Now is the season in Italy when the olives have the highest content of oil, have a lower acidity and a milder flavour. This is precisely when they are picked and pressed into olive oil. Olive oil is used throughout Italy. This golden elixir has been held in high esteem since ancient times not only for…
The Disneyland Small World of Food: Salone del Gusto
Arriving at Slow Food’s Salone del Gusto (a 4 day food fair in Turin) on Thursday was essentially my idea of what arriving in heaven would be like; a combination of travel adventure and food voyage- a Disney’s Small World of food. Although I thought I knew most foods in the world as I am fairly well travelled, I…
Cellar Tour: La Giaretta: A Family Tradition in Valpolicella
Standing next to Valpolicella giants such as Masi and Allegrini and superstars such as Quintarelli and Dal Forno, La Giaretta sits out of the spotlight quietly producing its good value, quality wines. We had the privilege to visit this small, family run winery in Valgatara in Marano in the heart of the Classico zone (the…
The Valley of Many Cellars
In a lovely little valley studded with villas and vast estates, some of the best wine in Italy is produced. Valpolicella is a mixture of Greek and Latin and means valley (val) of many (poli) cellars (cella). It sits in an enviable position in Veneto to the east of Lago di Garda, protected from the worst…
Cellar Visit: Coffele in Soave, Veneto
We made a visit to Soave in Veneto on a friend’s recommendation to visit the winery of Coffele. Coffele has two cellars, first the mid-nineteenth century Castelcerino vineyard in the Classico zone of Soave, 7 kilometres south of the village of Soave, and considered to be one of the finest in Soave. The other is…
Franciacorta: Champagne’s younger sister
Franciacorta, located to the west and south of Lago d’Iseo in Lombardia, is a sea of neatly arranged rows of green covering 6,000 hectares. It is a peaceful oasis in which grows Italy’s answer to Champagne. Great wine is often grown in areas of great beauty and Franciacorta is no exception. There are 80…
The Italian Lake District: Lago di Como
We spent a few weeks wandering along Lago di Como, Lago d’Iseo and Lago di Garda. We drove through fields of corn and rice, forests and vineyard after vineyard. Throughout we found a patchwork of wineries and farms. We started from Milano stopping off at Tarantola restaurant hidden in the woods. The woods themselves…
Taste the real Sardegna: Gastronomic adventures
Many people flock to Sardegna for the perfect blue skies and spectacular coastline, opting for seafood in the Mediterranean heat but I think this is a mistake. They are overlooking the tradition of this pastoral island and the unique culture of the Sardinians. We stayed at a farm hotel (agriturismo) near Alghero called Sa Mandra,…
Happiest sheep in the world?
Sardegna may be home to some of the happiest sheep in the world, thoughtfully grazing overlooking some of the most spectacular coastline in the world. This is reflected in the cheese. The morning we went to the farm of Sa Mandra in Alghero, they were churning the ewe’s milk to make ricotta. First they put…
The idyllic family holiday destination
We took the boys and my father on a tour of northern Sardegna and found it to be, like many places in Italy, extremely family friendly. The location was potentially even more appealing to us because living in a large metropolis like Hong Kong, we were sensory deprived. Our ears were full of the sounds…
