by whit 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 whit on December 4, 2009
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.
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