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