Snack of the Summer
Panisses & Rosé Collection
by Tom Wolf
Tempier rosé and pétanque in Bandol
© Tom Wolf
Italy’s Mediterranean coast
© Gail Skoff
Fresh panisses
© David Lebovitz
With lots of flavor and depth, a panisse or slice of farinata invites crisper rosés, but also darker and more robust bottlings like Giovanni Montisci’s Sardinian Cannonau. Of course, Bandol rosé is a perfect pairing, too!
Tempier rosé and pétanque in Bandol
© Tom Wolf
Italy’s Mediterranean coast
© Gail Skoff
Fresh panisses
© David Lebovitz
With lots of flavor and depth, a panisse or slice of farinata invites crisper rosés, but also darker and more robust bottlings like Giovanni Montisci’s Sardinian Cannonau. Of course, Bandol rosé is a perfect pairing, too!
Snack of the Summer
Panisses & Rosé Collection
by Tom Wolf
If I say “panisse,” the first thing that likely pops into your head is Alice Waters’ beloved restaurant, Chez Panisse, about a thirty-minute walk from our shop in Berkeley. If you dig a little deeper, though, you’ll discover the name of her restaurant was originally inspired by the character Panisse, the sailmaker in Marcel Pagnol’s Marseille Trilogy, whose name was in turn no doubt inspired by Marseille’s—and possibly France’s—most delicious fried snack. Made from chickpea flour, olive oil, salt, and pepper, panisses are like chunky French fries, only more delicious—and nutritious, relatively speaking.
It should come as no surprise that Marseille’s iconic apéro-hour snack is made with the Mediterranean basin’s most important legume. Chickpeas have inspired countless dishes around the sea for millennia, from hummus to falafel, but in Provence and parts of Italy, you’ll find half a dozen variations of a recipe in which chickpeas are ground into flour and whisked into hot water, along with a splash of olive oil and salt, before being molded and fried or baked. Panisses represent the pinnacle of this family tree, but I stumbled upon a delicious crêpe- like variation called cade in a market in Sanary-sur-Mer last year. Farther east, in Nice, you’ll find a nearly identical snack called socca, and on the island of Corsica they have torta di cecci.
The lineage extends over the border, too, underscoring how intertwined Italian cuisine is with that of Provence. In Liguria, a similar version of socca goes by farinata, in Piemonte by bella calda, and in Tuscany by cecina. Across the Tyrrhenian Sea, Sicily has a version called panelle, and Sardinia a rendition called fainè.
These snacks pair beautifully with their regions’ rosés. With lots of flavor and depth, a panisse or slice of farinata invites crisper rosés, but also darker and more robust bottlings like Giovanni Montisci’s Sardinian Cannonau. Of course, Bandol rosé is a perfect pairing, too.
Find David Lebovitz’s recipe for panisses here. David is an author and pastry chef living in Paris, sharing sweet and savory recipes suited to home cooks, along with travel tips and humorous stories about life in France.
Wines In The Collection
Sesti Italy | Tuscany
Gentle and mouth-filling, this rosato is perked up by a touch of salinity imbued by the oceanic soil.
Domaine de la Tour du Bon France | Provence
Bursting with clementine, white peach, and lavender, Agnès Henry’s rosé is divine with summer dishes.
Domaine Tempier France | Provence
It takes just one sniff to be transported to Provence; garrigue-laced, and superb with salty snacks like panisses.
Giovanni Montisci Italy | Sardinia
It offers deep complexity and layers of flavor, like a nectar of crushed strawberries with a savory, stony finish.
Domaine Comte Abbatucci France | Corsica
Infused with seaspray and stone, the resulting rosé boasts a glistening, sunkissed quality, loaded with sour cherry and pomelo citrus.
Domaine de Marquiliani France | Corsica
A gentle wave of peach, melon, and spring flowers rolls over the palate and lingers long past your last sip.
Mas Champart France | Languedoc-Roussillon
This Languedoc beauty could easily be taken for its Provençal cousin—that is, until you see the price tag.
I Pástini Italy | Puglia
A delicious aperitivo, it can seamlessly pair with anything you throw its way.
Masseria del Pino Italy | Sicily
A rosé made via ancient methods from ashy soils high on Mount Etna.
Italy | Tuscany
The Sestis’ craving for a wine to be drunk cool during the warm months led them to create this rosato. Gentle and mouth-filling, it’s perked up by a touch of salinity imbued by the oceanic soil.
France | Provence
Bursting with clementine, white peach, and lavender, Agnès Henry’s rosé is divine with summer dishes.
France | Provence
It takes just one sniff to be transported to Provence; garrigue-laced, and superb with salty snacks like panisses.
Italy | Sardinia
It offers deep complexity and layers of flavor, like a nectar of crushed strawberries with a savory, stony finish.
France | Corsica
Infused with seaspray and stone, the resulting rosé boasts a glistening, sunkissed quality, loaded with sour cherry and pomelo citrus.
France | Corsica
A gentle wave of peach, melon, and spring flowers rolls over the palate and lingers long past your last sip.
France | Languedoc-Roussillon
This Languedoc beauty could easily be taken for its Provençal cousin—that is, until you see the price tag.
Italy | Puglia
A delicious aperitivo, it can seamlessly pair with anything you throw its way.
Italy | Sicily
A rosé made via ancient methods from ashy soils high on Mount Etna.
More Collections
30 Years with La Famille Faury
This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of our partnership with the Faury family. They’ve cultivated the northern Rhône’s steep, fabled hillsides since the end of World War II, when Jean Faury settled in the tiny hamlet of La Ribaudy and planted his land to vines and orchards. It wasn’t until 1979, when his son Philippe took over, that the family’s focus shifted to winemaking and expanding their vineyard holdings…
Colleleva
Le Marche may well be Italy’s most underrated region. Featuring striking landscapes from mountains down to the Adriatic Sea, countless quaint villages largely ignored by tourists, and an irresistible local cuisine, it is a hidden treasure oozing with charm and authenticity…
This Just In!
The old winemaking adage says that you only have one shot each year to get the vintage right. While this idea may be daunting to a vigneron, we see things a bit differently: one vintage per year means that we are always looking forward to a new batch of wines from all our favorite producers…
New Arrivals
Here is a collection of recent arrivals. Every week, we’ll be adding a dozen or more new arrivals, so check back often for your favorite classics or new discoveries!
The Carpe Vinum Collection
An ever-changing offering of wines that are just about to sell out; one last opportunity to seize a range of selections before they disappear from our shelves forever.
50th Anniversary Merchandise
When the esteemed French wine artist Michel Tolmer created beautiful artwork for our 50th anniversary, we knew right away that we had to feature it on a few select items of merch. After spending maybe a little too much time researching the options, we landed on a classy, leather-strap cap, a comfortable t-shirt made from 100% cotton, and a tote made with incredibly sturdy, fair-trade, and organic cotton by a certified B corp that invests in the livelihoods of women and farmers of India, featuring three wine sleeves and two other compartments for all of your other needs!
Recent Wine Club Selections
Our five wine clubs feature our best values from France and Italy as well as complex and cellar-worthy wines.