An American chef now based in Paoay is using local wine Basi Maria to make authentic Italian sausage. Smoke Bar and Restaurant owner Chris Stolk often experiment in the kitchen for his menu and his Italian sausage is getting great reviews. Currently used at the restaurant as a topping for its mouthwatering pizzas, Smoke’s Italian sausage is “a great addition to an already wonderful menu”, according to Basi del Diablo’s resident winemaker Sigrid Salucop.

Basi Maria is one of Basi del Diablo’s best sellers. The all-purpose red is smooth, bold, and perfect with meat dishes. It also works well as an ingredient for various recipes.

“I chose to use Basi Maria primarily because it has the right depth and flavor for what I wanted to achieve with the sausage,” Stolk says. 

“This sausage has been on my mind since I opened Smoke, and I knew exactly what I wanted it to taste like. I got the right flavor with Basi Maria. The fact that it is also a locally produced wine was an added bonus,” he adds.