My posts are not completely in chronological order at the moment, because the wine tour of Campania has already finished, but I have two more installments to post about that trip. After the trip I took the ferry to the island of Ischia to have dinner at Daní Maison, the restaurant with two Michelin stars of chef Nino di Costanzo. Daní is his nickname, and maison means home in french. The restaurant is literally at the location of his ancestral home.

During the lockdown they created a beautiful garden, using salvaged materials. My visit to the restaurant started with a tour of that garden. The restaurant only has 6 tables, 2 of which are in the kitchen and 4 in the small and sparsely furnished dining room with muzak that was rather loud in the beginning. I opted for the chef’s menu (280 euros). There is no fixed wine pairing, but the sommelier pairs wines from the (limited but sufficient) selection of wines by the glass (between 12 and 50 euros per glass). There is an ample selection of mineral water, but I just chose the cheapest option (6 euros for 750 ml) as I rather spend my money on nice wines than on a 20 euro bottle of mineral water. (There is also the option to have a fixed tasting menu for two that includes a bottle of vintage Dom Pérignon or Ferrari. This goes up to 7000 euros for Dom 1985.)

I started with a glass of Franciacorta.

The aperitivo consisted of an ample selection of tasty bites. All with familiar Italian / Campanian flavors, but very precise and beautifully presented in an amusing manner.

The first wine the sommelier selected for me was a glass of Biancolella from Ischia, a local autochtonous grape variety. The wine was quite aromatic and nicely balanced.

The first course of the menu was called Passeggiata Napoletana, Neapolitan Walk. A continuation of delicious bites of excellent renditions of familiar flavors. The wine paired very well with these bites, especially with the first one, a sphere of milk and lime.

The Passeggiata was accompanied by excellent olive oil, which I could choose from an olive oil cart with about 25 extra virgin olive oils from all over Italy. It was presented in a glass to sip from, and with a piece of focaccia to dip in the oil. I picked an olive oil from Campania that was very aromatic and fruity, as well as slightly peppery.

The next wine was a 2020 Fiano di Avellino by Guido Marsella with a nice minerality.

It was a good pairing for the lobster in three parts. The tail had a wonderful flavor and texture, one of the best textures for lobster tail I’ve ever tasted. I asked the chef about this, and he said he had cooked the tail sous vide for 3 minutes at 80C/176F. I think it also helped that the tail had been sliced.

The claws also had very good texture.

And finally there was a sandwich with the meat from the legs. This was the most flavorful and the best pairing with the Fiano.

There were also some very nice filled Naepolitan breads as well as a collection of very thin and crispy, flavored breadsticks.

Next was the Fiorduva Costa d’Amalfi 2021 by Marisa Cuomo, the same wine that I had tasted a couple of days ago, but from a more recent vintage (the previous one was 2017). Because of that, the aromas were more restrained. But still an excellent wine.

The wine was perhaps a bit too crispy for the “Gnocchi in Parmigiana”, potato and eggplant gnocchi.

With the same wine I also enjoyed the “Tubettoni alla Carbonara”. These were six pieces of pasta (like paccheri but smaller), cooked very al dente, with a cream of egg yolk (cooked sous vide), minced pancetta, lemon zest, and freshly grated parmigiano. Because of the lemon zest it was a very good pairing with the Fiorduva.

For the next wine we moved out of Campania and into Piemonte, for a 2015 Colli Tortonesi Timorasso. The first dish this was paired with was the rabbit tortelli, of which I unfortunately forgot to take a photo. It was a very good pairing and the tortelli were delicious.

The Timorasso was also an excellent pairing for the secondo di pesce, sole with crispy beans and a butter sauce, served with some mashed potatoes with vegetables on the side. Again great flavor and texture in the sole.

The wine for the secondo di carne was an 1993 Avignonesi Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Although a 31-years-old wine is an acquired taste, it is quite special that such a wine is offered by the glass. The wine still had a wonderful color. The aromas were quite developed, but the wine was still quite vibrant due to its acidity.

It was a good pairing for the “Agnello in Parmigiana”, pulled lamb with eggplant.

The palate cleanser was called “Gimmy” and served in a very amusing way. It was some kind of granita that kept crackling on your tongue.

The dessert wine was a 2020 Albana Passito di Romagna, complex and with a great balance between sweetness and acidity.

The dessert was called “White” and served with an led light. It was like a collection of dessert amuses. Again the familiar but very well rendered flavors and beautifully presented.

The meal ended with an amazing set of delicious petit fours, about 18 if I counted correctly. One of them was tiramisù served in the capsule of a coffee machine.

This was a wonderful meal. As I’ve mentioned a few times already, the chef specializes in presenting extra delicious renditions of familiar flavors from the region, presented beautifully in an amusing way. There were 6 ‘regular’ dishes and 4 collections of single bites in the tasting menu. There were five servers for six tables, so the service was impeccable. The service was a bit formal at first, but during the meal I managed to loosen some of them up a little. If you are on Ischia and like this kind of meal, I’d certainly recommend it. Due to the low number of tables, you will probably need to make a reservation a long time in advance.