Italy

High-altitude Cannonau wines exude lush fruit

High-altitude Cannonau wines exude lush fruit

Posted on by David
Nearly three-quarters of Sardinia's Cannonau vineyards grace the steep slopes of Nuoro province. These half-wild uplands are a world apart from the sybaritic beach towns along the coast. They're also vastly different from Sardinia's lowland vineyards famed for the white Vermentino Remnants of the Nuragic culture from the Bronze Age persist in the hills, including two dialects of the ancient Sardinian language, which edges out Italian as a first language in some villages. The archaic Sardinians (1800bc-ad200) were adept architects, erecting more than 1,000 tall stone towers. Judging from the archaeological evidence, they also made wine. Rome never conquered Sardinia beyond the coast. Cicero called the mountainous interior “Barbaria.” In Sardinian, it's Barbagia. With vineyards as high as 700 meters, Barbagia is home to the...Read More
Cannonau takes its place in world of Grenache

Cannonau takes its place in world of Grenache

Posted on by David
On February 10, Sardinia struts its stuff as it hosts the fifth annual Grenaches du Monde competition in the town of Alghero. It's the first time that Cannonau di Sardegna (the Sardinian version of Grenache) has really taken center stage in the international competitions. The most widely planted wine grape in the world, Grenache is grown extensively in Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Mexico, Chile, South Africa, California, and Australia. In the 2016 competition, Spanish wineries dominated the gold medals, French and Sardinian winemakers the silver, and all three countries won bronze. No other nation even placed. Someday DNA research will unravel the tangled, contentious history of the grape. Grenache was long thought to hail from the southern Rhone, where it's the backbone of Châteauneuf-du-Pape....Read More

Little Italy simmers with many new tastes

Posted on by Pat and David
There are certainly fancier coffee shops than Café Diplomatico (594 College St., 416-534-4637, cafediplomatico.ca), but few that so consistently screen European soccer matches on the TVs. Since 1968, it's been one of the principal landmarks of Toronto's Little Italy. Ironically, that's just about the time that the neighborhood was beginning to lose its accent. We met Kevin Dupree, owner of the Culinary Adventure Co. (647-955-8357, www.culinaryadventureco.com), in front of “The Dip” for a walk around the neighborhood along College Street between Euclid Avenue and Shaw Street. Dupree's company offers a full menu of neighborhood sampling tours and a number of other gastronomic activities—including a summertime canoe trip to the Toronto islands with a master chef who prepares a picnic. But this particular evening, we concentrated...Read More

Valori wines show strong organic backbone

Posted on by David
“When you grow completely organically,” says Luigi Valori of Azienda Valori in Abruzzo, “an interesting thing happens to the grapes. The skins become very thick.” That's more than an obscure botanical fact. It completely changes the potential of the Montepulciano d'Abruzzo grape. Color, tannin, and polyphenols all dwell in the skins of red wine grapes. More of those things make up for the shortcomings of mass-produced wine. Like many Italian wines, the reputation of Montepulciano d'Abruzzo suffers from a tradition of overproduction. Wines can still meet DOC standards while being grown at weights up to 10 kilograms per vine. Since the grape has naturally sweet and soft tannins, overproduction creates wines that are soft, flabby and don't age well. But properly grown with a limited...Read More

Christo’s Floating Piers rise like Franciacorta bubbles

Posted on by Pat and David
For 16 days in late June and early July, the artist Christo let art-lovers walk on water. His “Floating Piers” project was his first outdoor installation since 2005 when he and his late wife and collaborator, Jeanne-Claude, installed 7,500 panels to make gates in New York's Central Park. Like the gates, the piers gleamed with celebratory saffron-colored fabric. Some 220,000 high-density polyethylene cubes supported the 53-foot wide walkway. Nearly two years in the making, the environmental artwork connected two small islands in Lake Iseo with each other and the mainland. And now it's all gone — but not before an estimated 1 million visitors experienced it. The poignancy of Christo's works lies in the tension between the heroic scale of their vision and their ephemeral...Read More

Endrizzi ecological stewardship inspires great wine

Posted on by David
Vineyards can be some of the most beautiful places on the planet, but few have charms to rival the original family vineyards of Endrizzi. Located in San Michele all'Adige (locale Masetto; tel. +39 0461 650 129: www/endrizzi.it), the winery launched in 1885. Masetto is also the name of the name of the family homestead. In those days, the area was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Endrizzi operated wine shops in Vienna, Prague, Belgrade, and Switzerland. After World War I, Trentino reverted to Italian control. The wine, however, has always been bilingual. Trilingual, if you count the origin of some of the grapes. Founders Francesco and Angelo Endrici (the Italian spelling of the family name) pioneered Trentino plantings of cabernet sauvignon and merlot. Those French grapes...Read More

Mezzacorona proves big wineries can make fine wines

Posted on by David
Not all Trentino wine producers are modest family affairs. Established in 1904, the Mezzacorona cooperative (www.mezzacorona.it/en-us) comprises 1,600 members. Their vineyards stretch across 3,000 hectares (about 11.6 square miles). They grow a third of the grapes in Trento province—about 30,000 tons per year. And they make surprisingly good wine. Three-quarters of the grapes grown by Mezzacorona members are white. The most important are pinot grigio and chardonnay. Mezzacorona pinot grigio is certainly well-known in the U.S. and Germany, where it is a nationwide top seller in both countries. Wine Enthusiast magazine gave the 2014 a score of 87 and rated it a “best buy.” Annual production reaches about 50 million bottles. In the U.S., it sells for as little as $8 at a discount wine...Read More

Scrigno del Duomo serves food fit for a treasury

Posted on by David
From the outside, it would be easy to think that the restaurant called Scrigno del Duomo is at least as venerable as Le Due Spade (previous post). The building dates from the 14th century and has some faded frescoes to prove it. It was built as the treasury for the cathedral across the plaza. The restaurant, however, is much more recent. It opened in 1999 and quickly became one of Trento's favorite establishments. The strategic location on the main plaza helps, no doubt, but the kitchen stands on its own merits. Many diners at Scrigno del Duomo opt to eat at the wine bar. The bar menu focuses on the local sausages and cheeses, as well as some small pasta dishes. The local wine list...Read More

Le Due Spade in Trento serves creative seasonal fare

Posted on by David
Batted back and forth between Italy and Austria over the centuries, Trento developed a cuisine informed by both traditions. Osteria a "Le Due Spade" (or “the two swords”) claims to have served pilgrims since the 14th century. An attendee at the Council of Trent wrote in his diary on December 11, 1545, that he ate at the sign of the two swords and found the landlord “merry company.” So the restaurant simply claims “dal 1545” on its sign. The restaurant's creative local cuisine flashes forward nearly five centuries. Chef Federico Parolari and his staff make everything on the premises, including pasta and bread. They also use highly seasonal ingredients. I ate at Le Due Spade on the third week of May when I attended the...Read More

Warm wind makes fine Letrari wines in Vallagarina

Posted on by David
Every afternoon at 3 p.m., warm air sweeps north from Lake Garda into the Vallagarina, the low hills around Trentino's southern portion of the Adige River. Vineyard owners call it “L'Ora,” or “the hour,” and swear that you could set a clock by it. All through the summer, this steady breeze provides warmth and aeration to the grapes. It drives up the sugar concentration and sweeps away potential fungal infections. The warm, dry wind makes the Vallagarina one of the best places in Italy to grow heat-loving grape varieties. The big reds from Bordeaux flourish here. So do the classic grapes of sparkling wine: chardonnay and pinot noir. The Letrari family has been making wine in Italy's Trentino region for the last few centuries. The...Read More