COLOMBA FOR SPRINGTIME

Just as panettone means Christmas for Italians, the COLOMBA means Easter. This is a baked cake, in a rather odd shape–that of a flying dove. It is made with a mother sponge, raised dough to which butter, eggs, and candied citrus fruit is added, and the top decorated with either whole Sicilian almonds or a hazelnut cream made with Piemonte hazelnuts. Beside being the festive cake for Easter, it has myriad uses after as a base for fresh fruit desserts, where the Colomba acts as the base for almost every kind of sliced and sugared fruit teamed with whipped cream or whipped cream blended with Mascarpone cheese, a bit of sugar and some vanila. Or, used as a base for “bread” pudding. With some help from the baker and inspite of the TARIFFS, Corti Brothers can offer this year’s Colombas at the same price as in 2025. This should delight our customers! From LOISON: COLOMBA

CLASSICA: with candied Sicilian orange peel and almonds on top, unfiled, wrapped, kilo,  $32.99 (#9100)

SENZA CANDITI: without candied fruit, just almonds and sugar topping, wrapped, kilo,   $32.99 (#9101)

LIMONE: with a lemon cream filing, wrapped, kilo,   $36.99 (#9102)  

ALLO ZABAIONE: with zabaione (sabayon) cream filing, wrapped, kilo,   $37.99 (#9103)

PESCA e NOCCIOLE: with candied peach bits and hazelnut topping, boxed, kilo,   $39.79 (#9104)

MANDARINO DI CIACULLI: with Palermo’s mandarino peel, boxed, kilo,   $35.99 (#9105)

AL CAMOMILLA e LIMONE: Roman chamomile flower, Sorrento lemon peel, boxed, kilo,   $35.99 (#9106)

A.D. 1552: with Sicilian orange peel, almonds, boxed, 750g  boxed   $34.99 (#9107)

REGAL CIOCCOLATO: Origin chocolate, chocolate cream and glaze, boxed, 750g, $33.99 (#9108)

CLASSICA MAGNUM: celophane wrapped, ribbon,  

2 Kilo $71.89 (#9109)           5 Kilo $143.99 (#9110)

LOISON VENEZIANA  Similar to Colomba, but the specialty dessert of Venice

AL MANDARINO DI CIACULLI: with Palermo’s mandarino, almond glaze,  boxed, 600g $29.99 (#9111)

AL PISTACCHIO DI BRONTE: with Bronte pistachio cream filing and glaze, boxed, 600g $35.99 (#9112)

ALL’ ALPIANE: with raisins plumped with Vignalta’s passito Alpiane, wrapped, kilo  $32.99 (#9113)

FOCACCIA MANDORLATA: no candied fruit, with almond topping, wrapped, ribbon 750g $22.99 (#9114)

Even Italians see the virtue of having panettone throughout the year! (Just to see if there is a demand.)

PANETTONE AL LIMONE with lemon cream, boxed, 600g  $19.99 (#9115)

PANETTONE GRAN CACAO with dark chocolate cream, boxed, 600g  $20.99 (#9116) 

LOISON PANFRUTTO FILONE We have again this year that specialty from Loison bakery that was created in the 1930s by Dario Loison’s grandfather: it is a  FILONE, an elongated, baguette shaped loaf with candied fruit and raisins that is similar to, but not the same dough, as panettone. It is a tender, leavened cake with candied fruit and raisins glazed with a hazelnut glaze. It can be sliced and enjoyed or sliced and toasted. Either way, it is delicious and shows what deliciousness can come from thinking outside of the box. Four versions, boxed, 500g. Al are $17.99 each.

FRUTTA (Raisins, Sicilian orange peel, almond glaze.  (#9117)

LIMONE (Amalfi lemon peel, raisins and IGP Piemonte hazelnut glaze.  (#9118)

CIACULLI  MANDARINO (Ciaculi mandarino and raisins, IGP hazelnut glaze.  (#9119)  

ARANCIA  CIOCCOLATO (Dark chocolate drops and candied Sicilian orange peel. (#9120)

SOME NEW OILS FOR 2025: GOLD MEDAL WINNERS FROM THE L.A. OLIVE OIL TASTING.

I am the Chairman of the Los Angeles International extra virgin olive oil tasting, held every year now for 26 years at the Pomona Fairgrounds. I do not taste the oils, unless there is a question, but I ask the tasters to be at the tasting. This year we had 580 entries and here are, for now, some of the Gold Medal winners. A lot more wil be arriving in coming months. Here is the Competition web site fairplex.com/competitions/olive-oil-competition/#results for a l the Medal winners.

CALIFORNIA

OLIVE TRUCK: gold medal, Robust, Coratina, Granite Bay, Placer Co., 500ml. $26.99 (#9121)

OLICA; gold medal, BEST OF CLASS, Medium, Picual, Capay Valey, Yolo Co., 250ml. $23.99 (#9122)

OLIVE LOVE: gold medal, BEST OF CLASS, Medium, Coratina, Lott Rd., Durham,Ca. 375ml. $19.59 (#9123)

HEART ROCK RANCH: gold, BEST OF CLASS, MUGELLI AWARD, Hojiblanca,      

200ml.$13.99 (#9124)      500ml $27.00 (#9125)                                  

ITALY
TENUTA BARTOLINA: gold, BEST OF CLASS, Medium, Leccio Corno, IGP Toscana 500ml $37.99 (#9126)

SPEDALOTTO: silver medal, organic, Tonda Iblea,  DOP MONTI IBLEI, Sicilia, 500 ml $29.99 (#9127)

FAMILIA ZUCCARDI ARGENTINA : gold medal, Medium, ARAUCO,  Mendoza $28.49 (#9128)

GREECE MASTER MILLER: gold medal, Robust, OMPHACIUM,, Olympia, 500ml $18.99 (#9129) (A note: Omphacium, in Antiquity, was the name of the best oil pressed from un ripe olives.)

Please consult the Competition website (above) for more winners.

NEW SACRAMENTO MARMALADE

The growing season of 2025 in Sacramento produced excellent fruit. The Seville oranges were firm, thin-skinned, and juicy. They went into Corti Brothers CAPITAL VINTAGE MARMALADE. The fruit from my backyard, Bergamot, Citron, Chinotto, Yuzu, and Blood Orange produced a nice amount of fruit and went into the MARMELLATA dei CINQUE AGRUMI, which we can make when everything ripens early. In 2025, it did. We have just finished bottling these two marmalades and rather than age them, we are offering them now so our customers could stock up. There is not a great amount on offer, but those customers who like these marmalades, (you know who you are!) can take advantage of this offer.

CORTI BROTHERS CAPITAL VINTAGE MARMALADE 9oz. jar $14.99 (#9130)

Made according to Mrs. Beeton’s recipes from the 19th century. Made with oranges, water and sugar. Nothing else!

MARMELLATA dei CINQUE AGRUMI This is made with the following in order of importance: Bergamot, Citron, Blood Orange, Chinotto, Yuzu. These fruits have never been sprayed, ever, and are merely fertilized and watered. Ingredients: fruit, water, sugar. Both marmalades are “rough cut” and wil develop in jar. The striking flavor becomes softer and very harmonious. There is nothing like them made in California.      

MARMELLATA dei CINQUE AGRUMI (Five citrus marmalade) 9oz jar $14.99 (#9131)

CORTI BROTHERS U.S. 250TH ANNIVERSARY WHISKY, PRE-OFFER

In 1975, Corti Brothers bottled an aged Bourbon for the country’s Bicentennial. Now we are offering a whisky, but a Scotch Single Malt, distilled, matured and bottled at Thurso, the site of WOLFBURN which is a resurrection of an 1821 distillery, which by 1870 had disappeared. The first production of Wolfburn was in January, 2013. It is the most northern distillery on mainland Scotland. When tasting Wolfburn for the first time in 2017, when the head of the firm, Harry Tayler visited us, I was stuck by its deliciousness; not a heavy whisky, not a heavily peated one; but a delicious one: aromatic, flavory and long at its young age. This is the kind of whisky I enjoy drinking. Very young, it had some of the qualities, of the most northern Island distilleries of Scotland. So, Corti Brothers invested in two quarter casks (125 liters) and three exBourbon barrels, (200 liters) of the 2014 make. They have been stored at the distillery and bottled there in January, 2026. The bottling states 11 years old; the original distillation date is in the Fall of 2014. While calendar date should be 12 years old, its distillation date, in the fall of 2014, a

l lows it to be ca led only 11 years. Bottled at a drinkable 46%–92 proof, I hope you will find it as enjoyable as I do. We do need something delicious for this party! We expect Corti Brothers Wolfburn here by late spring. We are taking reservations for it now. This is our first offering. The price will be reasonable. Please let us know the bottle(s) you would like to reserve for delivery on arrival. Once gone, it is gone forever. It is available in cases of six boxed bottles or by the bottle.

CORTI BROTHERS WOLFBURN 200TH ANNIVERSARY WHISKY, 92 proof, 750ml in gift box 

TO RESERVE PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL TO:   cortwine@gmail.com      leave your full name, area code and phone number, and let us know what you would like to order in 750ml bottles and/or Cases of 6/750 ml bottles. We will update you when the shipment arrives and have the actual retail prices then

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TERMS OF SALE: This list supersedes all others. All taxable items, such as wine, beer, spirits, books will be taxed at the rate of 8.75%. All California State required bottles and cans will incur the California Redemption Value (CRV) charge for recycling, per bottle, at 05¢ for under 24 oz and 10¢ for 24 oz and over. This is for all sales since we sell in California. Foodstuffs are not taxable. Shipping will be charged at prevailing rates. PLEASE NOTE: In extreme weather, either hot or cold, please give us a shipping address where your order may be properly received and stored. Corti Brothers cannot be responsible for items left without protection. Please order early for best selection.