Soave wines...

Time for some quick facts on Soave wines:
1. The Soave wine production zone is situated in the eastern part of the hills in the province of Verona

2. The zone includes part or all of the lands belonging to the municipalities of Soave, Monteforte, San Martino B.A., Lavagno, Mezzane, Caldiero, Colognola, Illasi, Cazzano, San Bonifacio, Roncà, Montecchia and S. Giovanni Ilarione

3. Garganega is the designation’s principal grape variety...with Trebbiano di Soave being another indigenous grape to the area

4. The specific classification of "Soave Classico” is reserved for those wines made from grapes harvested and vinified in the municipalities of Soave and Monteforte d’Alpone (the oldest, original “classic” zone)

5. In order for a wine to be considered a "Soave" wine...it has to have at least 70% garganega grapes. The remaining percentage can be made up of any combination of Trebbiano di Soave, Pinot Bianco or Chardonnay

Ta da!!

- Zucca

“Il Soave incontra il mare e mette pace tra…Pisa e Livorno”

This translates to…”Soave meets the sea and makes peace between Pisa and Livorno”.

This was the theme of the wine tasting I went to last Friday in Pisa organized by the Consorzio di Tutela Vini del Soave (an organization that works on behalf of the Soave wine producers). Lucia Vesentini, the lovely lady in the photo with Chiara and I, actually works for the Consorzio…and is also the one to talk to if you find yourself in Verona jonesing to do a little tango or salsa dancing.

And yes, as you can see by the photo in the upper left, I did indeed get to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa (or "La Torre di Pisa")...which caused me to have another one of my “what a lucky girl am I” moments.

Actually manned the Coffele stand with Chiara, which entailed giving out tastings of 3 out of the 8 wines produced by her vineyards.

Love manning the Coffele stand...Always a good time and always end up with some interesting stories. Honestly, how many times does a girl get propositioned by an Italian boy looking for a woman to “milk his cows”? Okay...maybe more than one would expect.

It was the first and only time that I have positioned my lack of experience as a reason why I wasn’t qualified for or couldn’t possibly take on a particular position.

Okay. Back to the tasting in Pisa…

The 3 Coffele wines included:
1. Basic Soave Classico – 100% Garganega (grape variety) and aged in steel tanks
2. Ca’ Visco Soave Classico – 75% Garganega and 25% Trebbiano di Soave, also aged in steel tanks
3. Alzari Soave Classico – 100% Garganega and aged in large oak barrels, or “botte grande” for 14 months

There were 21 other Soave wine producers at the tasting…Links to their individual websites (where available) are listed on the left under “Hmm...Interesting.”

Going to another tasting in Verona with Chiara this Saturday. I’ll keep you posted on any additional propositions received.

Moo…

- Zucca

Montefortiana - the best race ever...

Participating in the 33rd Montefortiana confirmed my suspicion that they do just about everything better in Italy.

I have run numerous races that involved drinking a bunch of beers and eating afterwards (who doesn't love a "brew run"), but this was my first that involved drinking and eating during the race.

Needless to say, there wasn't much running involved...a bit difficult after your 4th or 5th vin brule! Which is basically what I am drinking in every picture from the Montefortiana.

Btw - the cute girl to my left in the photo in the upper right is Chiara, my roommate and consultant for just about everything.

Little lesson on vin brule:
Vin brule is basically a mulled wine (wine mixed with some spices)...usually red and served nice and warm. It is typically drunk in northern Italy, which fortunately enough for me is where I live. Actually a popular drink on the slopes for anyone planning a ski trip to Italy in the near future (vin brule or "vov con panna" are perfect after your first run - will explain vov at a later date).

In addition to pickling myself with vin brule...I ate some surprisingly tasty things during and after the race. Minestrone soup (see photo of the guy with the enormous ladle for reference), grilled chicken breast (which was unbelievable tasty) and tortellini.

It was my first experience crossing the finish line for a race completely full...and with a little bit of a buzz.

...and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

- Zucca

The Name...

Thought it might be a good idea (and hopefully a little interesting) to give the rationale behind the name of my blog.

Zucca means "pumpkin" and con means "with" in Italian (for those who didn't look this up on AltaVista Babel Fish). So...ya end up with "Soave with Pumpkin."

Pumpkin, or pumpkinhead, was a nickname that my Dad gave me when I was a little girl for obvious reasons...well, one obvious reason.

And basically if something has pumpkin as an ingredient, I will eat it, love it and probably ask for the recipe - little hint to anyone planning on cooking me up a meal in the near future.

A few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to try the pumpkin gnocchi at Enoteca Drago, the winebar I work at in the center of Soave. Hoping to get the recipe from Carlo, the owner and chef, and try to re-create this dish sometime in the near future. I'll let ya know how this little experiment goes. I am naively optimistic!

The pumpkin gnocchi was topped with trombette (a particular type of mushroom) and grated parmigiano...Perfect combination of salty and sweet.

Wine pairing recommendation - should have this dish with an oaky wine, but not too oaky (ideally a wine with a subtle oaky quality)...Lucky for me (since I live with the wine producer), Alzari from the Coffele vineyards would be perfect. It is a Soave Classico, made with 100% garganega grapes and aged in large oak barrels for 14 months.

Little lesson on Soave wines and the garganega grape (indigenous grape to Soave) to come...

Off to play some cards the Coffele family...Name of the game is "Burraco."

Ciao!

- Zucca

First Post...Wohoo!

This is my first post…on any blog. So please bare with this virgin blogger a bit.

The reasons for me delving into the unchartered world of blogging (at least unchartered by me):

1. I finally moved to Italy (specifically Soave in the Veneto region) 5 days before my self-imposed deadline…my 30th birthday

2. Received a number of emails from friends & family asking about my experience here. Some sort of response was required on my part and…

3. I wanted to avoid sending out mass emails at all costs – as I see it, updated contact info is the only reason to send
out a mass email (with some limited exceptions – i.e. complaining about receiving a mass email to all the others who just received the same mass email)

4. Wanted to give people the opportunity (optional!) to get to know the Veneto region and see what is behind the walls of Soave (one of the few medieval walled cities still entirely surrounded by its walls)

5. Was itching to do this for myself (as corny as that sounds) – a creative and introspective project to keep my pretty little head even more occupied

I am approaching my blog as I do everything else in my life, kind of as a work-in-progress. So I am extremely open to suggestions…especially since I am new to this. But if one of your suggestions is to stop using ellipses, you are out of luck. Non-negotiable. Sorry.

But if I do start down the road where I am giving such inane details on my day-to-day life, please come on over to Soave and slap me silly.

And when it comes to others posting things here, while I would like to straight-up say “no holds barred”…a little restraint is recommended. You know who you are. Yes, I am talking to you!

Grazie! And here we go…

- Zucca