This region, which is divided between the sea and the mountains, has produced an interesting combination of flavours and colours; only grain products are lacking in abundance due to the shortage of the flat plains that are necessary to ensure sustainable cultivation. The only plains are that of Gioia Tauro, where citrus fruit and olive trees are traditionally planted. In recounting the food and wine tradition of this corner of Calabria, it is impossible not to mention olive oil, together with table olives produced by the Saracen olive trees from Locri. The meats are of equal importance: goat, wild boar, and above all, prized pork, which gives rise to the delicious capocollo of Ferruzzano and Pietrapennata, aged in catoji, in cellars made of rock.
Then there is the sea, which in addition to the traditional catches made of anchovies, garfish, saury fish, sardines, surici fish, scabbard fish, and swordfish that mainly come from the Bagnara and Scilla areas, there is also “stocco” (typically known as stockfish).
Finally, the typical sweets: from artisanal gelato (ice cream), to mostaccioli, susumelle, and stomatico, a true triumph of sugar for the palate.
Food and Wine in numbers
Pellaro, the full-bodied Calabrian red wine
Pellaro is a rather sought after IGT red wine that takes its name from a neighbourhood south of Reggio Calabria that features extensive sunny vineyards. It is obtained from three different varieties of native grapes: Calabrian, Alicante, and Castiglione, featuring a sustained alcohol content.
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