Monday, September 8, 2008

Zucca in Parigi...






This post is a little bit overdue considering that my Paris vacation took place almost a month ago.

But as most ladies over the age of let's say 20 know (and some 17 year old girls whose mom may just be running for vice president of the US find out the hard way)...better late than never!!!

Honestly, Paris is probably the most romantic city I have ever visited. There is just something about the city that gets you in the mood for some lovin the moment you see the skyline.

I stayed in Paris with the lovely Miss Tracey, a very good friend from NYU. Tracey has a thing for boys with an edge, definitely not easily impressed, has one of the best laughs around (truly) and the girl I want right by my side if I ever get in an actual physical fight. Yes. Chances of me getting in a physical fight are slim, but it never hurts to know who you want to have your back just in case.

The weather was spectacular the entire week I was in Paris...and basically I spent my money on food, wine, entry into museums and some obscenely expensive cocktails at a super trendy joint called Cafe Chic (i.e. 20 euros for 1 mojito...which converts to roughly $28 at the moment). Obscenely expensive may be an understatement.

Regarding Cafe Chic. Little advice. If you go there with a somewhat large party, it definitely makes sense to get a bottle of vodka, gin...whatever your poison.

But if your party consists of 3 girls who happened to drink 2 bottles of wine beforehand, buying a bottle just leads to a tab of 270 euros, some drunk texting, possibly stuffing roses down the front of your dress and a slight "mal di testa" (or headache) the next morning.

- Zucca

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Karezza in estate...

Still waiting for the photos from all of the unofficial wedding photographers...so unfortunately my follow-up post with some more pics and details on Alberto and Giulia's wedding is kind of in a holding pattern.

Luckily I managed to swing in a quick 2-day excursion to Karezza in the meantime, took some photos...and discovered that Karezza is a pretty spectacular place in the summer, as well as the winter.




Smaller crew in comparison to New Years. Just Chiara, her mom Giovanna, Giorgio and I. But it was perfect.










Our 2 days basically involved...doing a little walking, playing cards, lunch at a random spot in the middle of a field where we were treated to a live accordion performance, an unsuccessful attempt at finding mushrooms (a first for me), eating lots of red meat (visual references provided) and drinking a decent amount of red wine.


















Ok. More accurately...I drank a decent amount of red wine and actually had to apologize for finishing off the bottle at dinner - what can I say? Giorgio was too busy talking to drink, Giovanna was in too much shock listening to the stories Giorgio was telling to drink, Chiara was laughing too much to drink, the bottle was placed strategically right next to me...and apparently I was the only multi-tasker at the table.

- Zucca

Monday, July 14, 2008

A Coffele Wedding...a little preview

Unfortunately all of the photos from the wedding of Alberto Coffele and Giulia Pastori have not been fully assembled from the 3-4 unofficial wedding photographers (all friends or relatives of the bride or the groom).

But here is a sneak peak...

Alberto & Chiara pre-wedding...and just a tad bit nervous.











Beppino Coffele (Chiara's Dad)...looking very wise and dashing, as always.














Me and Davide, Alberto's best man. The best man duties for an Italian boy basically include...well, showing up to the wedding and buying a slightly more expensive present for the newlyweds. Ta Da!












The view of Lake Orta (or Lago D'Orta) from the church. Lake Orta is a little bit north of Milan, absolutely spectacular and apparently quite a popular spot for weddings.










More photos to come...and the reasons why they also, shockingly enough, do weddings better in Italy!

- Zucca

Monday, June 16, 2008

A White Trash BBQ in Castelcerino...





Now this is what I call a bbq.

Shirtless men manning the largest grill I have ever seen...and cooking up an obscene amount of tasty pork products.

To be exact, enough of the following pork products to feed roughly 30 people:
- Costine di maiale (pork ribs)
- Salsicce (sausage)
- Bistecca di prosciutto (basically Italian ham steak)
- Pancetta (Italian bacon)

The bbq took place at the Coffele Agriturismo, or "bed and breakfast."

Well, more accurately...the Coffele "bed & breakfast to be served sometime in the near future."

The bbq was in celebration of my Dad and his lady's visit to Soave (the lovely Linda)...as well as the upcoming birthday of my Dad and that of Giovanna, Chiara's mom.



A friend from Boston, Paul Christophersen, was also in attendance..and I would be fooling myself to think that the driving force behind his postponing his flight to England to stay for the bbq was to spend more time with me and not the lure of the Fred Flintstone sized hunks of meat.

The menu also included guacamole, fresh tomatoes and basil and a cold rice dish.

And of course, Coffele wine was served in abundance.


Luckily the weather held up and we were able to end this fabulous day with an excursion through the Coffele vineyards to pick some fresh cherries...led by the fearless Giovanna (pictured with me below).


It was a real treat introducing my Dad and Linda to all of the wonderful people that I have met during my stay in Italy. All of whom have made my experience here truly unbelievable...and even better, more entertaining and definitely significantly crazier than I could have ever imagined.

All of whom have also contributed to the re-enforcing of my belief that they do everything just a little bit better in Italy.

- Zucca

Monday, May 19, 2008

Soave wines getting some press in the US...

Eric Asimov, chief wine critic of The New York Times, recently wrote an article about Soave wines after conducting a tasting of 25 different Soaves.

In addition to himself, the wine panel consisted of Florence Fabricant, Fred Plotkin (author of a number of books on Italian food, wine and music) and David Lynch (co-author of “Vino Italiano: The Regional Wines of Italy”).

I wanted to pass along the link to the article to anyone who may be interested in learning a bit more about Soave wines...and the different POVs from the tasting panel.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/14/dining/14wine.html?ex=1211428800&en=3fc210dba0c1f2e8&ei=5070&emc=eta1

I have also added the link under "HMM...INTERESTING" on the left.

And am very happy to report that the Coffele Soave Classico Ca'Visco 2006 was #5 on their list...and described as:

"Fresh, tangy and refreshing; cries out for seafood."

Just like the producers!!

- Zucca

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Gambe d'oro...


This is a new addition to the list of nicknames that I have been given over the years (some previous ones include stretch, skinny bones, red and carrot top.)

The translation...here's a little clue.

"The Golden Compass", the first novel in Philip Pullman's trilogy "His Dark Materials," translates to "La Bussola D'Oro" in Italian (which was actually the first movie I saw in an Italian cinema).

D'oro = of gold

Gambe = legs

So I am now referred to as "Legs of Gold" or "Golden Legs" by one of the regulars at Enoteca Drago.

and I am just fine with that.

- Zucca

Monday, April 21, 2008

From Russia With Love...

Ok...think I received my first ever proposition for sex from a Russian businessman last week.

I have had a number of interesting exchanges/experiences over the past 6 months in Italy...but this definitely rates at the top of the list.

I was at Matley's (a local bar outside the walls of Soave) with Laura, a close girlfriend of Chiara and I.

I was approached by this Russian man dressed in a suit...He kept repeating the same line over and over again in Russian but noone in the bar could understand a word he was saying. Hand gestures were then utilized, which unfortunately did not help very much.

Having realized the hand gestures weren't working, he then started to pull out a good amount of euros from his wallet (to the utter shock of basically everyone in the bar, who of course had all been watching this exchange with complete amusement). It was pretty obvious based on the amount of cash he pulled out that my Russian was not just offering to pay for drinks.

Now, I am not a smoker but have been known to take a drag or two off of someone else's cigarette after a few drinks.

It was at this point that I decided a drag or two would not do and that I needed at least one whole cigarette all to myself...so Laura and I exited the bar.

We re-entered the bar briefly to pay for our drinks. It appeared that my new Russian friend wanted to escort us home, but Fabio (the bartender) put his foot down...and let's just say that the Russian may not have understood Italian, but he understood Fabio completely and remained inside the bar.

Of course upon arriving at home I attempted to find the Russian translation for "What is your hourly rate?," "How much for the entire night?" and "How do you feel about bondage?" online.

Anyone by any chance familiar with the Cyrillic alphabet?

- Zucca

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

The Coffele Dinner at Enoteca Drago...







The annual Coffele dinner during Vinitaly at Enoteca Drago in Soave was...well. Perfect.

A truly wonderful evening with great food, splendid company and of course, lots of Coffele wine.

The attendees included a number of Coffele wine distributors, clients, friends of the family, 2 Masters of Wine, Giovanna and Giuseppe Coffele (Chiara and Alberto's parents), the founder of a new wine search engine and journalists in the industry...The amount of wine knowledge at Enoteca Drago this particular Saturday night was overwhelming and just a bit intimidating for someone who considers themselves still quite the novice when it comes to wine.

The night started off with a buffet of freshly sliced prosciutto, oysters, mussels and clams served on the patio at Enoteca Drago...and a tasting of older vintages of some of the Coffele wines, such as Alzari and their Soave Classico.

We then moved inside and were treated first to a plate of risotto with asparagus served with Ca' Visco...and then came one of my favorite dishes at Enoteca Drago...Filetto di Manzo, which you cook at the table with something like a hibachi grill. Buonissima!!

So simple, but so tasty. The meat arrives at the table perfectly sliced and ready to be placed on the grill for as short/long a period as you would like. Add a little olive oil, salt and pepper after the meat has been cooked and your tastebuds are in for a treat. This dish was served with Nuj, one of 2 red wines that the Coffele estate produces (75% merlot and the remaining 25% being a combination of cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc).

Dessert was next...served with the sweet nectar the Coffele family calls "Le Sponde," their Recioto di Soave.

It was then time for some amaros (Italian herbal liqueurs, drank mainly after-dinner as a digestif to settle the stomach a bit) and some limoncello and grappa. My preferred amaro is Montenegro...but there are a number of others, such as Jagermeister (who knew) and Braulio.

Finally at around 1:30am...it was off to Cavo, a bar located in San Bonifacio and the 2nd locale where my bartender preferito works.

The crew did dwindle a bit in size after dinner.

The long-haulers included myself, Chiara, Pete and Franz, Doug Cook (friend of Chiara's from California and founder of the new wine search engine called Able Grape - www.ablegrape.com), Danny Boucher (don't know quite how to describe Danny...thinking a password protected separate section may be required) and Filippo Pistone (Chiara's distributor from NY and the man wearing my scarf in the group photo).

I lost my scarf in a guessing game of what combination of flavors/ingredients were in a particular drink...The correct answer was liquirizia (a fairly dense, licorice flavored liquor). Doh!!!

- Zucca

How do you compete...




not only with 2 girls in skin tight unitards (gold as opposed to silver this year) with uncanningly natural-seeming golden wigs, but in addition...a topless chick with gold body paint?

And I must admit, Chiara and I looked pretty damn cute in our new Custo Barcelona dresses.

Yes. Astoria, the stand always directly right in front of the Coffele stand at Vinitaly, outdid themselves and busted out with some new tricks this year. The topless girl posing and lounging around the stand on the last day of Vinitaly being one of them.

Have a feeling most people will not remember what Astoria actually produces...but, will not be able to forget the golden girls. Heck, it took me until day #3 to realize they produced prosecco.

Chiara already has some ideas for pushing the envelope next year at the Coffele stand for Vinitaly...one involving she and I and a bathtub filled with her fabulous Recioto di Soave, "Le Sponde" (a beautiful dessert wine produced with 100% garganega grapes).

I think we should keep it simple and have the theme for the 2009 Coffele stand be "Tutti nudi."

Don't think a translation is required. Hopefully.

- Zucca

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Vinitaly. Oh boy...





The craziness starts tomorrow. Day #1 of Vinitaly.

Felt a little preparatory post was required.

The pictures above are from 2007...my 1st Vinitaly experience at the Coffele stand, and what an experience it was.

Here is a brief list of facts for those not familiar with the event:

1. Vinitaly is the largest wine show in the world

2. The 2008 show will include 4,300 exhibitors coming from more than 30 countries...and 150,000 visitors are expected (with 30% coming from more than 100 foreign countries)

3. The show is always held in Verona around the end of March/beginning of April and lasts for 5 days

4. It is the only show focused on the needs of all operators in the industy such as producers, importers, distributors, caterers, technicians, journalists and opinion leaders

5. Themeline for Vinitaly is "Another love story in Verona." Doesn't get more cheesy...I mean, romantic than that.

And last but not least...
6. It is the event that causes wine producers all over the world to go really quite mad in preparation. And in the case of Chiara and I, to go on a well...let's face it, a frivolous shopping spree thus expanding our wardrobes by unnecessary leaps and bounds.

Definitely more posts on Vinitaly to follow over the course of the next few days.

And yes, Robin Berben, Franz and Pete will be in attendance (btw, Franz is the guy with the enormous wine bottle on his nose and Pete is to his right in the photo above). And yes, those two girls with Alberto in the photo above are wearing silver wigs and full-body silver unitards. Ah...gotta love unitards.

Giddy Up!!!

- Zucca

Friday, March 21, 2008

Dusseldorf with the Consorzio & Chiara...








After 10 hours of driving, 5-6 paninos, 2-3 packages of peanut M&Ms, a few naps and probably a few too many pee breaks due to yours truly...Chiara and I, along with Giovanni (see lower left photo - that's Giovanni) and Anna, from the Consorzio Tutela Vini Soave, arrived in Dusseldorf...the location of the ProWein tasting, one of the world’s leading trade fairs for the wine and spirits industry.

Quick change at our hotel and then we were back on the road heading towards Maastricht in Holland for dinner at Cafe Sjiek.

Cafe Sjiek is owned by Robin Berben, who happens to be quite a fan of Coffele wines. Robin is also a total gentleman, fiercely charming and funny as hell without trying in the least...You honestly couldn't find someone more suited to run this bustling, yet perfectly quaint neighborhood cafe/bistro.

Robin is also a man with whom Chiara and I spent a very entertaining evening during the last Vinitaly wine fair in Verona. Someone once told me that nothing good ever happens after 2am...this person obviously never spent the wee hours of the morning with Robin Berben, his brother-in-law Franz (and one of Chiara's distributors) and their friend Pete.

To see some pictures that really visually capture what "An evening in Maastricht" and dinner at Cafe Sjiek is like...definitely check out http://www.newyorksocialdiary.com/node/694. Scroll down a bit and there is a picture of Robin as well.

The next day, after prepping and fully stocking the Consorzio stand with numerous bottles of Soave wines for ProWein, we met up with some of my friends from Germany for a few weissbiers. Great day for doing some outdoor bier drinking. Shockingly enough the photo of me kissing the little guy with the beard was taken before our afternoon bierfest.

Later that night, the Consorzio crew (including Arturo Stocchetti, the President of the Consorzio and owner of the Cantina di Castello winery) and my Dusseldorf crew had a tasty dinner at a new restaurant called "In Vino Veritas."

My friend Meike (beautiful blond with the cute little baby featured in one of the photos) appropriately chose this restaurant in honor of the occassion which brought us all to Dusseldorf - the ProWein fair.

By the end of our 3-4 hour dinner, Arturo (see middle photo on the right hand side) was chatting it up with the owner of the restaurant and we were treated to an enormous dessert plate of tiramisu, chocolate mousse and some other rich chocolatey concoction.

...and I wonder why I've gots a little more junk in the trunk.

- Zucca

Monday, March 17, 2008

A wild Saturday night in Soave & San Bonifacio...








2 Saturdays ago...

Chiara and my night started off with an aperitivo at our apartment (Coffele Soave Classico 2006 of course) with Stefano from Karezza and his girlfriend. Stefano is the fellow in the upper right photo using his pointer finger (or "his little friend" as he likes to call it) as a...well, finger puppet.

2nd stop...Enoteca Realda for a few glasses of Pra Soave Classico 2006. Realda is a new addition to Soave and owned by Roberto Anselmi, a wine producer in the region. His wines are not classified as "Soave DOC" but rather as "IGT Veneto". The interesting story behind this, as well as a more detailed description of Realda and the lovely ladies who work there (including Roberto's daughter Lisa) require the dedication of a separate post.

We were joined at Realda by a stellar crew of individuals including Chiara's cousin, 2 of his friends, Arianna (another "Fattore K" victim) Alberto & Giulia...and the hardcore crew from the Montefortiana (Matteo, his girlfriend Elena, Paolo and Elena).

Then it was off to Trattoria Dal Moro for dinner (picture in the upper left)...which is where I actually celebrated my 30th birthday and ate trippe for the first time (must admit, the stomach lining of a cow is pretty gosh darn tasty) and ucceli (roasted little game birds). Roberto from Karezza showed up just in time to head to our next stop...

...Bar Lazia in San Bonifacio (5 minute drive from Soave). If you are in the mood for a fabulous mojito, gin fizz or any other cocktail creation, Lazia is the place. Also has a cozy patio for partaking in some drinking outdoors and is one of the two locales where my bartender preferito works.

Final destination of the evening...Skylight Disco City in San Bonifacio. Don't really quite know how to describe this particular discotheque, which started out as a gay disco but definitely isn't purely a gay disco anymore. Word to the wise (gay or straight), if you are dancing with someone and they want to take you to "another room"...do not follow if you just want to explore the disco, are looking for a change of atmosphere, music, etc. Actually a word to the wise may not be required for those a tad bit less naive than yours truly.

btw...definitely try to strategically position yourself in the main room of Sky at around 3am to see the spectacular "shower show." Sorry, not providing any details. Have to experience it yourself.

Arrived at Sky around 1pm and after about 5 hours of dancing our bums off (see photos for reference)...we all went our separate ways to sleep our Sundays away.

- Zucca

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

A lazy Sunday in Castelcerino





Sunday brunch...Always though it couldn't get better than waking up on a Sunday morning, drinking some coffee out of my preferred coffee mug (which is roughly the size of a medium salad bowl) and going for a long walk to make room for a heaping plate of Eggs Benedict at the Centre Street Cafe in Jamaica Plain, my choice brunch joint in my old neighborhood in Boston.

But that was before I spent a lazy Sunday in Castelcerino.

The Coffele vineyards, as well as the vineyards of a number of other Soave wine producers (such as Suavia, Filippi and Balestri Valda) are located in the hills of Castelcerino...as are a handful of wonderful bed & breakfasts or "agriturismi."

After a late morning walk around the hills with Chiara and Giorgio (a "Fattore K" victim, admitted eBay addict, absolute sweetheart and man who knows something, or more accurately a frightening amount of info on just about everything)...we ended up at Hosteria Cansignorio.

Alberto and Giulia joined us at this perfect spot for a long lunch on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately the picture in the upper left is the only one I have of the restaurant...but you can actually check out their website at: http://hostariacansignorio.com/sve/contatti.html

And after 3 hours, 2 bottles of wine, a plate of polenta with mushrooms, another with a mix of salumi, pasta with artichokes, a nice chat with the owner (Sirpa), dessert and coffee...

Well, actually...I think the look on Giorgio's face says it all. See photo in the upper right.

Okay...the pole may also have had something to do with that. And understandably so.

- Zucca

Monday, February 25, 2008

"Fattore K"...





I unfortunately did not get to spend as much time at the wine tasting in Verona the other weekend due to a last minute conflicting engagement.

So…this post is going to be dedicated to Karezza (or Carezza).

Now I do not want people to think I am writing about Karezza just to write about something…a kind of half-ass or sub-par posting.

I had been planning on dedicating at least one posting to Karezza. Actually, more than 1 may need to be devoted to this brilliant place, and specifically to the unbelievably interesting, fun and fantastic group of people I met over New Years.

Yes, Karezza is where Chiara and I spent an intimate and tranquil New Years Eve (and the first few hours of New Years Day)…with a crew of about 40 people.

Picture in the lower right is from New Years - in the middle is Alberto (Chiara's brother) with his classy lady Giulia on the left and Roberto (the first victim of an influenza that roughly 50-60% of the people from New Years ended up getting) on the right.

Some facts on Karezza:
1. Located in the Dolomites
2. Great place to ski, snowboard, cross-country ski, romp around in the snow…whatever your pleasure
3. Known for having one of the most beautiful lakes in Italy, Lago di Carezza
4. Location of the Grand Hotel Karezza (inaugurated on July 8, 1896). Winston Churchill regularly stayed in this hotel with his wife, as well as Agatha Christie
5. Agatha Christie actually set the plot for one of her novels here, The Big Four

Back to New Years…

The intriguing, wonderful and unique thing about the New Year’s Eve crew is that they all have been going to Karezza for the past 10, 15, 20+ years...to ski, eat a slightly unhealthy amount of speck (actually that may just have been me - btw, speck is a salt-and-cold-smoke cured ham, similar to proscuitto, but boned before curing and super tasty and originally from the region of Alto Adige/Sudtirol), partake in Apres Ski and more importantly, to take a breath, relax, laugh their asses off and just have a damn good time and forget about everything else...which you can’t help doing when you are in Karezza, especially with this particular group of people.

But I need to warn anyone planning on visiting Karezza about something...“Fattore K” or Factor K. You are bound to catch this after spending 2-3 days there. Nothing serious. It basically explains why everyone in Karezza is a bit off their rocker.

And once you have it…sorry, you’re stuck with it.

As you can tell from the photo above, Chiara is suffering from a terrible case.

And I don't think she would have it any other way.

- Zucca