A few weeks ago, I wandered into the Heinen's in Brecksville, Ohio, and came across an interesting label in the Italian wine section. A quick read on the back mentioned the region of Campobasso. I had never heard of wine from that area. It turns out that the grapes for this wonderful bottle came from the hillsides near the town of Carovilli. A picture of the tiny Italian town, about 120 miles east of Rome, hangs on the wall in my cousin's kitchen. I had to try a bottle of this $12.99 Abballe' rosso! And pronto!
So many Carovillese immigrated to Akron, Ohio, in the 1930s and 1940s that a club was founded. It is Akron's oldest active Italian club, pushing 95 years. The wine is a blend of 80 percent montepulciano and 20 percent aglianico grapes. I have found the montepulciano varietal to be extremely food-friendly. After picking up a bottle of wine, I filled up a container of Heinen's tiny olive mix.
I zipped home and whipped up a batch of my quick sauce, boiled some pasta, and topped the dish off with a handful of chopped arugula and fresh Locatelli cheese. (If you must use jar sauce, for goodness sake use the authentic cheese from DeVitis.) Buy a bottle of Abballe' at the bar ($15), and share it with a few paisanos.
