Pianogrillo - wine (and food!) from Sicily

2/5/21 -

For years this amazing tomato sauce has been a pantry staple for us. Made only from cherry tomatoes, it has more depth of flavor than any other I’ve tasted from a jar. The tomatoes used are very ripe and naturally sweet, so you could use it straight; I like to add it to sauteed onion, a pinch of chili flakes, and some chopped parsley; toss with pasta and grated cheese and you have a memorable dish. The sauce comes from the farm called Pianogrillo, in Chiaramonte Gulfi, Sicily – right by the famous Gulfi winery, and just a few miles from COS and Arriana Occhipinti in Vittoria. After years of using the Pianogrillo tomato sauce (and olive oil, and estratto – a product that will forever change your concept of tomato paste for the better), it finally came to my attention that they also made wine – and I was wowed. We are now offering two Pianogrillo wines – a Grechetto Bianco, one of the best whites from Sicily that I’ve tasted, and a classic Cerasuolo di Vittoria that competes with the famous neighbors. But back to the sauce: it comes to us courtesy of Gustiamo, an online retailer located in the Bronx. I’ve been buying food from Gustiamo for so long that I think I may have been a customer before the dawn of online retail. Every product I’ve purchased – many variations of tomatoes, capers, salt, pasta, olive oil, lentils, ceci, and more - has been outstanding, as good or better than any I’ve tried here or in Italy. Of special note are the legendary products of the Caffe Sicilia in Noto, and Sant'Eustachio coffee. It's a good thing that we can't sell food at Chambers Street, or we'd eat up the stock. A bottle of sauce, pasta, a bottle of Cerasuolo di Vittoria, and I am all set. Jamie Wolff