When it comes to orange wine, “big” is a relative term… but when Tracie P and I tasted Škerk’s salty Malvazija last night with Marisa and Giorgio and Steve, we knew we were onto something big. We hear that Škerk is going to the U.S. later this month and is looking for an importer. There is no doubt in my mind that his labels will soon join the ranks of those produced by Radikon, Gravner, Zidarich, Vodopivec, Damijan et alia. Utterly fantastic wine…
We ate at Nane della Giulia in the historical center of Padua, a restaurant where I used to have a weekly gig (no kidding!) back in my student days. Tracie P had the radicchio in saor (above).
I had the grilled horse meat salami with white polenta and cabbage. Nane della Giulia isn’t exactly a restaurant “to write home about” but it was great to revisit this historic tavern. In another era, it was at the center of Padua’s rich goliardic tradition. And wow, so many great memories of my early years as a student in Italy.
The food was good and the restaurant packed on a Saturday night. Worth it if only for the nighttime stroll through the beautiful medieval porticoes that lead to this magical neighborhood, like a scene from The Name of the Rose…
Headed today to Valdobbiadene to taste some Prosecco Colfondo: unyeasted, less-aged Glera… merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream!
Do Bianchi 
Lucky you! Škerk’s Malvazija and Vitovska are both fantastic and are among my favourite Carso wines.
Great wine indeed.Carso’s red dirt is a treasure.
Taste also Marko Fon’s wine if you’re lucky to find it!
Fantastic and evocative post…Radicchio in Saor? Wow…:-)
ciao jeremy, grazie mille per la fantastica giornata di ieri! mi scuso se sono sembrata assente, ma ero molto stanca perchè per 2 notti non avevo dormito. spero ci rivedremo ad aprile. ps: vedo che ti piacciono molti cibi nostrani: forse dovresti conoscere la cucina di mia mamma, credo che tu e tracei vi innamorereste all’istante :) buon giro. un abbraccio. caro
FYI: Sandi Škerk’s wines are currently being imported into Oregon by AHA Wines and are available at Nostrana restaurant in Portland.
@Andrzej I’ll look forward to tasting it with you someday!
@Hazel I’ll look for Fon. Thanks for stopping by Do Bianchi.
@Adrian It was delicious. We’re at the tail end of radicchio trevigiano season here…
@Marisa thanks for the clarification! :-)
Loved the wine… and we’ll look for it when we get back Stateside.
@Carolina ma scherzi? :) È stato un piacere imenso per noi poter degustare insieme a te e alla banda di colfondisti!
Ha, I tasted the Malvasia and the Ograde today. The Ograde rocks. Rocks! (At Gambero Rosso tasting in SF.)
For anyone who’s curious, Skerk wines are available in CA through us, Oliver McCrum Wines.
(KingKrak) The 2010 Skerk Ograde rocks – down to my last bottle out of 12.