Love a Locavore's Sicilian Dinner with winemaker, Victoria Curatolo

Event information

The Curatolo family has been producing excellent Marsala and quality wine for over a century. Tonight we welcome Victoria Curatolo who represents the 5th generation of the Curatolos and has been working for the family, representing the winery in the UK and Irish market for the last 4 years.

Since the 1999 vintage Alberto Antonini has acted as a consultant to the Curatolos and brought with him the modern winemaking skills that allow the varieties to express their maximum potential. The wines are uniformly excellent. The whites combine the richness that Sicily can easily provide with the freshness only someone with Alberto's experience can retain. The reds express the power of the fruit and warmth of the land.

The company was started by the entrepreneurial Vito Curatolo Arini in 1875 who had already been making wine but was keen to build a winery in the middle of his vineyards. Enlisting the help of a Swiss commercial expert to help him build a model business, Vito Curatolo Arini was later to become one of the first companies to export wine (Marsala wine only initially) to the USA.

In 1970, a group of viticulturists from the Davis Institute in California came to Sicily to study the potential of the area's winemaking. Their conclusions were positive and the Curatolo family took on board their recommendations to modernise the winemaking and reduce yields. The result is a range of clean, fresh modern wines with all the character of the island preserved. The company is one of the few Marsala producers still existing and the only one that has always been managed by the same family.

Tonight we will be offering Victoria's expert wine pairing combined with some traditional simple and super fresh Sicilian dishes prepared in Love a Locavore's kitchen. As well as Victoria, we also welcome Lizzie Burton, who also works in the world of Italian wine. Both ladies are extremely knowledgeable about their wines and will be available to answer any questions you may have with regards to the wine pairing as well as providing you with the opportunity to take home some of their carefully selected wines.

The menu will be something along the lines of, but always subject to change!

★ Canapés
Bruschetta with Sicilian olive oil
Aranchini (deep fried risotto balls)

★ Starter
Tuna carpaccio with an orange and fennel dressing, pine-nuts, raisins and caramelized peppers

★ Main
Stuffed mini aubergines in a spicy tomato sauce

★ Pudding
Almond and lemon Tart with pistachio ice cream

★ Cheese Platter

Wine pairing with all the courses but should you wish to BYOB for extra wine then do!

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