Vinitaly!
Mid March - Mid April is a busy time for those involved with Italian wines: there's Vinitaly, the wine trade fair in Verona, an annual event that wineries must attend and wine journalists ought to. Unfortunately, the show's timing is horrid, falling at bottling time, which means that most of the wines being poured are freshly bottled, shocked to death, and very closed -- or they're barrel samples. Barrel samples are unfiltered and therefore not nearly as likely to be shocked (though they do get shaken up in getting to Verona), but their bouquets tend to be badly skewed, showing a strong predominance of oak if it was used, while the fruity/floral aromas that develop in the reducing environment of the bottle are weak or simply not there yet.
Why go? Because it's the only place where one can taste lots of wines from throughout the Peninsula (and beyond; lots of foreign exhibitors too) conveniently. The current vintages may not be perfect, but they do give an idea of what the future will hold, and one can also find older vintages that are fine indeed. For example, this year I tasted a surprisingly fresh, newly released 1991 La Scolca Gavi di Gavi D'Antan that was simply delightful, and a 1994 Pelizzati Perego 1994 Grumello from the Valtellina (Lombardia), one of the finest expressions of the Nebbiolo grape I've enjoyed in a long time. By comparison with Barolo and Barbaresco of similar age, the wines from the Valtellina tend to be more mature, which makes them a better bet if you want to drink them young (Arturo Pelizzati Perego waits until he thinks the wine is ready to release it and patient; many of the current release Valtellina Superiore wines are 1997). Also had a delightful Dolcetto d'Alba Boschetti 1999 by Marchesi di Barolo, which will be well worth seeking out.
The other reason to go is to network and hobnob; the days are long (9-7) but there's always someone to look up or talk to -- and go out to dinner with. The last night I joined Elisabetta Fagiuoli, who makes extremely fine Vernaccia in Tuscany (and has a nice agriturismo overlooking San Gimignano), but was born in Verona, and we went to dinner with old family friends of hers. A spectacular, very simple Veronese meal washed down with excellent wines from the Valpolicella made by one of our hosts, Lorenzo Begali.
WHEN IT WAS ALL OVER I found myself sitting, pad and pen in hand, writing down the recipes:
We began with Adriana's Minestrone di Verdure, which is extraordinarily creamy. She notes that one can make it with pasta, but she prefers croutons.
We then had Costolette d'Agnello Scottadito, grilled lamb chops that get their name (finger-blistering) from the fact that they're so tasty people can't wait for them to cool.
And with Costicine di Maiale, spare ribs that were steamed and then grilled. Very tasty, and much less fat than one often encounters.
These were accompanied by polenta (in inch-high squares, unseasoned -- taking the place of bread), grilled eggplant, grilled zucchini, sautéed wild greens, and a tossed green salad.
We finished with a number of cakes, the most spectacular of which was a Torts di Rose, a cake based on babà dough that someone gave Ivana in exchange for a couple of bottles of Recioto at Vinitaly (this exchange takes place every year). Rita's fagottini stuffed with ground amaretti and strawberry jam were also nice, however, as was Lisetta's hazelnut cake. And the Crema di Limoncello that wound things up was a delightful surprise.
Got more sites / recipes to suggest? Let me know.
Buon appetito,
Kyle Phillips
Send a card from the post office!
The General Recipe Index
Previous Features
Photo by Kyle Phillips.
