Report from Verona

Domenico finally sent me a none too detailed email today from Verona, as he prepares to go to Merano for the highly regarded Wine Festival, which officially begins Saturday.  Like Vinitaly, this event has spawned its own fringe movement of highly focused venues of all sorts.  The role of bloggers in wine communication (deemed highly important, because the attendees are bloggers), organ-bio-shamanistic wines (will talking sticks be provided? Domenico wasn't sure, possibly because he didn't know what a talking stick was when asked), and the secret to penetrating the German market (hint to Italy: don't move) -- these are some of the topics that Dom has assured me will be addressed.  It sounds almost as exciting as a teachers' conference.

Casting aside my usual sarcasm, imparted to me by mother's milk (if my mother had been that motherly), I do note with envy some of Domenico's experiences in the Veneto the past few days. Again, not many details and no pix, but "you use the correspondent you've got," to paraphrase that great and misunderstood accidental destroyer of America and Iraq, Donald Rumsfeld.

I am sorry Terry that my communication cannot be too long these time but so much is happening.  I went to a small enoteca called "Vins & Organic Products" which sells only biodynamic stuff, wines and not only.  There was a group of wines I taste, many from a cantina sociale [cooperative] by name of Ottomarzo.  Its name had something to do with the bad fire in southern Manhattan a few years ago that was caused by desperate women workers [Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of a century ago, which occurred on March 8, where hundreds of immigrant women workers were killed because the doors and stairs had been blocked].  I didn't know why they would name a cantina sociale after that, maybe they were anarchist, but the Ottomarzo wines were excellent quality-price ratio.  The director, Alessandro Lanza, said, "It don't cost any more to make a good bio wine than a good non-bio wine."  Which make me think a lot.

I like meeting some crazy guy in the hills, Zeno Zilioli, at Monte dei Ragni (like Spider Mountain), who was very nice and let me tasted his wines, strepitosi Valpolicella and Ripasso and Amarone, Recioto also, in tiny quantity all by hand, by himself.  I saw him do the follatura [punching down the cap] of his barrels of wine. He makes very small number of bottle, but people come from all over, Germany and other country too, to get from him at the cantina door.  These wines are not cheap - pretty expensive, but you won't et nothing like them anywhere else, they are as pure as you can ever find.

Zeno say something very profound, he say, "The job of the winemaker is to interpret the year."  So simple, so true, no bullshit.  I like a winemaker who have such dirt on his hands, not a gentleman farmer in a Pal Zileri jacket and Tods shoes. 

At dinner last night in the best place I ever been in erona to eat and drink nice wine - name "Enoteca Segreta" because it is so fucking hard to find, sorry but it take me so long and I had not eaten all day and was too sick of spitting out all that interesting wine.  The owner is a nice man called Gigi, a good friend, it happen, of famous Aristide, grand blogger of Italy.  Best food in Verona because simple and not all heavy.  Almost like being in Mezzogiorno.  (Sorry, amici veronesi).

At Gigi's I had a very nice Durello, a kind of proseccso that don't make you feel like you have a sweet toothache after.  Dry and perfect before dinner and especially with the Durello from Lessini that he gave to me.  After this I cannot drink prosecco. 

I have seen and tasted many more things, but I have to run to a wine bar to meet a very wonerful lady, Lucia Raimondi.  Her estate is Villa Monteleone, situated next to Masi, really surrounded by Masi, and her Valpolicella line is so beautiful, doing so much to eleate Valpolicella from image of weak, boring wine - or the other extreme, gigantic Amarone you can't drink with food, you just sit around and talk about how rich it is but really think, "I spent too much on this stuff, I better make it last."  No with her Amarone, which is both old style and the newest thing because it have enough acidity and balance to make drinking it more pleasant.

Next time you hear from me, Terry I will be in Merano and I hope I will not be constrained to go to an Internet cafe to communicate with mondosapore.  Onward to Alto-Adige!

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Comments

[Lizzy]

Terry,
dì al tuo amico Domenico di stare attento con le parole! se dice che lo spumante Lessini Durello è "a kind of prosecco", i produttori di Durello chiederanno la sua testa...

;-))

Lizzy

[Terry Hughes]

Domenico is not known for his powers of discernment. (Sorry, amico.)