Salumi

City Winery, at 155 Varick Street, is also […] a restaurant with gleaming displays of cheese and salumi, and an event space for classes and tastings.

The American Salumi Calendar 2011 celebrates a new generation of cured meat artisans […] Some salumi are made from whole muscles — these include coppa, prosciutto, and guinciale."

As they are tasted and become better known, these salumi are increasingly in demand. However, we cannot produce too many of them, because we use only the best pork raised in Italy, and the whole process of seasoning and refining takes two or more years.

Knowing when the salumi is ready is also critical, if not downright nerve-racking. While some salumi is sliced as young as three weeks, their best-selling prosciutto is aged for as long as two years.

[…] cheeses are fresh, clean and with great depth. They are a wonderful accompaniment to our wines. We also selected Gentile, Soprassata and Tartuffo salumis from […] to pair with individual wines from […] These hand made and cured salumis are so flavorful and fun to savor with our Pinot gris, Pinot blanc and Pinot noirs.

High on one wall are glass cases where home-cured salumis are hung to age, like a cross between an Italian salumeria and a museum of natural history.

Some salumi is made from whole muscles — things like prosciutto and bresaola. The French word charcuterie includes many of the same items as salumi along with tasty cooked treats like fresh sausages, confit, pâté and rillettes.