One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.

May 2012 Edition

-Virginia Woolf

The past couple of weeks have been very exciting here at Santisi Imports. Phil has returned from Italy after meeting all of our producers. Also, a new shipment of products has arrived. We have several new products in stock. This month, we will feature Phils recent trip to Italy, the new products from Italy, and upcoming events. In the next newsletter we will begin our producer series. Each one of our producers will be featured on a monthly basis We have added 7 new pasta shapes from Pastificio Vicidomini. These shapes are: Ruote, Paccheri, Pipette, Fioretti, Capello dello Chef, Spaghetti il Peperoncino (hot pepper pasta) and Spaghetti il Nero di Seppia (black ink pasta). We plan on importing additional shapes in the future. The Cerignola line is also growing. New products include Bomba Pugliese (hot pepper spread), Cream of Artichoke Pate, Grilled Peppers, Moss Mushrooms, and Sliced Eggplant. This high quality line of vegetables will continue to grow. We are proud to introduce Reale Balsamic Vinegars. There are five different balsamic vinegars to choose from. There are three choices of the Reale Le Noir Balsamic Vinegar (4, 8 and 12 Travasi) and two choices of the Reale Riserva (6 and 12 Travasi). Travasi is the term used when the balsamic vinegar is transferred from one barrel to another. This process occurs once per year during the winter months.

Italian law prohibits balsamic vinegar producers from claiming the vinegar is aged. The vinegar undergoes a process called Travasi which has been explained above. Every time that the vinegar is transferred from one barrel to the next there the newer vinegar is blended with the remaining older vinegar in the barrel.

We invite you to come in and compare the Reale balsamic vinegars to the leading grocery store brand. Santisi Imports will be hosting a customer appreciation day sometime in the next month or so. An invitation will be sent to all newsletter recipients and Facebook friends. Please feel free to bring a friend with you to experience our products. Also, we will be would like to announce Tasting Table Tuesdays. Every Tuesday from 1 7 pm we will have our products on display for tasting. Mario Vicidomini, our pasta supplier, will be in town the last two weeks of May through the first week of June. If you would like to meet Mario, please call us and we will let you know when we expect him at our warehouse showroom.

Mario Vicidomini, Rocco Iannone and Joe Hoffmeier.

Pomilia Tomatoes being packed for shipment.

Santisi Imports, Ltd. 601 Stones Crossing Road Suite B Easton, PA 18045 (610)438-5478 Warehouse Showroom Hours Monday 9am 5pm Tuesday 9am 7pm Wednesday Friday 9am 5pm Saturday & Sunday By Appointment

Tasting Table Tidbits

Our recent trip to Italy was extremely successful and we want to express our sincere appreciation to all of our producers for their warm hospitality and informative discussions. At IASA we extend our appreciation to Vincenzo Di Mauro, dott.ssa Lucia Di Mauro and dott.ssa Angela Speranza. It was the special tour of the facility and the ship that catches all the fresh anchovies and tuna that we will remember most. Our tour of the Pomilia tomato processing plant was most informative, as usual, and our good friend there, Dott. Alberto De Martino is a true business professional. This professionalism is why Pomilia will always be the top quality product of its kind. Our visit to Cerignola was a great experience. We were able to see and understand how La Cerignola di Una Volta is able to produce such high quality products. We were most impressed with the expanded line of products they produce. We are already working with them to expand that line here so we can offer many more of their products to our customers. Many thanks to Domenico Iaculli and Sara Basigli for everything. Everything we import is fully compliant with US Customs and FDA rules due to Saras hard work. Lastly, we had an incredible visit to Acetaia Reale in Modena. We were able to see in person the entire process used to produce the highest quality balsamic vinegar and bittersweet dressings. We can assure our customers that we have the genuine and true 100% balsamic of Modena. We cannot say thank you enough for the gracious hospitality of Francesco Leonardi, Matteo Compagni, Sylvie Incognito and Mattia Bruini who worked so hard to organize the visit. Our special thanks to Mario Vicidomini, of Pastificio Vicidomini for his help in making this such a worthwhile trip. His friendship is invaluable and his ability to help us make new friends, such as Chef Rocco Iannone, is priceless. This is the second annual visit to Roccos farm and restaurant, Pappacarbone, and it is now a must stop for us. We invite you all to stop by at the Tasting Table to sample our new line of products!

Workers filling jars with anchovies at IASA.