My last day and night in Italy involved the following things: wine (duh), wonderful people, a trip across the border to Slovenia, a Christmas tree lighting and…cookies. Cookies with my wine actually. First stop: to see Elena Parovel, the 4th generation of the Parovel family making wine just near the border of Slovenia. Parovel is a powerhouse winery and company producing a lot of great wine (and olive oil) and bringing a lot of business and commerce to a small area of Friuli. I stopped by their beautiful tasting room and cellar for a lovely afternoon line up of Friuli’s best: vitovska(!), refosco, malvasia istriana and terrano.
The most interesting wine I tried was the 2006 Matos Nonet, a blend of malvasia istriana, sauvignon blanc & semillon. Unique for the area for sure, which is why they chose to name it Matos (a play on the italian word matto, meaning crazy). As I was sipping, Elena stepped away for a moment and returned with a small white box wrapped in a red ribbon. When she told me they were cookies made specifically to taste with the Matos Nonet, I couldn’t get that little red ribbon off fast enough.
Elena said she tried 25 other recipes before choosing this one. So, brava Elena! Job well done. The cookies perfectly complimented the wine. They were kind of crumbly and compact at the same time made with a very small amount of butter, Parovel olive oil, thyme, white sesame and topped with Slovenian sea salt. Just plain delicious. And such a great new way to further explore a wine.
Later that evening, at Bar Al Goto in the town of Grado, I saddled up to the bar for one last vino in Italy. I hadn’t yet tried the local varietal schioppetino, so I ordered the only one available from Anselmi. It was an amabile, which is off- dry. Not completely sweet, but not completely dry either. Perfect for a late night beverage after dinner. As I began sipping, the owner turned around and produced 2 almond biscotti. He said that I must dunk the biscotti in my glass. I didn’t want to let him down, so I followed orders.
I was once again completely amazed at the ability for a simple cookie to completely transform the wine and the wine to completely enhance the cookie. The combination became a burst of sweet and tart raspberry jam. Almost like a linzer torte. After that, I couldn’t imagine drinking the wine without the cookie and didn’t want to. Cookies and wine…who knew? It officially became the theme of the day. As we left the bar and walked across the harbor, the town’s newly lit Christmas tree shined brightly with its reflection bouncing off the dark sea water.
The Christmas season had arrived and I thought of home. I also thought of Santa. And his love for cookies. So this Christmas Eve I will be leaving the following note on the fireplace:
Dear Santa,
This Christmas, I leave you biscotti and vino. Why? Because it is good and it will make your trip a bit more jolly. Milk will just give you phlegm. You’re welcome. Also, I don’t really need any presents this year. Because the last 3 months have been the best gift a girl could ever receive.
Cheers,
Whitney
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I still have have the crown. I say we’re due for a cookie bake off when you return! You bring the wine… we’ll do all the cookies!
genius idea for the next bake off!! done deal.
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