From Germany to Sicily

Eastside Road, August 8, 2010—

A COUPLE OF FRIENDS VISITED today bringing a couple of bottles of very nice wine, making a perfect aperitif on the patio. Those fine German Rieslings are unique and necessary. Forty years ago we used to buy Rheingaus fairly cheap, say three dollars a bottle. I haven't bought a bottle like these we had today for years; that's not where our money goes; so I'm particularly grateful to friends who share them with us.

Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese, Joh. Jos. Prüm, 1990; Riesling Auslese, Josef Rosch, 1999

SO AFTER POLISHING OFF the Rieslings we drove into town for something completely different, highly flavored and very nicely executed dishes at one of Healdsburg's most dependable, comfortable, user-friendly restaurants. Here we shared ciabatta and olive oil, a tomato-Romano bean salad, fried arancini, sardines in saor, and a particularly delicious Burrata with roasted eggplant, cherry tomatoes, and arugula. Secondi were rigatoni with peppers and house-made sausage and cheese-stuffed ravioli in an intense tomato sauce. We even split a dessert, the four of us; a dense Sicilian chocolate-and-nut cake. Come to think of it much of the dinner reminded me of Sicily; the wines, idiomatic and full of terroir, came from that island:

Insolia, Valle dell"agate, 2009; Nero d'Avola, Gulfi, Neroibleo, 2006

Scopa, 109 Plaza Street, Healdsburg; tel. (707) 433-5282; www.scopahealdsburg.com/