by whitney on April 25, 2010
It’s that time again….that little aching in my heart and my stomach has returned. I miss Italy. It happens every few months (even though I was just there 5 weeks ago!) It’s like that boyfriend- a first love, if you will- that you can just never forget about. That you always compare everything else to. And that creeps into your thoughts like a stealth ninja. A ninja that dangles perfectly cooked strands of handmade pasta and creamy rounds of gelato in your brain space. Ok ninja- you won. I am officially craving every dish I have ever eaten in Italy. Like right now. I scrolled through the old iPhoto in search of all things salivating. I thought I would share. You’re welcome.
I could eat homemade pasta raw. Seriously. Ok- maybe not. But I LOVE it.
A typical lunch break during harvest time at De Conciliis. Cooked by Nonna Rita.
The best fritto misto of my life. In Paestum at Nonna Sceppa.
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by whitney on April 5, 2010
At Jaynes last Sunday, Jon had the brilliant idea to pop open a bottle of Movia’s Puro Brut Rosé. <<high five>> I had never had this wine but knew of it and was super excited to taste. I was even more excited to see someone open a bottle. Firstly, a little background info in case you’re wondering what the hell the words Movia and Puro are- Movia is a winery in Italy’s far northeastern region of Friuli. And it is also a winery in Slovenia. Huh? Their acres of land straddle both countries, as a few wineries do in the area, because the borders of Slovenia and Italy have ebbed and flowed over the years. Ales Kristancic is the (bio)dynamic winemaker behind it all and produces some of Italy’s most interesting (and delicious) wines. Alder at Vinography has an informative post about Ales, Movia and tasting notes on a lot of the wines here if you so care to take a gander.
Jon went to the cellar to retrieve the wine and came back with a punch bowl full of water and a bottle of Puro turned upside down. What is all this craziness? Well, Puro is a metodo classico sparkling wine made from pinot noir. With Champagne and almost any other bottle fermented sparkler you will come across, the bottle has been disgorged (dead yeasts removed.) Puro is undisgorged… Ales makes you work for the prize in the bottle. I will once again point you towards the master, Do Bianchi, for video footage of someone opening a bottle and for his coverage on the “how to open a bottle of Puro debate.”
Anthony Wilson was up for the disgorging challenge and Jon stepped aside to teach a new student the ways of the Puro. With steady hands and strong spirit, Anthony approached the punch bowl.
Into the water it goes, as A-Dub begins to turn the bottle with cork firmly in hand…
Aaannnnd- success. The aftermath…
Time to get it in our glasses for pete’s sake. The stuff in the bottle…not the punch bowl.
A thing of sparkling beauty.
by whitney on February 12, 2010
Yes, Valentine’s Day is upon us. The hearts, the greeting cards, everything coming up roses, pink and other shades of flesh and blood. Do I sound cynical and jaded? Nah. Just single. But seriously, I really don’t mind this somewhat saccharin day. If anything, it is an excuse to eat copious amounts of chocolate. And let people know you love them (or don’t love them at all and would NOT like to be their Valentine.) 3rd grade traumas seem to be arising. I think I shall take this moment to look back at some of my favorite sweet Italian things this year. It helps balance the “bitter.”
Uva Fragola= Strawberry Grape. A wild Italian grape that mysteriously tastes like fresh strawberry. I need these in my life. Why do they not grow in America?
Limoncello. In the words of the wise Clune McClune, “It’s like a musical instrument, but you can drink it.” Wise, indeed. It is thick and lemony and sweet. I like it chilled over ice. Just delicious.
Moscato grapes dried on the vine for sweet moscato passito wine. Peach-candied burnt orange-tangerine raisin candy. I could have spent the whole day in the vineyard with a lawn chair, a book and my arm within reach of a cluster.
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by whitney on November 21, 2009
The Grape of the Day: vitovska! I feel as though the word vitovska must be followed by an exclamation point at all times. Not only because of the sound of the word, but how excited I am to drink it. Vitovska is a varietal found in the region of Friuli and more specifically the Carso, a stone’s thrown from Slovenia. I spent a day at Zidarich exploring the incredibly rocky soil of the vineyards and the incredibly interesting vitovska(!) in my glass.
Benjamin Zidarich, the man behind the label, is a member of the Vini Veri group. Yes, at this point, I am basically a Vini Veri groupie. They support biodynamic wine production and vinification in the most natural way possible. And in the most traditional way for the region and the grape. Benjamin does the first fermentation and maceration on the skins for 2 weeks to 1 month in Slavonian oak vats, instead of plastic vats or steel. The wine is then separated from the skins and left in tonno (double sized oak barrels) or larger botti for up to 2 years. All of these processes are done without the use of temperature control and with only wild yeasts. It helps that their brand new cellar built deep into the ground naturally remains at 11 degrees celsius. The wine is left unfiltered and then bottled, where it rests for another 6 months to a year. In Friuli, you often find winemakers vinifying their white wines like red wines and that is why I love this region so much. The grapes have a ton of character already and they are extracting as much of that as possible. My glass of Zidarich vitovska contained all of the elements of the earth and surrounding land I could see out the window of the tasting room; the saltiness of the sea and the minerality of the land.
Vitovska! It’s the new “cheers!” You heard it here first…
