Ahhhh, Cortona.......

Cortona is a small hill town.  Now, I know that all of the Tuscan and Umbrian hill towns are small, but Cortona is really little. It sits on the top of a hill like jewelry adorning the landscape. For that matter it sparkles at night with the lights visible from miles away in Castiglione del Lago, which is to the south in Umbria. Cortona, however, is in Tuscany and part of the Arezzo sub-region. It is one of the few D.O.C.'s that allow producers to make wine using 100% French grapes. And it is the syrah (French for shiraz) that thrives and grows so well here. I especially love a wine called Bramasole by Antinori's La Braccesca label ($55). I'll never forget the first time I tasted it. I was teaching a Tuscan wine class at I.C.E. and it was not the wine I ordered. I had ordered a less expensive label (around $20) from the same producer. Yet my beverage manager, and dear friend Mark, sent me this wine and I never found out why. Was the other label was out of stock or was there was just a misunderstanding about the order? All I know is that I was supposed to taste this wine and the mix up was a blessing, indeed. Who knew the Italians could grow and produce syrah as well as the French or the Australians?

So, as I am flying to Rome the passenger sitting next asks me questions about my trip. His name is Max, he's Italian, a physicist and has lived in the USA for 20 years, currently in Connecticut. Rome is where he is from, so he was visiting family on his way to advise on nuclear energy somewhere in Eastern Europe. Anyway, when he heard me mention Cortona he said I had to go to a specific restaurant called La Bucaccia (Via Ghibeluna 17, Cortona 52044). He told me he knew the owner and that it was a special place I would love. I stored the info in my handy leased blackberry and when I got to Cortona, I went in search of Max's recommendation. I found it quite easily as I climbed up the street toward the centro. The owner or manager, I still am not sure, welcomed me into the little stone walled, timber beamed, old world comfort zone known as La Bucaccia. There was only one other couple in the restaurant when I arrived and the expressions on their faces told me that they felt lucky to be there, as if just anticipating the meal was part of the fun. I didn't want to eat too much at lunch because I had to drive on to Siena that afternoon and I could only have one glass of wine, but I wanted to sample several of my favorites from the menu. The Bramasole was on the wine list (42 euros) but, alas, I had no one to share it with.  I ordered the chicken liver crostini which came in a little pot placed over a candle to keep it warm. and bread to spread it on. Wow! It was amazing and because the livers had been cooked in wine they were especially rich and comforting. I succumbed to a glass of the locally grown and produced Sangiovese, the predominate Tuscan grape.  It was the wine he had opened that day and not yesterday. Being really picky, I won't drink wine opened yesterday. My next course was a panzanella salad with fresh tomatoes, herbs, red onion, celery and bread crumbs tossed in a vinaigrette, then molded into a tall cylinder on the center of the plate. It was heaven, refreshing and fragrant with tomatoes and basil. It's presentation was as elegant as the livers were rustic. I asked for some fresh black pepper for the panzanella and the wife of the owner/manager who was the server did not want to give me any. She said it would ruin it because of the contrast with the gentle flavor of the olive oil. Having told her that I like the contrast, she agreed to give me a single turn of the mill and I must admit that the pepper only made a great salad perfect. Finally, I had a side of Tuscan beans cooked with rosemary.  They were neither al dente nor mushy. Served in a rustic clay pot, the beans solidified the La Bucaccia comfort zone experience. The wine paired with every dish even the salad, I took a picture of the label, but it is lost in the sea of photos taken so far. It was 100% Sangiovese grown locally in the Cortona D.O.C. in 2007.

As a town Cortona has a lovely duomo, specialty food shops with wild boar sausages and cured hams. There were many wine shops, of course. My mistake was not buying any wine while I was there. There were impressive quantities of half bottles. I should have picked one up as I have not come across any since. I have resisted buying wine because you cannot travel with it any more as a carry-on. And it is too heavy to check. Someday though, I will return to Cortona and La Bucaccia for a Tuscan comfort food fix.