Chef Jessie Sincioco partnered with young Italian chef Musaro Rocco Roberto to produce a six-course, one-night-only dinner at Rockwell Club.
By Alex Y. Vergara
Owing to its ideal location, the Puglia region of Italy, which is situated in the “heel” of the Italian “boot,” has access to abundant sources of seafood from the Mediterranean Sea as well as plenty of fertile ground to raise various types of grapes for winemaking—from universally known varieties such as Chardonnay and Merlot to varieties indigenous only to Italy.
One of the region’s many wineries is MenhirSalento. Owned by the husband-and-wife team of Gaetano Marangelli and Miriam Daniele, the winery was established in 2005. Although it’s only some 600 kilometers away from the Vatican, it took thousands of kilometers for one of MenhirSalento’s products to get Pope Francis’ attention.
MenhirSalento is credited for producing No. 0 IGP Salento, the only wine His Holiness reportedly drank during the course of his papal visit to the Philippines in early 2015.
Exclusively represented in the Philippines by Iphor Trading, Inc., the winery recently sent Musaro Rocco Roberto, one of its resident chefs, to Manila to partner with Chef Jessie Sincioco to produce a special, six-course, one-night-only dinner at the latter’s eponymous restaurant at the Rockwell Club.
Sincioco, of course, had the privilege and honor to cook for Pope Francis during his historic papal visit to the Philippines. It was during the course of her work at the Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See in Manila, where the pope had stayed, that the chef had learned firsthand his preferred wine.
“The Nunciature had preselected the wines, which it probably knew the pope would like,” said lawyer Gale Atienza, president of Iphor Trading, Inc. “They ordered three wines, including MenhirSalento’s No. 0 and Quota 29 from us. We only found out much later the pope’s preference.”
Even if the pope is Argentinean, his Italian heritage can’t be denied since both his parents and their respective families came from Italy. This perhaps partly explains his preference for Italian wines, adds Atienza.
When Daniele first heard the news, she found it pleasantly “funny.” Indeed, the Lord works in mysterious ways. As a rule, though, the Office of the Holy See in the Vatican doesn’t lend its endorsement, at least officially, on any products, including wines.
“Imagine, our winery is only some 600 kilometers away from Rome, but one of our wines had to travel to the Philippines, which is thousands of kilometers away from Italy, for the pope to get a taste of it,” said the Italian-speaking Daniele, through Atienza.
She also explained how some of MenhirSalento’s wines got their names. No. 0 or zero, for instance, is called as such since it was the first-ever wine the winery produced. And what about Primitivo “Quota 29” IGP Salento?
“They grew the grapes that make up the wine on a hill 29 meters above sea level,” Atienza, quoting Daniele, said. “Primitivo is a grape variety indigenous to Italy. The same grape variety, which they planted later in America, eventually became known as Zinfandel.”
For their part, Roberto, sous chef of Origano Osteria, MenhirSalento’s restaurant, and the celebrated Sincioco came up with a six-course dinner featuring some of Puglia’s traditional dishes, including slightly cooked Squid with Tomato Coulis, Capers and Seaweed, Tubettino Pasta, Fagioli Beans, Mussel Shrimp and Pecorino Cheese, and Seabass Fillet in Mediterranean Soup, among others.
“Puglia is famous of its raw seafood,” says Atienza. This was quite evident in Roberto’s squid dish. For the benefit perhaps of his Filipino diners, he adjusted his approach by slightly cooking the opening dish.
While Roberto took care of the first three unmistakably Italian fare, Sincioco, for her part, did courses four to six: Dalandan-Mint Sorbet; Grilled US Black Angus Fillet Mignon in Morel Sauce served with a Timbale of Wild and Brown Rice Vegetable Risotto and Steamed Asparagus Spears; and Mango Panna Cotta.
Daniele, also a brand ambassador of MenhirSalento, was responsible for pairing each dish with a particular wine.
She paired, for instance, Negroamaro Rosato “Novementi” IGP Salento with Roberto’s squid dish. For Sincioco’s grilled steak, Daniele complemented it with the equally robust Primitivo Quota 29 red wine.
Pope Francis’ favorite wine, No. 0 or Negroamaro, , a ruby red wine with hints of strawberry, blackberry and raspberry, was paired with the seabass fillet, while the goden Fiano “Pass-o” Bio IGP Publia, with its mango and plum bouquet and warm, honey notes, went well with the tube pasta.
Capping off the rainy-evening, June 12 dinner was Sincioco’s Mango Panna Cotta, which Daniele deemed perfect with the cherry-red, raspberry-like and fresh scent and taste of Aleatico “D’Alesio” Passito IGP.
“By Italian and most other standards, we’re a pretty young company,” said Daniele through Atienza. “We didn’t come from a family who has produced wines for generations. But being new also has its advantages.”
Since MenhirSalento isn’t constrained by certain traditions and established ways of doing things, the winery has more freedom to create. And often, the results, as unwittingly affirmed by Pope Francis himself, lead to a number of unexpected and pleasant surprises.
