Summer travelling in Italy

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For the last two weeks we have been traveling through Sardinia and central Italy. Our trip began with an overnight stop at the Relais San Damiàn, in the countryside behind Imperia, a very beautiful small agriturismo (farm hotel) with ample spacious rooms and a small pool nestled in an olive grove. The stop was needed because we had planned a dinner in Imperia, with friends from the alt.food.wine newsgroup: Nils from Sweden, Dale from New York, Luk and Fil from Liguria, and consorts.

Agrodolce

Imperia is one of those places that one would normally skip as a tourist, yet it is interesting and in many ways charming. Imperia was an invention of a certain past leader of Italy, the one with the large chin that made the trains run on time but set Italy on the wrong path; the city is actually the artificial fusion of the very large fishing ports of Oneglia and San Maurizio. Agrodolce is situated in Oneglia right on the quays, in a curious mélange of residential palaces and industry, so it is normal, while sitting at a table under the arcades, to get the occasional whiff of olive oil, fish and pasta from the nearby plants. The chef of Agrodolce is Andrea Sarri, and with his wife Alessandra he runs what I consider to be one of the best fish restaurants. Photos of some of the dishes are interspersed throughout this article.

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L’Europe lance la reforme du vin avec une proposition de nouveau Règlement du Conseil

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La semaine dernièe l’Union Européenne a publié le texte complet « Proposition de RÈGLEMENT DU CONSEIL portant organisation commune du marché vitivinicole et modifiant certains règlements », cela avait été anoncé quelques jours plus tôt sur le site web de Agriculture et Developpement Rural de la Commission Européenne.

Cette nouvelle Organisation Commune du Marché (OCM) du vin entrainera l’abrogation de l’OCM courante, telle que définie dans le Reglement du Conseil (CE) n° 1493/1999 du 17 Mai 1999.

Les objectifs principaux sont :
– renforcer la compétitivité ;
– asseoir la réputation dont jouissent les vins de qualité de l’UE ;
– reconquérir les anciens marchés et en gagner de nouveaux ;
– établir des règles claires et simples ;
– préserver les meilleures traditions de la production vitivinicole européenne ;
– renforcer le tissu social dans de nombreuses zones rurales ;
– garantir que l’ensemble de la production respecte l’environnement.

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Europe launches wine reform by proposing a new Council Regulation

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Last week week the European Union released the full text of the “Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION on the common organisation of the market in wine and amending certain Regulations”, this had been announced a few days earlier on the website of the European Commission’s Agriculture and Rural Development section.

This new Common Market Organisation (CMO) for wine will lead to the repeal of current CMO as stated in Council Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 of 17 May 1999

The main stated objectives are:
– increase competitiveness;
– strengthen the reputation of EU quality wines;
– recover old markets and win new ones;
– set clear, simple rules;
– preserve the best traditions of EU wine production,
– reinforce the social fabric of many rural areas,
– ensure that all production respects the environment.

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Il vino dei Blogger – Capitolo 8: Blanc de Morgex e de La Salle 2006 – Cave du Vin Blanc de Morgex e de La Salle

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Vini_estremi.jpg
Bellissima a mio avviso l’etichetta di questo vino estremo prodotto a 1200 m.s.l.m. dal vitigno Prié Blanc allevato su sabbie moreniche.
Così recita il sito del produttore:
“La filosofia produttiva del Blanc de Morgex et de La Salle Vini Estremi, si basa sul rispetto totale delle caratteristiche e della tipicità che l’uva del Prié Blanc può apportare ad un vino prodotto ancora attualmente in condizioni prefilosseriche.
Le tecniche di produzione vogliono riproporre le condizioni di vinificazione ottocentesche.
Per questo motivo la fermentazione alcolica viene svolta a temperatura ambiente (di cantina) ed i lieviti impiegati sono stati selezionati negli anni ’80 dall’Istituto sperimentale dell’Enologia di Asti sul vitigno Prié Blanc a Morgex.
Il vino prodotto viene sottoposto a semplici travasi senza subire stabilizzazioni tartariche e chiarifiche
Questa strada è stata intrapresa al fine di riproporre al consumatore il Blanc de Morgex et de La Salle che conobbero, degustandolo negli anni ’50, giornalisti come luigi Veronelli e Mario Soldati.
La conservazione ed il trasporto del prodotto a temperature superiori a 30°C può causare precipitazioni o leggeri intorbidimenti.
Al fine di favorire l’illimpidimento ed il compattamento dell’eventuale precipitazione si consiglia di conservare le bottiglie verticali in un ambiente freddo. Tale eventuale deposito è testimonianza e garanzia della tecnica di vinificazione applicata. ”

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Early days in Noosa

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by Martin Field

Fauna and flora
I’ve been off the air for a while – not least of all due to months of house selling and buying, household removal and acclimatising to the sub tropics. We’ve moved from a house a few kilometres from Melbourne’s city centre to sixty acres of eucalyptus bush in the hinterland of Noosa, Queensland. Our temporary accommodation comes complete with lace monitors (big lizards), scrub turkeys, carpet snakes, feathertail gliders and paralysis ticks. Oh, and a lot more sunshine than we’re used to.

Not just Hastings Street
Getting acclimatised means getting around and checking out the local scene. One thing you learn quickly after visiting the local eateries is that Noosa is not just glitzy Hastings Street.

For example, the restaurant strip in and off Gympie Terrace, Noosaville, is first class. For starters, check out the Italian style cuisine at Pilu Ristorante E Bar, at 2/257 Gympie Terrace. We dined there a few weeks back and I went there again for a Noosa Long Weekend tasting of Barambah Wines.

Barambah is made in Queensland’s South Burnett region by winemeister Peter Scudamore-Smith. His Barambah First Grid Verdelho 2007 is a stunner. Water pale, with a fragrant kiwifruit and fresh cut cucumber nose, it displays a lively palate of fruit salad cut with citric tang. Could be the region’s answer to NZ Sauvignon blanc. About $19 – order via the website (www.barambah.com.au)or email manda@barambah.com.au.

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Travelling Blues

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by Martin Field

Someone once alleged that the journey rather than the arrival was ninety percent of the fun of travelling – he or she must have always travelled first class. Moving the household from Melbourne to Noosa entailed driving twice up the Newell and Bruce highways – some 1900 kilometres each time. We stayed at various inns, hostelries and motels and it was like a trip into the past. Quality control and modern amenities appear to be very low on the accommodation industry priority list. Here are a few items that annoyed me 20 years ago, and still do.

Slimy shower curtains that cling to legs like glad wrap
Mini fridges where the freezer is fully occupied by impenetrable permafrost
Bathroom vanity basins that hover adjacent to or just above the toilet bowl – be careful with your toothbrush, specs and dentures
Threadbare bath towels the size of large handkerchiefs
Sachets of instant tea dust and instant coffee that taste of mud – or nothing
Nano-serves of milk, butter, jam, honey and tomato sauce in plastic squeezy things
Absence of individual bedside reading lamps or, worse, bedside lamps that could light up the MCG
Polyester blankets and sheets
Filthy toilets at service stations and municipal rest stops
Electric hand dryers – your hands are still wet after five minutes of gesticulating wildly under tepid zephyrs
Beds with sheets and blankets tucked in by sadists
Tablets of soap that smell like Bangkok Bordello Number 5, so small they are in constant danger of inadvertently disappearing into various orifices.

I should add however, that the standards of accommodation associated with travelling in Australia are a joy compared with those I have experienced in Europe.

Spitbucket Drinking

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by Martin Field

Scarborough White Label Semillon 2006 – $22 \_/\_/\_/
Hunter Valley, New South Wales. Pale, youthful greenish tints. Unwooded, dry, steely, typically Hunter style of lemon, lime and lemongrass structured over lip-smacking acidity. Great aperitif. Will cellar gracefully to 2017.

d’Arenberg The Noble Riesling 2006 – 375ml bottle $25 \_/\_/\_/
Golden yellow. Aromatic nose of Seville orange marmalade, honey and pears. Luscious palate of orange peel and honey and cleansing tangy acid.

Claymore Déjà vu Rose 2006 – $15 \_/\_/
Grenache and Malbec blend from the Clare Valley, South Australia. Pale, rose petal pink. Fresh fruity nose with a hint of strawberries on the palate and some grapey sweetness. Easy drinking style.

Pfeiffer Gamay 2006 – $16.50 \_/\_/
Light cherry hues. Sweet, almost fruit pastille nose with a hint of Turkish Delight. The palate showing a touch of maraschino cherry with some firmness at the finish.

Kangarilla Road Sangiovese 2005 – up to $17 \_/\_/\_/
Ruby appearance with a slight russet edge. Liquorice, new oak and mulberries on the nose. The palate shows substantial berry fruit and assertive tannins. Would suit pizza nicely.

Terra Felix Shiraz Viognier 2006 – up to $15 \_/\_/
Crimson hues. Restrained blackberry and vanilla oak nose. Medium-weighted dryish style with continuing blackberries on the palate and a hint of dark chocolate.

Lou Miranda Estate Old Vine Shiraz Mourvedre 2005 – up to $30 \_/\_/\_/
Black cherry hues. Generous bouquet of berries, vanilla and a touch of coconut. Palate is softish with flavours of ‘fruits of the forest’ conserve underlaid with hints of mint and eucalypt. Very approachable style.

Penfolds St Henri Shiraz 2003 – $70 to $80 \_/\_/\_/\_/
St Henri is surely the most European of Australia’s classic reds in that it doesn’t depend for its classiness upon lashings of new oak and jamminess. Rather it is a wine of beautiful structure: long lean and sinewy, with elements of plums, aniseed, cigar leaf, bitter chocolate and the subtlest oak sub-strata. Cellar to 2027.

Spitbucket rating system
Five gold spitbuckets \_/\_/\_/\_/\_/ – brilliant
\_/\_/\_/\_/ – classy
\_/\_/\_/ – first-rate
\_/\_/ – good stuff
\_/ – spit it!
An added $ or two denotes excellent value for money.

Flavours of Slovenia

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Vesna and Dušan ČarmanTraveling for work is much more enjoyable if you can fit in some gastronomic discoveries. This week in Slovenia I took my friends Harry and Vondelle to the Gostilna Pri Danilu, in Reteče near Škofja Loka, close to Ljubljana. I had written a few notes on my last visit there about a year ago on this blog. This time my friend Tomaž Sršen was away in Munich where he was attending a concert, so while enjoying my dinner he sent me an SMS from Munich: “Aerosmith rocks!”.

I am not sure if going to a place twice qualifies one as a “regular”, but that is certainly the way I felt when the Čarman family greeted us at the door. The new sommelier, Gregor, took care of us expertly as we navigated through the excellent gastronomic menu, theoretically a 5 course meal, but in fact three extra smaller dishes complete this generous panorama of traditional Slovenian cooking reinterpreted in a contemporary key. Of course, each dish is accompanied by a glass of Slovenian wine.

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