Sometimes, your day doesn’t go as planned.   And that can be a good thing.  A very good thing.

Last Sunday was a good example.  My wife and I have been hiking on a weekly basis this summer at various nearby regional parks.   I’d dressed for the hike and was downstairs grabbing a bit of sustenance.  My wife was getting dressed upstairs.

She sent me a text that read “We should go to San Francisco instead”   It’s been a while since we hung out in the City.   The next thing you know we were on our way to “The City” via BART.

Our first stop? The always fun Ferry Building Marketplace on the Embarcadero.  If you haven’t been it’s a great place to spend a few hours, especially if you’re a foodie.

We grabbed lunch at Hog Island Oysters…

For dessert, I grabbed a scoop of “Harvey Milk & Honey Graham” ice cream from Humphrey Slocombe, which has one of the Top 5 Ice Creams In America according to the Food Network.  

Then we set out to explore the marvelous Marketplace.  Thereafter, we took the Ferry over to Jack London Square in Oakland and wine tasting before heading home.

With the 2015 Tormaresca “Calafuria” Rosato from Italy chilling in my refrigerator on my mind, I began prospecting for dinner.

Since we were just letting the day unfold before us, I had no idea when we would be getting home.   Taking a cue from Sunday morning, I decided to take it easy.

I stopped at the Golden Gate Meat Company and picked up Merguez Spicy Lamb Sausage and Duck and Prosciutto Sausage with Fresh Fig sausages.  Then with the help of a cheese-monger at  Cowgirl Creamery, I picked up a nice chunk of Pantaleo cheese from Sardinia.  We also picked up a nice assortment of heirloom tomatoes for our vegetable.

On My Plate

I opened the wine.  As I grilled up the sausages, I noshed on the delicious Pantaleo goat cheese.  Goat cheese and rose is a winning pairing in my book. And this was no exception.   As the sausages rested, I sliced and seasoned the tomatoes with salt and pepper and sliced up some of the cheese.

Ba da bing ba da boom! Dinner was on the table in 20 minutes!

In my glass

There are two schools of thought on where Negroamaro’s name comes from. The first is that it is a modern Italian translation (where negro means “black” and amaro means “bitter”) referring to the variety’s dark coloring and savory flavors. However, the hot southern extremity of Italy is known to produce ripe red wines with high sugar levels, so “bitter” should not be taken too literally. The second school of thought employs a Latin-Greek interpretation and says it means “dark black”, a reference to Negroamaro’s intense color. – Winesearcher.com

The Pairing

The thing I enjoy about rose is that it is one of the most food friendly wines.  Since wine is a considered to be a  food group in Italy, I suspected an Italian rosato  would be all  the more food friendly.

I was right.  The wine’s acidity combined with its subtle savory and mineral character made for a great pairing with our dinner.  The wine paired especially well with the Duck and Proscuitto Sausage, and the Pantaleo cheese.   The spiciness of the Merguez sausage of more challenging for the wine, but the two found peaceful co-existence.  friendly at the table since it seems wine is a food.