5 Facts for the Italophile

A 30-second guide to 30 years in food history: Italian trends, wine and ingredients.

The best tomatoes for sauce are San Marzano, a sweet, fleshy variety of plum tomato. One of the country’s top olive oils is peppery Primo D.O.P. Extra-Virgin from the Cutrera family estate in southern Sicily. Long considered a red-checked-tablecloth wine, Valpolicella is earning newfound respect as prestige producers like Quintarelli demonstrate its complexity. Campania is the new Tuscany. Restaurants in and around Naples and Amalfi—like Quattro Passi—offer amazing modern Italian food, or “alta cucina.” Agnolotti del plin, the tiny meat-filled Piedmontese pinched pasta that’s hard for even chefs to make, is the cognoscenti’s choice.

Plus:

• 12 Italian Classics You Need to Try Now
• World’s 10 Best Restaurants for Sightseers: Rome
• Wine: Italian Grapes from A to Z
• Wine: Classic Italian Wine Pairings
• F&W Editors’ Favorite Italian Restaurants
• Taste Test: Top Italian Imported Ingredients
• New Trattoria Cooking
• Italy’s Top Cooking Schools
• Fast Italian Summer Recipes
• Italian Classics

Published September 2008