Cinghiale alla Toscana: Wild Boar Stew

This recipe was inspired by a long lunch in Bolgheri shared with some truly amazing people. It is not difficult to make, and the hardest part is simply waiting for it to be done as the aromas fill your house and make you wish dinner would come faster.

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Some meals linger in memory long after the plates have been cleared. This one takes me back to the Alfeo family’s estate in Castagneto Carducci, nestled between the hills and the sea near Bolgheri. On our last day there, Roberta Alfeo welcomed us with the kind of warmth that feels like an embrace. A table set with homemade lasagne Bolognese, crusty bread still fragrant from the oven, and a wild boar stew simmered with olives from their own trees.

We drank their Alfeo Bolgheri Rosso and Sonora Merlot, each sip deepening the comfort of the moment. The kind of meal where conversation slows, the sun drifts lower, and time gives up trying to keep pace. It was one of those perfect days I will always hold close, shared with my daughter Lindsay, who was traveling with me through Tuscany that week.

We spent the day with the Alfeo family of Azienda Agricola Ceralti, a place where vines, olive trees, and hospitality are all part of the same heartbeat. Their estate sits in the gentle hills of Castagneto Carducci near Bolgheri, where the land glows with that deep red clay so rich in iron it seems to pulse in the sunlight. Much of the farm is organic, and you can feel the care in everything they do. Lindsay and I were invited not only into their vineyards but also into their daily life. There is an ease and generosity in the Alfeo family that makes you feel less like a visitor and more like a distant cousin who has finally come home.

Earlier that day, they took us to an olive mill where their freshly harvested fruit was being pressed into oil. The air was heavy with the scent of green olives, grass, and sunshine, an aroma so alive it felt like you could taste it. We watched the first stream of liquid gold pour from the press, vibrant and almost glowing, and I remember Lindsay turning to me with that wide-eyed expression that says this is something we will never forget.

When I came home, I could not stop thinking about that stew, rich, earthy, and alive with the scent of rosemary and wine. Finding wild boar in Rockland County, New York was my first challenge, but after a bit of searching, I discovered Fossil Farms in Boonton, New Jersey. Katie, who works there, was not only helpful but also patient with my excitement. It is a dangerous place for a food lover, shelves lined with ingredients that whisper, take me home and make something extraordinary.

If wild boar isn’t within reach, this recipe works beautifully with pork shoulder, veal, or even beef. The soul of the dish comes not from the meat itself but from the slow alchemy of wine, olives, and time.

Tuscan Wild Boar Stew

Ingredients

• 1.1 kg wild boar stew meat (2½ lbs) - or substitute pork, veal, or beef

• 55 g pancetta or bacon (2 oz.)

• 1 large yellow onion, minced

• 1 medium carrot, minced

• 1 stalk celery, minced

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 225 g small, high-quality olives (8 oz.) - Taggiasche are traditional

• 375 ml red wine (½ bottle)

• 400 g can San Marzano tomatoes (14½ oz.)

• 5 juniper berries, lightly crushed

• 1 sprig fresh rosemary

• Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. In a Dutch oven, heat a drizzle of oil and brown the boar in batches. .Set aside.

2. Render the pancetta until crisp, or use a spoonful of reserved bacon fat. .My grandmother always kept a jar of it in her refrigerator, and I have followed suit. .Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic, and sauté until just softened.

3. Crush the tomatoes with your hands and add them to the pot along with the wine, olives, juniper, rosemary, and browned meat.

4. Simmer gently for about three and a half hours, uncovered, stirring occasionally. .Taste before adding salt, since cured olives can provide all the seasoning you need.

5. Serve over soft polenta with a simple green salad and a loaf of good crusty bread.

Soft Polenta

Ingredients

1 liter water (4 cups)

8 g salt (½ Tbs.)

160 g cornmeal (1 cup)

55 g grated Parmigiano Reggiano (2 oz.)

Instructions

1. Bring water and salt to a boil.

2. Whisk in cornmeal slowly. Return to a boil, then lower the heat and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring often.

3. Remove from heat, stir in cheese, and let rest 5 minutes before serving.

The Wine Pairing

The “Alfeo” Bolgheri Rosso Superiore and Sonora Merlot were both spectacular with this dish and carry the landscape in every dish. The wines from Bolgheri, with their deep structure and polished fruit, wrap around the stew’s rustic richness.

The Ceralti Alfeo Bolgheri Rosso Superiore is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc grown in the iron-rich clay soils of Castagneto Carducci. The wine opens with aromas of dark cherry, plum, and spice, followed by gentle herbal notes that reflect the coastal air of Bolgheri. The texture is polished and full, carrying its tannins with quiet confidence and finishing long and balanced.

The Sonora Merlot, also from the Alfeo family, is a single vineyard wine that feels both elegant and generous. It shows layers of ripe red fruit and soft spice, with a supple mouthfeel that makes it a perfect partner for slow-cooked meat and the sweetness of the olives. Together, these wines mirror the meal itself, rustic and refined at once, born of the same land and shaped by the same hands that poured the olive oil we tasted that day.

About the Alfeo Family and the Estate

The Ceralti Estate has been farmed by the Alfeo family for five generations, on land that stretches from the gentle slopes above Castagneto Carducci down toward the Tyrrhenian Sea. What began as a small mixed farm with vines, olives, and livestock has evolved into a focused but deeply traditional winery, still guided by the same family hands.

Today, Iacopo Alfeo leads the estate with his family, overseeing sixty hectares of vineyards, olive groves, and woodlands. The vineyards are rooted in iron-rich clay that gives the wines of Bolgheri their depth and quiet power, while sea breezes bring freshness to the fruit. The estate’s agriturismo welcomes guests to stay among the vines and olive trees, to live, even for a few days, at the pace of the land.

Their flagship wine, Alfeo Bolgheri Rosso Superiore, combines Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc, aged in large French oak barrels for twelve months before resting another year in bottle. It is a wine that mirrors the landscape; structured yet supple, full of depth and grace. The single-vineyard Sonora Merlot is their most personal expression, a wine of generosity and texture that captures both the richness of the soil and the family’s patient craftsmanship.

A Taste of Memory

In the end, this dish tastes like memory, like sunshine caught in a slow stew, the kind you carry home from a long Italian lunch and feel again each time the scent of rosemary and wine fills your kitchen.

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