Category Archives: Liguria

July 1, 2012 · 3:46 pm

A New Leaf: A New Nation, Hopefully A New European Champion

I saw this double rainbow over Manhattan from a platform in the middle of the Hudson just over a month ago. I now belong to the Manhattan Sailing School and one of the privileges of this “club” is that you can go to a barge in the middle of the river and watch races, drink wine, and apparently see double rainbows over the city. I haven’t seen a double rainbow in 20 years actually. The first one I saw was over the Adriatic at Lido delle Nazioni, a beach town near Ferrara where I used to spend a lot of time with my then boyfriend and his family. The water wasn’t great but it was a lot of fun and the Romagnoli (people from Emilia Romagna – the Romagna part) are a joyful bunch. The wines at the time weren’t fabulous either but his father was actually a wine expert of sorts and turned me on to some fabulous wines from around the country. I often credit Sergio with helping me to discover Italian wines and many other things about Italy.

I think about those days a bit now because of the earthquakes in that region and because it is summer. I spent many a summer biking around and looking at the beautiful vistas of poplar trees.

The area is very flat and is a great place to bike. The lovely town of Comacchio is nearby as well. Famous for their anguilla (eel) which I don’t care for except in Sushi, it is known as a ‘Piccola Venezia.” This  is a wonderful place for a family vacation.

Today I am sure the place will be alive with cheers around the European Championship, UEFA. I know I will be watching and routing for Italy. I love soccer championships and last week’s win over Germany was sweet indeed.

The agreement made on Friday that may stem the European financial crisis actually capped a great week in terms of big events. Once upon a time I was a financial journalist in Italy after I finished my Master’s program in economics and political science and the news cheered me. I am against the austerity programs that have been pushed through so completely by Germany while 100% cognizant of the fact that the reigning in of public debt is a necessity as is pension reform and everything else. Just as an aside, Italy’s debt to GDP was 116% when I was a journalist as well. I covered the bond market and followed ECB President Draghi around when he was the head of the Treasury so all of this looks very familiar.

That said, growth is necessary as well to pull us out of the recession and I am thrilled that this view is at least being considered in the European capitals led by Mario Monti, Italy’s Prime Minister together with Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and Francois Hollande of France.

The biggest news of the week though is the decision by the US Supreme Court to uphold the Affordable Care Act. I was shocked and thrilled to see that Chief Justice Roberts was the deciding vote. I had been braced for the law to be overturned but miracles do happen.

Healthcare is a huge issue in everyone’s lives, mine included as a small business owner, and this decision did make me feel more secure. One of the reasons it took me so long (15 years) to leave Italy, apart from the obvious reasons, was healthcare. Certainly the wait can be long in Italy for certain services but you don’t risk financial ruin if you get sick.

I read two blog posts that I liked about the decision, one by Adam Winkler, a law professor at UCLA and a former classmate of mine when I went to NYU law school. I know, it’s complicated but I like school apparently.

Another was a blog post I really liked by Jeremy Parzen of Dobianchi, a wine colleague from more recent years about watching the decision with his family.

While the future is not going to be smooth sailing or as picture perfect as my weekend in Liguria sailing around Porto Venere two weeks ago, I do feel that a new era has started. Maybe it’s wishful thinking but it is my hope that a kinder, gentler America where you don’t have to go broke if you get sick may not be so far off.

I’ll drink to that any day of the week, starting with one of my favorite Ligurian wines, Colli di Luni from Cantina Lunae di Paolo Bosoni.

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June 10, 2012 · 6:17 am

Back In The Eternal City – Roma

I’m back in the eternal city and too excited and overwhelmed to sleep. I’ve in fact been up reading since 400am but no matter life is to be enjoyed “anche durante le ore piccole” or the wee hours of the night.

I’ve been in town just two days staying with riends from Italy and hanging out with  friends from the States who were in a Master’s program with me in Bologna. In fact, Zach, Julia and their great kids Sam and Jules but not little Elena and I spent part of our afternoon in Piazza Navona.

We also went to look at the Caravaggio’s in a nearby church, San Luigi dei Francesi. Somewhat overcome with all the emotions of the beauty of Rome, we settled down to have fabulous gelato near the Pantheon. My favorites are always the same, coco e caffe but the chose was difficult.

San Luigi dei Francesi was one of the stops on my dear friend Teresa’s family tour of Rome. Her father, Brunello, loved Caravaggio and it was with Teresa that I first went to that church. I got to spend an amazing day with her family on Friday in Zagarolo.

I was Teresa’s testimonio di nozze in 2008 and I’m glad to be here for her fourth anniversary, more or less. I’m sorry that I will be missing the annual festival of the Tordo Matto. I tried this local delicacy for the first time at Teresa and Filippo’s wedding and while I am against eating la carne equina (I can’t even write it),I must say that this dish was particularly memorable and part of me is sorry to not have the opportunity next weekend but I’ll be in the North.

Teresa and Filippo have introduced me to some of the most incredible restaurants and chefs that I have ever met. Top among them were Sor Anna, Antonello Colonna and the famed sommelier turned restaurateur Pipero. Who you might ask are these people?

A trio of noted Roman food & wine notables. Anna Dente is the owner and maestra of the Osteria San Cesario.

Sor Anna is the “quintessenza della Romanita’.” I know not everyone reads Italian but I just found this amazing entry about Sor Anna on the blog Le Forchettine by the multitalented author of Aglioolioepeperoncino.com. This is such a perfect description of Sor Anna and a beautifully written blog post, worth reading with a dictionary to catch some of the underlying things that make Rome great.

Sor Anna is particularly enamored of Filippo and I have always had royal treatment when I have been at the restaurant. Sadly much of the menu are things that I don’t have nell’anima. Someone who I have always thought was her son but am now less sure asked me if I didn’t like eating the “menu macabro” or a menu of internal meats much to my dad’s chagrin.

I have never forgotten that statement nor have I ventured towards any of the items on that list but if you are in Rome and like those dishes, Sor Anna is a must.

Antonello Colonna I met at his restaurant in a town called Labico outside of Rome. It was the first “ristorante di alta cucina italiana” that I had been to in my many years in Italy. Filippo was the assistant sommelier when interviewed Colonna in 2005 and was fascinated with his conceptual ideas of the kitchen, food and the like. I remember him telling me about his plans to open a resort and I see from his site that his dream has been realized. I will have to check it out. He also runs a famed restaurant in Rome at  Palazzo degli Esposizioni.

Alessandro Pipero, un altro personaggio storico and good friend of Teresa and Filippo’s is perhaps the perfect incarnation of a restaurateur. He also catered their wedding so I have been able to see his work on in the intimate setting of his restaurant as well as at a wedding for 100+ people. This blog post about his new restaurant Pipero al Rex, also in Italian is just dreamy and makes me want to eat immediately, even through it’s only 730am. Not only would I trust all of his food recommendations but wines as well without blinking. Truly a memorable experience, you must meet Pipero at least once in your life and eat in his restaurant drinking wines that he has chosen for you. He also happens to be very funny so it really is a truly memorable evening.

As if all of this wasn’t enough, I’m staying with my lovely friends who are Rome transplants from Emilia and Milan, Cristina and Giuliano and their three delicious children Emma, Camilla and Giacomo who wasn’t born at the time of the photo in 2009.

Cristina is among the loveliest and brightest people  I know as well as one of the best cooks I have the pleasure to count among my friends. It’s always a joy to be in her house with her family and her food. Cristina comes from Emilia, Borgo Taro, specifically which is home to the mushroom. In fact some of the best meals I have had in Italy with mushrooms have been at their houses.

We’ve been friends since 1998 and I went to my first Cantine Aperte  with them to Alba. I had my first Barolo from Oddero and my first Brasato al Barolo with Cri and Giuli, other moments that remain in my heart. Here in the Boggiali house in Rome in the incredible neighborhood of San Saba, I have rediscovered the joy of being with old friends once again and spending time with 2, 8 and 10 year olds and their passions. For years I have visited Cristina and Giuliano in Rome, in Milan, in Levanto, and in Gressoney. Always welcoming and generous, I also was first introduced to wines from the Valle d’Aosta, Donnas Blanc de Morgex et de la Salle ,   with them and the particular varieties from their area of Liguria, Levanto, wines I love from Colli di Luni.

All of these wine and food discoveries have been part of the conversation and experience but never the main event, perhaps that is why I never realized just how many things they have introduced me to during the course of our long friendship. In just two days in Rome, I feel completely back to myself, my Italian life and of course more enamored than ever of this eternal city. Happy that I am just at the beginning of my trip, I may have to leave Rome soon otherwise my friends will have a guest “a vita.”

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March 16, 2012 · 9:26 pm

Italian Wine Regions: Liguria

When one thinks of Liguria wine isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. Surely it is the picturesque towns known throughout the world, Le Cinque Terre or the beach towns along the coast.

Or maybe even the delicious focaccia that comes from that area of the country or the great olive oil, fishing and sailing opportunities.

When I think of Liguria, I do think of sailing its’ crystalline seas but I also think of slowly sipping Vermentino while sitting in a lovely piazza or on the dock or on the boat coming or going from a day of sailing.

Vermentino is grown in a number of the provinces in Liguria including Imperia, Savona, Genova and La Spezia.

Vermentino in Liguria is a light, refreshing wine that works perfectly with any summer dish. I wrote this post about a producer that I really like some time ago but there are many great producers of Vermentino. Other producers that I like very much are Punta Crena and Durin. They both grow lots of funky indigenous varietals such as Lumassina and Mataossu which as you know, if you read my blog, excite me.

As I write this post I am getting incredibly nostalgic for the summers I spent in Liguria, renting a weekend house with friends in a lovely little town called Finalborgo.

As well as for all the weekends I went sailing in this beautiful place…

Vermentino isn’t the only famous white from Liguria, Pigato is a close second if not even more popular locally. Pigato is a slightly richer white wine but is also often used often as an aperitif. It is grown in all four provinces that I previously mentioned. Last year at Vinitaly, I had the opportunity to try a number of them including one from Vini Lupi, ,and Bruna.

There are also a number of local reds including Rossesse di Dolceacqua. I used to have this wine every time I ate at my favorite local Ligurian restaurant in Milan, Osteria del Pre’, a reference to an infamous street in Genova.

Rossesse is an easy to drink, friendly red wine that goes well with local cuisine. I tried one I liked very much last year from Terre Bianche. There is also another red variety that is grown in the province of Imperia called Ormeasco di Pornassio.

Last but not least is the famous dessert wine from the province of La Spezia called Sciacchetra’. I think people really like to have this name roll off their tongues, I know I do.

This is a straw wine or one made from dried local white grapes. It is great with desserts on the drier side and has a distinct honeyed aroma and flavor.

After all this, I’m craving a trip to Liguria. Hopefully I can go there when I am in Italy next week or on my next trip.

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September 29, 2011 · 10:30 pm

Italian Indigenous Varieties: Bracciola Nera

This week’s indigenous variety is called Bracciola Nera. It grows mainly in Tuscany in the area known as Massa- Carrara as well as in Liguria in le Cinque Terre. It is rarely if ever vinified alone but is usually in a larger blend. It enters into the Colli di Luni DOC as a minor component.

This area of Tuscany is very beautiful and is more famous for its marble quarries than for its red wines. Vermentino from both Liguria and this area of Tuscany is quite well known but the red wines have lagged behind.

I visited Carrara many years ago and climbed the hills of the marble quarries. It felt like scaling mountains. I loved the area and it has always been famous for its artists. Pietrasanta, a town nearby, is a favorite haunt of all sculptors Carrara is where Michelangelo got the marble for his David. My Mother is a sculptor so I naturally made this pilgrimage.

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August 12, 2011 · 12:04 am

Italian Indigenous Varieties: Bosco Bianco from Liguria

Summer is certainly time to be in Liguria, a magical place in Italy with beautiful water and cliffs that come right down to the sea, not to mention great focaccia.

Another great thing about these small towns along the coast with their colored buildings are the great white wines that you drink while sitting outside a bar looking at the sailboats come in and dock.

When I lived in Milan, I used to go sailing in Liguria pretty regularly, a wonderful perk of living in that northern city that so many people criticize, including many who live there.

Another fun thing about Liguria is a wine called Sciacchetra’, quite difficult to pronounce but fun to drink.

The sweet version, or bianco dolce Cinque Terre DOC is made with this week’s indigenous variety, bosco biano 80% and two other local grapes Albarola 15% and Vermentino 5%. Bosco bianco can also be made into a still wine with other grapes but shows its best face in this version. It is dried on wooden racks called “graticci.” Drinking a glass of Sciacchetra’ is a must on any trip to “le cinque terre.”

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April 8, 2011 · 12:37 pm

Vinitaly Day 2: Sailing From Italy To New York With High Goals

I’m working this year in a different way during Vinitaly so I can’t get to see or do all that I might like to do but I think everyone feels the same way. There are some initiatives I must say that I am sorry to have missed. One such event was a press conference that took place yesterday during the fair about a sailing trip from Genova to New York that Oscar Farinetti, owner of mega food emporium Eataly is taking with Giovanni Soldini, sailing superstar, 13 friends, 4 cooks and 4 sailors from Italy to the US.

The trip is described on this website, www.7mosse.it. 7 mosse means seven moves to reach an objective. Farinetti and Soldini have written their ideas in seven areas of life and want other Italians to write in their suggestions from politics to family to religion and other areas of life.

I think this is a fascinating initiative and will be closely watching the trip. One of my dreams is actually to sail from Italy to New York. I took up sailing in Italy and still only know the words for sailing in Italian. My first sailing experiences were in Liguria.

Speaking of Liguria, yesterday I was lucky enough to taste some of these wines. I have had much Vermentino and Pigato from Liguria but less Rossese di Dolceacqua. The area where Rossese is produced is near the border with France. The province is the province of Imperia. This area is a DOC and Rossese is one of the few indigenous red varieties that grow in Liguria. The wine was from Terre Bianche, a company founded at the end of the 1800s.

Their Rossese was much more structured and tannic than others that I have tried. It was from 2009 and was also very spicy and reminded me in some ways of a Petit Verdot. It also had a lot of minerality and savory notes. Interestingly the wine maker said that in some ways it reminded him of a white wine. What he meant by that was its linearity on the palate I thought. It went directly through my mouth in a very angular way.

I can’t wait to go back to Liguria both to sail and to try more Rossese, Vermentino and Pigato.

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