If you can’t be in Venice everyday (and unfortunately who can who isn’t lucky enough to be a Venetian) it doesn’t mean you have to go without a taste of the Veneto. Hardly! Those lucky enough to have wandered in Venice have probably seen locals sipping at wine glasses with a curiously citrusy colored fizzy beverage and wondered what it is; for those who haven’t tried one, well…you simply must! The Aperol spritz or Venetian spritz is just fantastic as you cook your pasta or relax in the shade.
Aperol is a light bitter aperitif; mix in a one to two or three ratio with dry prosecco and garnish with an orange or clementine slice and add a splash of club soda. Ridiculously delicious way to send out summer and enjoy a small taste of Venetian goodness without the plane or train ride.
Being a wine nerd has its perks, now I know some producers name, and I get very excited when I see one of their wines I never had on a restaurant menu. This past Tuesday I was dining at a reputable Italian restaurant in Harvard Square and I was giddy because I saw earlier that they had a COS wine I never had.
I have reviewed several COS wines this past year, including their Nero d’Avola or their Cerasuolo di Vittoria. All excellent wines but I was particularly impressed by their Pithos Bianco. A white wine that was the most original thing I ever tasted, they used maceration and fermentation in clay amphoraes to bring character to the traditional Sicilian grape varieties. When I saw the other white from COS on…
We spent my birthday weekend in the Hamptons at the home of our friends, Ernie and Louise De Salvo. Louise is an excellent cook and Ernie and I have the same taste in wine.
We started with lunch on Saturday with zucchini flowers stuffed with mozzarella and anchovies in a batter and deep-fried. This is one of my favorite foods and I have it whenever I am in Rome. With this we had a wine from a producer I did not know but it was a perfect combination with the flowers because it is a wine with a depth of flavor,hints of citrus fruit and good acidity.
Trebbiano d’Abruzzo “Fonte Canale” 2011 100% Trebbiano d’Abruzzo from old vines from Tiberio. The vineyard is at 300 meters, there are 2,500 vines /hectare and the training system is the tendone (vines form a canopy to protect the grapes from the sun). Harvest…
Sassi Italy Tours 