Vigneto dei Salumi unites, in name and in fact, two very interesting food and wine realities of the Valpolicella area.
But beyond the name that already evokes intense suggestions, it is the story of this family and artisan company based in Arbizzano, which has won us over.
Also in this case, the one who put us on the trail of Walter Ceradini and his Vinappeso & C. was Vittorio Betteloni. So, driven by curiosity but also by greed, we booked our tasting at the Vigneto dei Salumi.
The embrace of wines and cured meats
The honors of the house are made by Vittorino, whom Vittorio presented to us as the Venetian son of Eduardo De Filippo. It goes without saying that, after listening to him present the history of the company and the salami “created” by Walter, we are in perfect agreement with him!
Vittorino’s story is fascinating and from the first moment it seems to have entered a small theater where the curtain is made of cold cuts of all kinds and of all sizes hanging in the vault covered in wood.
At the center of the scene he, Vittorino who with words and gestures, captures all our attention in telling that the story of the Vigneto dei Salumi starts from an error.
And still today it continues between mistakes, attempts, tests, experiments and “illuminations”!
As evidence of this there is a sheet that reports the thought of the colleague (much more famous than me) Renata Molho: “The romantic vision of the error is that it is an escape of the imagination, a breath of fresh air in the closed room of the rules of conformity”.
Vigneto dei Salumi, and the brilliant consequences deriving from what at first glance might have seemed a mistake, is the clearest proof!
And it’s time to tell you about how it all started. And how our tasting went, a mystical experience!
Vigneto dei Salumi embodies the passion that since 1960, starting with Elio, Walter’s father, the Ceradini family has put into every product, from the cutting of meat to the final processing.
But it is to Walter that we owe the fruit of the union between tradition, given by the classic cuts of pork, and innovation, based on the processing of the salami with the unique wines of Valpolicella.
This is how Vinappeso was born, a unique salami, the happy result of an unexpected event and the encounter between the anatomical cut of the culatello and its refinement in Amarone and Recioto. The salami had been forgotten and due to excessive seasoning it had become hard. Thus began the experiments: Walter decided to soften it by drowning it in Recioto and Amarone. And he invents what is proposed today in three variants.
The first in order of time is Isabella with a timeless classic taste, characterized by a maturation of 28/30 months and two refinements in Amarone and one in Recioto. It is called this because the first culatello was wrapped in a cloth embroidered by Walter’s mother with her name. Two birds were then killed with one stone, as they say: solved the problem of how to call this new product and at the same time homage to his mother.
Another woman suggested the name of the second type of Vinappeso, obtained from the heart of the thigh, dedicated to lovers of sweet and enveloping flavors and characterized by an aging of 16/18 months plus two refinements in Recioto and one in Amarone. What hymn to the best sweetness of Juliet, the most famous Veronese in the world? And how to imagine Juliet without her Romeo? In fact, this is the name of the Vinappeso obtained from the femoral muscle and characterized by an aging of 11/12 months only in the Recioto which enhances its flavor.
Inversely, from the wine in the cellar, the path of the Grandentato, obtained from the muscles of the heaviest animals and immersed in crystalline wine: a “robust” salami in which the tertiary aromas of wine are enhanced by those of Valpolicella. The tasting, with the passionate explanations of Vittorino who speaks to us as a creature that for 100 days is like in the belly of the mother, continued with a slice of Lardivino, chosen lard aged 6 months and aged for 90 days in crystalline wine, served on a warm crouton of bread.
Still a family name for pancetta aged in grappa: Walter called it Pierin like his great-grandfather because this idea derives from the ancient use dating back to the early 1900s to soften salami in alcoholic drink, just as it used to do his avo!
Vinappesino follows, which is nothing more than striped Vinappeso. And here is the anecdote. In a choral tasting, a Venezuelan girl getting up after tasting it declared that eating this goodness caused an orgasm: how can you blame her? Seeing is believing!
Cotevino, which is cooked in the bag containing crystalline wine that dilutes the typical fatty taste of the sausage, has a strong taste but it’s pleasant even in the hottest seasons.
After the tasting of the products of Vigneto dei Salumi, we began that of Frutteto dei Salumi, starting with Arincia, loin with orange peel. Very tantalizing bites also of Filotto, loin with bergamot, and of Filemo, fillet with lemon. And ending with the citrus fruits in oil, in which the extra virgin olive oil meets the flavor of the salami softened by the slight acidity of the citrus fruits, in an ideal embrace of all of Italy, from north to south.
Then the discussion returns to the errors and the unpredictability of the results that derive from the mistakes. In this case it is a pork loin flavored with orange and dipped in Amarone which was then too soft. Set aside pending an idea of use, it was knocked down and then passed to the drying room: thus the petals of Valpolicella were born, a sort of crunchy, fragrant and tasty chips to be enjoyed as an alternative to french fries.
Do you think it ended here? Oh no, because the third appointment is the one with Tradition.
We set off on a gastronomic journey that leads from bacon to coppa with herbs from the garden to the classic garlic-scented sopressa up to Walter’s Granlungo. Do not think badly, it is a speck-type salami aged about 11/12 months in the cellar, which meets the wine in salting, is flavored with fresh herbs and smoked at the end of maturation.
In closing, Isabella returns paired with a drop of Recioto in a delicious embrace that serves as a dessert. And Vinotello appears on the table, a caciotta produced in Lessinia and aged in crystalline wine, so called because it has traces of salt, in which the Vinappeso was aged. Thus, this mixture of Amarone and Recioto da waste becomes a precious resource, enriched by the aromas and scents of maturation, in which the fresh caciotta is immersed for 40-50 days, giving a truly unique drunk cheese, to eat and drink at the same time.
We invite you to try the experience of tasting these extraordinary products: in the mouth the softness and taste that the wine raises to maximum power are enhanced. But we must admit that the presentation of Vittorino also plays its part, as he seems to cradle every cured meat in his arms, dedicating attention and love as if it were a son.
Vigneto dei Salumi
Via Casa Zamboni, 3 – Arbizzano di Negrar (Verona)
Info: +39 045 7514233 – +39 328 8413485
www.vignetodeisalumi.it – info@vignetodeisalumi.it
