If you are not that into wines you probably should not read this post. But before you leave... Did you check out Caroline's paintings in the post before this one? She is really good. She clearly has a talent for this, and she is having a lot of fun doing it. Brava, Carolina!
If you are into wines, I thought this would be a good time to share with you all some of our good finds here in Italy. See what you can get at your local wine shops, and let us know what you like. The ideas to post this came to me because Caroline forgot to mention Montefalco in the list of destinations in Umbria we saw while Frankie was here. Montefalco, as it turns out, is the home of the Sagrantino di Montefalco DOCG red wine. At dinner there we sampled a bottle of the aforementioned wine and it was marvelous. There was also a certain novelty factor because the wine was served in glasses that looked more like hurricane lanterns. They were HUGE. You could almost fit your whole head in the glass.
Anyway, I thought this might be a good chance to fill you in on some of our good wine finds here in Italy. Bring a bottle to that holiday party and park yourself next to the host so that you can get a taste when they open it. I am learning a lot, and it is pretty complicated. I will spare you the lesson and get to the recs. We are still totally ignorant in terms of the big picture of Italian wines, but these are the types of wine we have had so far that we look for when we go to the market.
DOCG Reds (Denominazione di Origine Controlata e Garantita, which means pricier, usually anywhere from 8 to 60 euro or more depending on the vintage and the producer. We don't buy these on a regular basis, but they are certainly some of the best we have tasted here)
1) Sagrantino di Montefalco- lighter than a cabernet, brunello, or a chianti, but complex and tasty
2) Vino Nobile di Montepulciano- sort of like a pinot noir but a bit more complex and a little heavier
3) Chianti Classico- it's everywhere and for good reason in my opinion.
4) Brunello di Montalcino- one of the more famous reds from Italy. We tasted a bunch of these with Lisa and Jer while we were in Montalcino (in a wine bar that is inside the medieval fortress), and they were all pretty good. One or two were exceptional. Personally, this is my least favorite of the DOCG's we have tried (which is sort of like saying its the least talented of the Rockettes), but I suspect that if you shell out the big bucks ($50 plus) you won't be disappointed. I also suspect that this wine will age very well if you have a cellar going.
DOC Reds (Denominzione di Origine Controlata. These range in price from 4 euro to 30 or more. You can most likely pick these up for less than $20 in the US)
1) Rosso di Montefalco- the poorer cousin of the Sagrantino. a bit less complex, but very tasty.
2) Rosso di Montepulciano- poorer cousin of the Vino Nobile. tasty.
3) Barbera d'Asti- we found a bottle of this for less than 10 euro that rivals the best wines we have had here. Others are pretty ordinary, but still good and a good value.
4) Barbera d'Alba- I had an awesome one at Trimani (a reputable wine bar) in Rome.
5) Teroldego Rotaliano- we have only had one bottle of this, but it was very good.
IGT Reds (Indicazione Geografica Tipica. Usually cheaper than the other two, i.e. DOCG and DOC, but not always.)
1) Toscana -a solid Tuscan red wine. Cheaper than the "big" ones. Huge differences from producer to producer and from town to town. If you find a good one, it can be a great value.
2) Umbria (usually a Merlot from what I can tell). These have all been very tasty so far. The "Falesco" label is one that we have liked (and the only one I can remember).
DOC Whites
1) Orvieto Classico- a nice balance of light and sweet. definitely something to try if you are getting sick of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
White Varietals (these ones aren't classified in the Italian system, but they are readily available here. I have definitely seen them in the states too.)
Arneis- this is a very interesting white that tastes sort of like a Viognier as far as I can recall. If you are sick of the same old white wine flavors, give this one a try.
Falanghina- a dry wine that is great when it is hot out. Sort of like a pinot grigio, but I like this a lot more than Pinot Grigio.
That's it. Let me know if you find a good bottle. Ciao tutti!
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Lazy weekend
I'll take advantage of this lazy weekend to make another blog entry. My mom was in town recently for a nice 12 day visit. It was perfect timing for us because Sam was busy with the end of his semester and I was busy finishing paintings for my class. She got plenty of quality time with Eli and I think they both loved every minute of it. We did manage to get in some nice day trips and a weekend in Umbria while she was here. The trip's itinerary included Orvieto, Civita de Bagnoregio, Tuscania, Rome, Assisi, and Spoleto. We have only a meager assortment of photos from the trip because it was so cold and rainy for most of the time.
Civita: My mom is the speck in the white jacket on the bridge.
Orvieto: The Duomo and Eli running around on the grass next to it.
Spoletto: The weather was too bad to take any outdoor photos that day, but here's one of a roman home that was excavated from under Spoleto's regional gov. offices. We didn't get any pictures from Assisi because of the damp and foggy weather, but the town was absolutely amazing. I think the church of St Francis is my favorite so far - a definite "must see" if you come to Italy. The fresco cycle within was beautiful and the church has a warm glow that's lacking in most Italian cathedrals.
This was the view from our room at the agriturismo in downtown Gaglioli. Gaglioli is a tiny speck of a town between Assisi and Spoleto.
Here are a couple of the paintings that I did for my class this semester.
The aim of the class was realism.
Orvieto: The Duomo and Eli running around on the grass next to it.
Spoletto: The weather was too bad to take any outdoor photos that day, but here's one of a roman home that was excavated from under Spoleto's regional gov. offices. We didn't get any pictures from Assisi because of the damp and foggy weather, but the town was absolutely amazing. I think the church of St Francis is my favorite so far - a definite "must see" if you come to Italy. The fresco cycle within was beautiful and the church has a warm glow that's lacking in most Italian cathedrals.
This was the view from our room at the agriturismo in downtown Gaglioli. Gaglioli is a tiny speck of a town between Assisi and Spoleto.
Here are a couple of the paintings that I did for my class this semester.
The aim of the class was realism.
Today's ride
Ciao ragazzi. Just a short update about my bike ride today.
I was supposed to meet Pat, the director of school, at the piazzetta where the cycling group gathers at 8:30 this morning. Pat and I were going to say hi to the group and go for a nice leisurely ride of 40 to 50 km. I got there to find that Pat had bailed.
It was wicked cold this morning. One of the Italian men in the group (there were only 6 of us today) said that it was around -2 degrees Celsius as we started up the first hill towards Bagnaia. We headed off on what they had said was a ride to Bassano in Teverina and back, about 50 km. For these guys this sort of ride is more like a stretch. It is certainly manageable for me too, but I always worry that the Italians are going to outpace me. Little did I know that at some point on the ride the decision was made to extend the ride to Orte. This added about 25 km and a long, steady climb at the furthest point. By the time I figured this out we were almost in Orte, and there was no going back. The climb went reasonably well, but it took a lot out of me. By the end of the ride the Italians had to slow their pace on the last two hills to let me catch up. It was very humbling, especially since the closest in age to me in the group was about 50 years old.
My feet had gone numb in the first ten minutes on the bike, and I quickly realized that those goofy neoprene cycling booties are actually really important when you ride in freezing weather. At various points I felt like I was getting some feeling back in my toes, but as the ride went on I gave up hope of sensation and focused on getting home. When I did get here it took my toes about an hour and a half to warm back up.
Now I am fully warmed up. Caroline and Eli are napping (they are both pretty sick), and we are excited to have a lazy weekend here in Viterbo. Tomorrow is the Host Family Holiday Party at the school. By all accounts this is a noisy, crowded affair with copious amounts of food. Very Italiano. One week from today we are headed off to Germany to stay in Luca's mom's house in Ehingen where I spent a summer back in college. We are excited for a cold and cozy Christmas, and we are planning a few outings to Ulm, Munich, Tubingen, and lots of castles. On the way there we are going to visit with Luca in Zurich. On the way back we might stop in Austria and in Northern Italy, maybe Mantua. We hope that you all are well and are having a great holiday season. We'll try to post again before we leave for Germany. Ciao e Buone Feste!
I was supposed to meet Pat, the director of school, at the piazzetta where the cycling group gathers at 8:30 this morning. Pat and I were going to say hi to the group and go for a nice leisurely ride of 40 to 50 km. I got there to find that Pat had bailed.
It was wicked cold this morning. One of the Italian men in the group (there were only 6 of us today) said that it was around -2 degrees Celsius as we started up the first hill towards Bagnaia. We headed off on what they had said was a ride to Bassano in Teverina and back, about 50 km. For these guys this sort of ride is more like a stretch. It is certainly manageable for me too, but I always worry that the Italians are going to outpace me. Little did I know that at some point on the ride the decision was made to extend the ride to Orte. This added about 25 km and a long, steady climb at the furthest point. By the time I figured this out we were almost in Orte, and there was no going back. The climb went reasonably well, but it took a lot out of me. By the end of the ride the Italians had to slow their pace on the last two hills to let me catch up. It was very humbling, especially since the closest in age to me in the group was about 50 years old.
My feet had gone numb in the first ten minutes on the bike, and I quickly realized that those goofy neoprene cycling booties are actually really important when you ride in freezing weather. At various points I felt like I was getting some feeling back in my toes, but as the ride went on I gave up hope of sensation and focused on getting home. When I did get here it took my toes about an hour and a half to warm back up.
Now I am fully warmed up. Caroline and Eli are napping (they are both pretty sick), and we are excited to have a lazy weekend here in Viterbo. Tomorrow is the Host Family Holiday Party at the school. By all accounts this is a noisy, crowded affair with copious amounts of food. Very Italiano. One week from today we are headed off to Germany to stay in Luca's mom's house in Ehingen where I spent a summer back in college. We are excited for a cold and cozy Christmas, and we are planning a few outings to Ulm, Munich, Tubingen, and lots of castles. On the way there we are going to visit with Luca in Zurich. On the way back we might stop in Austria and in Northern Italy, maybe Mantua. We hope that you all are well and are having a great holiday season. We'll try to post again before we leave for Germany. Ciao e Buone Feste!
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