VINO PER AMICI

Eat, drink and be merry with this Italian feast made to share. Recipes, wines and good times courtesy of the team at Paski Vineria Popolare.

- ENRICO TOMELLERI

For years, Giorgio De Maria has been bringing his Italian flair and flavour to restaurants across Australia, shaping wine lists with his colourful selection of Italian wines. Together with fellow wine importer Mattia Dicati, the pair is responsible for bringing some of Italy’s most fun and intriguing wines to our shores. So it made sense for the friends to look for a retail space together to share their passion.

“We wanted a place where people could try our wines – a cellar door and representation of [all] we do,” says De Maria.

When a former cocktail bar on Sydney’s Oxford Street became available, their vision grew and they called upon friend and former 10 William St chef Enrico Tomelleri to join them, opening Paski Vineria Popolare in November.

“He cooks authentic Italian, just with the right little tweaks,” says De Maria. “Sometimes super traditional recipes are too heavy, but he always finds a way to give them that lift.”

Here, Tomelleri shares some of those recipes, along with wine recommendations from De Maria and Dicati, to create a meal to share with friends.

The restaurant is named after man’s best friend, a dog called Paski. The small border collie, immortalised in the mural on the upstairs dining room wall, belongs to De Maria but is beloved by the whole team.

“Paski is the label from Cantina Giardino. I named Paski after the label – when I got her, I had this big bottle of it and she was so tiny next to it,” says De Maria. “We came up with Vineria Popolare – then we needed something simple. Paski is easy and stays in the mind. Really, she’s running the show.” 239 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst, NSW, paski.com.au