Muddy Boots

Two weeks sulla Strada del vino

Liguria > Piemonte > Marche > Veneto > Friuli > Alto Adige

Back in Rome now, glad not to be driving hundreds of kilometers at a clip, parked in a nice boutique hotel where it's cool and there's free WiFi. (The WiFi situation is vastly improved here of late.)

We tasted many producers' wines, and I have to say that, with notably few exceptions, the wines we've been tasting are well above average in quality and (alas) often in price. Producers eagerly point to the stronger dollar as a way of partly excusing themselves from high prices. But exchange rates are volatile these days, and a recent recovery of the euro means that no American importer can let down his guard on pricing.

Over the next several months the new wines will begin to be phased in. After a label re-design and approval, we will have a Pinot Grigio -- yes, we will have a Pinot Grigio -- from a family azienda called La Prebenda. It is located in far northern Veneto, a township over the border from Trentino. Paolo Zanoni, the winemaker, and his sister, Rita (sales and marketing) make a number of wines from local varieties, of which this is the first we are taking.

Clean and bright with acidity, this well-priced wine is made of 100% Pinot Grigio, which in itself is pretty unusual. We'll be taking the 2010 vintage as soon as it's ready.

Among the other highlights of our sourcing trip were a top-notch maker of Verdicchios and Rosso Piceno in Marche, all 100% organic. (No names yet.)  A really tasty, high-quality Prosecco from the Treviso area. And a number of excellent producers in Alto Adige, where the altitudes, acidity levels and prices are all pretty high. The crisp and often amazingly complex whites from that region are justly famous, and they fit our personal flavor profiles exceedingly well. Let's hope we get them to work out for us. 

You can see that we are striving to strike a healthy balance between crowd-pleasing wines and those which are a bit more esoteric. You need both to build a name and build a business. Let me tell you, we have sniffed, tasted and grimaced at more Pinot Grigios, Proseccos and Sangioveses that you can imagine. To have found pleasing, natural-smelling/tasting ones at good prices hasn't been easy. All too many Proseccos, for example, have had a spuma like laundry soap suds and a chemical odor to match. Some have been so vile that Jeff and I have sniffed the glass and tossed the stuff out. After a while you laugh about it, mostly in disbelief: Do those people actually drink their own swill? 

Well, we test the swill so you don't have to. It's our public service to you, the wine retailer and consumer. 

     

 

The mother of reinvention

The most creative people aren't the ones who sit around and dream beautiful dreams. 

The most creative people are the ones who flirt with disaster and, time and again, find a way to skirt disaster and, almost by accident, come up with something new. You could call it mere problem-solving, but if it's that, it's of an inspired kind.

Enter Susy Tezzon.

Susy is one of the owners of a wonderful restaurant at Bardolino on the shores of Lake Garda, Giardino delle Esperidi. The food is top-notch -- the best ingredients and a southern sense of flavor and presentation, a far cry from the rather dreary norm in Veneto. Susy is a sommelier and has an exceptional wine list, which always has little gems of high quality, often from producers who are far off the beaten path -- and her obsession with dramatically selected glassware adds another dimension to the experience.

And herein lies the problem -- the challenge, in fact, that she rose to meet in an effort to stay afloat in a time of economic crisis. 

Like all restaurants, Giardino delle Esperidi depends on wine and liquor sales for a big percentage of their cashflow and profits. With the advent of draconian drunk-driving laws in Italy -- three strikes and you're out, not only of your license but they can impound your car -- and it doesn't take much to flunk a breath test. Two glasses of wine in two hours could do it. 

Needless to say, the laws have hit restaurateurs hard. People are drinking more at home, and they tend to drink cheaper and less interesting wines. 

Susy, being Susy, took an unusual approach to this problem. Susy, being Susy, researched and tested it until it was a success.

Last week, as we sat outside the restaurant on a day it wasn't open for lunch (Wednesday -- just my luck), she told me her solution to the problem. "I love tea. All kinds of tea. I started to experiment with tea and food pairings, and then I introduced them to my customers. We'd talk about the pairings -- this wasn't too good, that was phenomenal, and so on. Now I have this list" -- which she handed to me -- "and it's been a success. The ladies love them, and they get very excited when they taste the good pairings. The men -- not so much -- but sometimes they taste it because their wife urges them, and they say, 'Oh, that's pretty good. Not bad!'"

At 3-5 or 6 euros a cup, served at room temperature, it's been a lifesaver in terms of revenue and profitability. Susy told me she's more optimistic than she was a year ago, given the one-two punch of the severe recession and the enforcement of the drunk-driving laws. "I feel energized now, and I'm very excited about this new direction. Whether it's with wine or fine teas, I want to make the dining experience as rich and satisfying as possible."

Susy, sei mitica.*

*Susy, you're awesome.

Modern packing

Deep thoughts as we prepare for a wine-sourcing trip to Italy

People who don't travel much -- especially travel abroad -- tend to pack too much. They obsess about every outfit, every sock, every shoe. 

When you travel to Italy in winter, pretty much anywhere in the country, here's a tip: pack as little as you can and make sure it's layerable.

Why?

1. Most Italians dress very casually. Hard times mean more utilitarian clothes. Leave the fancy duds home.

2. It's cold. The houses are ill-heated and the churches and other haunts of turisti are frigid. Hotels are usually OK, B&Bs freezing.

3. It's damp. It seeps into your bones. Wear wool socks and rubber-souled shoes. Take two pairs of shoes, tops. (One pair to wear while the other dries out.) 

The layering is key because it starts out cold in the morning and may be very pleasant by noontime, when you may find a sunny spot to eat in a piazza cafe. Strip off some of the layers before you head into the next gelid, dark church.

A couple of tips for keeping your suitcase smaller/lighter: 

1. They have laundromats. Believe it or not, you CAN wash your clothes over there. Halfway through the trip, whether it's for business or pleasure, wash a load. This means half the clothes to pack and lug around. As to dry cleaning -- take clothes that sort of need it anyway. You'll get the most out of them by the time you get back home. Traveling is a dirty business.

2. Don't obsess over toiletries and minor medications like aspirin, allergy pills, etc. Astonishingly, you can buy what you need for the trip over there. Even if you forget your prescribed medication, it's often possible to get a prescription filled very simply at a farmacia. 

3. Put a change of underwear, socks and a shirt in your carry-on. Just in case your bag's delayed.  But despite the risk of wayward luggage, don't be a jerk -- check your damned suitcase.

I can pack clothes in five minutes -- easy. Remembering meds and toiletries is a little harder for some reason.

But by far the biggest preoccupation for the modern packer is the panoply of electronics, chargers and cords.  

BlackBerry. Ever-constant companion

Italian cell phone. Did you charge it before you left? Like the day you left? 

Laptop. And don't leave the power cords in the airport. 

GPS. Charge and program before you leave home. 

iPod. Especially helpful if you're seated within 20 rows of a screaming brat.

Kindle. Most useful on the trip home.

Camera. Take extra batteries.

Nose-hair trimmer. Ditto.

Getting them all charged and paired with their various cords -- plus enough adapters -- is by far the most stressful part of packing. It takes by far the longest time to do. 

Still. Better these generally useful items than a dinner jacket and all its trinketry.