Monthly Archives: October 2011

Italian nuclear family dinner

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My friend Stefano Spigariol and I have known each other for more than 20 years, since I first came to Italy to study Italian philology in Padua where he studied Latin. Like many of my friends from university days, he works in the publishing industry in Milan, as a publicist for a top scholastic publishing house.

He’s one of my best friends in Italy and our confabulatio always ranges from the erudite to the rock ‘n’ roll, from the sacred to the profane.

He, his wife Anna (a lawyer), and daughter Matilde live in a one-bedroom apartment near the center of Milan.

Last night, they had me over for dinner: cheese and charcuterie, bread and taralli, roast chicken legs, Veneto-style braised cabbage, and a caponata, paired with a bottle of 2009 Sordo Dolcetto — an old-school expression of the grape variety that Stefano picked up for less than Euro 10 at his local wine shop.

I can’t think of a better meal for my last night in Italy…

Thanks again, Anna, Matilde, and Stefano… I love you guys!

Milan… I am here

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No indgnados or black bloc in piazza duomo. More police presence than usual. All calm.

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Picking the last grapes in Brescia #ewbc

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And so it’s time to say good-bye to Brescia… The European Wine Bloggers Conference is over and it’s time to begin the journey homeward to Tracie P and the place where I belong…

The tradition of urban vineyards continues here in Brescia and as it turns out, yesterday the bresciani picked the last grapes of the vintage, Invernenga, a local variety, white, in the vineyards that face the Castello di Brescia atop the city.

Laura and Giovanni sent me these photos.

I love my friend Giovanni

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It’s been a long and rewarding trip to Italy but I’m glad it’s coming to end. I’ve been away from home and Tracie P for way too long and I can’t wait to get home.

As much fun as I’ve had here in Brescia for the European Wine Bloggers Conference, the nearly unbearable homesickness and lonesomeness of being on the road have been assuaged by my amazing friend, Giovanni Arcari — winemaker, champion of the small grape grower, activist, blogger, and a force of life that (happily) cannot be stopped.

Few know that it’s thanks in great part to Giovanni that the conference was hosted here in Brescia, his hometown. It was Giovanni who approached vice president of Brescia’s council for city projects, the delightful Laura Castelletti (who also heads the city’s opposition party, a lapsed socialist), and convinced her that this would be a great opportunity for Brescia and the wines of the province.

But I think that Giovanni brought the conference here just so that he and I could spend a few precious evenings together, listening to music, talking about wine, and laughing as hard as men can laugh when men drink good wine together.

The other night Giovanni and I shared a bottle of one of my favorite Franciacorta producers, Gatti, over dinner at a wonderful restaurant called Novecento (filled with 20th-century nostalgia) next to the Teatro Grande in Brescia.

I sure am glad to be heading home the day after tomorrow… but, man, I’m going to miss Giovanni…

“Robert Parker has sold out.”—George Taber #ewbc

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Above, from left: George Taber, Wei Ran Chen, Gregory dal Piaz, and Franco Ziliani.

There’ a lot of grooving stuff happening here in Brescia at the European Wine Bloggers Conference but yesterday’s show stopper was lion-hearted author George Taber’s keynote address where he told the group of 216 wine bloggers: “In my view, the wine writing establishment — Robert Parker and so forth — has sold out.”

He was answering a question posed by Evan Dawson (below, left, with my fellow Texas Katie Myers) who had asked George to address ways that a journalist can distance himself from his subject and maintain her/his objectivity.

“By and large,” George said in his talk on storytelling this morning, “the Robert Parkers and Wine Spectators do nothing else but cheerlead.”

Wow… no regrets, coyote… there it is, right there, for all to see… and the declaration was made by an authority on wine and wine writing whose gravitas would be challenged by few…

Organizers Ryan and Gabriella Opaz and Robert McIntosh (above, from left) have done a super job here in Brescia. There’s seamless, high-speed WiFi throughout the Museum, Church, and Monastery of Santa Giulia where the conference is being held (in Italy! unbelievable!), things are running nearly ontime (also remarkable for Italy), and there’s a great energy and sense of collegiality that makes everyone feel welcomed and happy to be here.

More later… Stay tuned…

The Cross of Desiderius #ewbc

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One of the most incredible, truly moving things I saw today was the Cross of Desiderius, the cross of the last Longobard king Desiderius, 8th century CE, in the Museum of the Monastery of Santa Giulia in Brescia where the European Wine Bloggers Conference is being held.

As you can see in the photo (even with my poor skill as photographer), the piece seems to glow. A truly magical artefact that mesmerized me.

The European Wine Bloggers Conference #ewbc

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What a thrill to be here at the European Wine Bloggers Conference in Brescia! So amazing to meet so many wonderful folks whom I’ve know only virtually…

I snapped the above photo this morning when I took part in a panel in which each member “defended” one of the media that go into wine blogging. My assignment was “the written word.”

Pane per i miei denti!

This year’s theme is “story telling” and tomorrow I’ll be part of a round table on “stories that haven’t been told.”

As I type this I’m sitting next to Wink Lorch (!) and listening to George Taber give the keynote speech. Fantastico!

Stay tuned…

Fantastic lunch at Osteria al Bianchi (Brescia)

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Tagliatelle Pestëm (tagliatelle tossed with tomatoes and crumbled pork sausage) and Casconcelli (stuffed with finely ground beef).

Fegato Burro e Salvia (liver sautéed in butter and sage, served with grilled polenta).

Bagòss (made with saffron, a local speciality, very piquant), Parmigiano Reggiano, Gorgonzola (dolce, unbelievably good), and Taleggio.

Zabaglione (a must).

Osteria al Bianchi.

Highly recommended.

Carema marvelous!

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I don’t have time to write up my notes from a marvelous visit to the village of Carema, Piedmont yesterday but quickly threw together this slideshow. Pergola-trained Nebbiolo carved into the mountain… amazing!

Special thanks to friend and colleague Maurizio Gily who organized and led the trip and to Viviano Gassino, president of the Cantina dei Produttori Nebbiolo di Carema, who gave us a tour of the winery and led a vertical tasting stretching back to 1987.

1968 Fanetti Vin Santo (and a flea in the ass)

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Friends and colleagues have opened some stunning wines for me on this trip to Italy (and I’ll have much to report in coming weeks). But one of the most thrilling so far was this 1968 Vin Santo by Fanetti, one of my favorite producers of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.

In the U.S., we tend to think of Vin Santo as cloying dessert wine, meant for drinking immediately and sopping cantucci, the Tuscan cookies.

But the real Vin Santo is intended for long-term aging that allows its zinging acidity, nuanced balance of overripe stone fruit, and nutty and caramel flavors to emerge.

Despite having been opened for some time (I imagine a few weeks), this wine, shared with me by my brother in rock ‘n’ roll Federico Marconi, was incredibly fresh and bright, and its aromas and flavors had attained a technicolor focus that guided me down a Yellow Brick Road of sensorial depth. Unbelievable…

Later in the day, we visited Vino Nobile producer Godiolo, where I snapped this photo of Grechetto grapes drying for Vin Santo. Note the spot on every berry: the Tuscans call their clone of Grechetto pulce in culo or flea in the ass.

I really dug Godiolo’s wines and will have a full report in coming weeks…