The maximum expression of the territory in which I operate is the Cerasuolo di Vittoria Docg,the wine which is a distinguished marriage between the elegant Nero d’Avola and the fragrant Frappato grapes.
It is certainly a wine which goes wonderfully well with the cuisine of distant countries as well (an excellent match with spicy dishes) and embodies a modern way of drinking, fresher, less concentrated, one in which a wine should go hand in hand with the plates without ever dominating them.
When I say wine, I am also thinking about food, about conviviality and, immediately after, culture. I am thinking about a glass of Cerasuolo di Vittoria which brings together persons who, sitting together at a table, exchange ideas and opinions and tell stories between one glass of wine and the next, creating invisible ties which join them together. Wine carries in itself a message of culture, a message which recounts the history of a place and brings back a time before that precise bottle existed. The bottle is an intermediary, a bond which brings together different cultures, creates an encounter between them, and allows them to know one another and receive, mutually, knowledge and understanding. This is the way I interpret my role as Brand Ambassador to Italy and to the world of Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG and of the territory of the province of Ragusa.
Gaetana Jacono
Fresh Tuna with Cerasuolo and
sweet and sour onions
Ingredients for 4
2.2 pounds of filet of tuna in slices,
2 white onions,
An ounce and a half of white vinegar,
a glass of water,
salt, oregano, sea salt.
For the syrup:
a half liter of Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG,
9 ounces of sugar,
1 star anise,
a tablespoon of black pepper in grains,
3 cloves,
a half stick of cinnamon,
an ample handful of almonds (if available, the “pointed” variety of Avola itself)
Heat the wine over a high flame along with the star anise, the black pepper, the cloves, and the cinnamon stick. Once the wine has begun to boil, lower the flame to allow the wine to reach 220° (you can use a thermometer) and
continue cooking for approximately 30 minutes, then turn the heat off. Slice the onion finely and heat it in olive oil over a high flame in a frying pan. Add two teaspoons of sugar: when the onion begin to turn a golden color
add the vinegar and lower the flame. Add the salt and the water and cover the pan. As soon as the onion begin to shrink remove the lid of the pan and concentrate the liquid. Sprinkle the oregano over the swordfish, heat some olive oil in a pan and, when hot, sauté the fish, one minute per side. Add salt to taste. Pour the syrup onto a platter, place the fish on the syrup, and add the onion and the almonds, the latter toasted with their skins and then coarsely chopped.
