgotten more about wine than I'll ever know) has always said that to be sure you are getting a quality wine, you need to spend at least 5 euro for the bottle. Based on my experiences over the past 12 years here, I am inclined to agree.

Rik, I don't know which restaurant you go to. I've never seen a 5€ bottle in a restaurant. I've seen those prices only in supermarkets.. I have with other guys here a wine association, our motto is "drink less, drink better".

Well, you said; "IF YOU WANNA HAVE A DECENT ONE, MUST BE AT LEAST 20€/BOTTLE (IN RESTAURANTS EVEN MORE)", which would indicate that you weren't referring to ordering by the bottle in a restaurant. Anyway, I just disagree that you have to spend that much here to get really good wine.

Thanks to all who posted their food and wine recommendations. I'm looking forward to trying as many as I can. I'll be in Milan, Verona, Bolzano, Venice, Florence, Rome, Sorrento, Matera, and the Pulia region, so if you can think of any more wonderful foods I should try, keep those recommendations coming.

Which Amarone do you drink for 10€/bottle??? My mom wants to know where you buy it so that we can go too!! It's impossible to find a good Amarone for that price. Is one of the best Italian wines!! Guys, remember if you have to drink, drink good. No 5€ bottle, better drink water if that's what you would spend on a good wine.