I'm on vacation, finally!

I have been quiet on the blog the past week as I feel like I'm finally on vacation and have taken a break! I know that hopping all over Europe visiting wineries, beautiful places and eating well sounds pretty good but its a lot of work!!! I think the last time I was on holiday was October 2012.

About eight days ago I flew from Milan to London Heathrow to visit my boyfriend Chris who is working as a freelance chef. Chris is Canadian but also has British Citizenship. He is in the UK taking advantage of his passport and to get some London food experience. Our time together started out rather busy with some sightseeing and catching up with friends from BC. My ISG Diploma classmate Matt and his wife (Shannon) were in London for a wine event the same time I was in town. Ironically, Matt and Shannon have more or less book ended my four months of travel while living out of a suitcase. After leaving Vancouver in June, one of my first blog posts was visiting Matt and Shannon at their home in Kelowna.  Not only did the four of us have a great night of sightseeing together, I was able to meet up with Matt and some other Canadian's at a wine event called the Beautiful South. This was a collaboration of tastings from producers in Argentina, Chile and South Africa.  I was very pleased that I got in. It is for people in the trade only, there was no cost to attend, they gave me $10 for lunch and I attended 3 wine seminars for free!!!!

Unfortunately, the weather took a turn for the worse. As my brother would say, "London weather today- its going to be cold, wet and sh*#tty". That just about sums it up. Chris was sick for two days with brutal cold and I am at about 85%. I have been enjoying some time indoors watching episodes of Downton Abbey starting with season one on Netflix:)

Yesterday Chris and I managed a few hours at the British Museum then walked Oxford Circus, Regent Street and Picadilly. I also got to browse through the wine shops of all the big department stores: Selfridges, Harrods, Fortnum & Mason, Harvey Nichols.

There are still two or three posts from my time at wineries in Italy that I would like to complete....but all in due course. Tomorrow I head back to Zurich for three nights then onto Waterloo, Ontario! I can't believe it.

Shannon, Matt & Chris at Gordon's Wine Bar

Rain and cloud over Buckingham

Big Ben - Parliment

The British Museum and 4 hours of blue skies.....

Fortnum & Mason Department Store

Kalern, Sud-Tirol, Italy....and some friendly Germans

I traveled to another northern, cool climate wine region of Italy, Trentino Alto-Adige (TAA). This is a region that may not sound familiar,  but I can almost guarantee that you have had a wine from here or very close by. That wine would be Pinot Grigio. Ring any bells? Back in the liquor stores in Canada I have found Pinot Grigio from Northern Italy dominating the shelves in Canada compared to other varietals from this area. Here is a list of the other grapes you will find in TAA:
White - Pinot Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Chardonnay, Sauvignon
Red - Vernatsch, Lagrein, Pinot Noir

I have been curious about this area from the beautiful pictures I've seen with the mountain corridor that surrounds it. Also curious to try the clean crisp wines and for the regional history. Alto Adige was formally part of Austria and became apart of Italy after WWI. What came as a surprise to me is how they have held onto their Austrian traditions and language for almost 100 years. The street signs, cuisine, language, clothing (lederhosen and dirndl's) are all still of Austrian heritage. So just after I was getting the hang of speaking Italian pleasantries I had to go back to German.

I was only able to spend about two days and had to make my plans as efficient as possible. In the morning I drove into Bozen and tasted wines from two wineries,  Muri-Gries and Kelleri Bozen. I wanted to visit Muri-Gries since they export their Pinot Grigio to the LCBO. Then located conveniently across the street was Kelleri Bozen. Between these two wineries discovered and tasted varietals that I was not familiar with (reds): Lagrein, Vernatsch, St. Magdalener and Kalterersee Auslese (note: in this case Auslese is not related to an sweetness lever, rather a place of origin). And here is some trivia: What are the synonyms for Vernatsch? Schiava and Trollinger.

For my one night in the region I stayed at Villa Weingarten in Kaltern, which I highly recommend! A lovely B&B with large rooms and the most stunning panoramic views of vineyards and the Dolomites. (Photo from my room below). My plan was to arrive in the early afternoon, park the car, visit some vineyards, wineries and check out the wine festival in the village that evening. I drove in around 2pm and the hotel keeper was chatting with a young couple staying there from Germany. They were speaking in German about wine so I could understand what I was over hearing. The couple's names are Sebastian and Steph and they spoke very good English. We started chatting and within 30 seconds Sebastian invited me to spend the rest of the day with them and his twin brother and girlfriend (Danny and Billy). I thought, for real? Maybe you want to ask your girlfriend or brother? Anyways, when you get a good vibe go with it right? So the four of us ventured off together and went for a quick lunch to get acquainted, then to Erste-Neue winery (fantastic Vernatsch and
Gewurztraminer), dinner and then the Kaltern wine festival with over 20 Kaltern wine producers. I was blown away with how kind and welcoming these 4 were! (And they thought I was in my early 30's, LOL). We hit it off and I think they all enjoyed the chance to practice their English. Plus, Sebastian is an aspiring wine nerd so how can you not get a long:) I have a nice photo of the four of them below and a big thank-you to them for inviting me along and keeping me out past 10pm!

Alto Adige in the North and Trentino in the South

View of Kaltern from my B&B, Villa Weingarten

L to R: Billy, Danny, Steph, Sebastian

Kaltern Wine Festival

Nino Negri, Chiuro, Valtellina

Nino Negri is by far the largest producer in Valtellina with over 25 Nebbiolo (Chiavenassca) wines in their portfolio. First I would like to outline a few things about the region in addition to the previous blog post:
- Located in Italy next to the Switzerland border in the Italian Alps
- home of the most terraced vineyard area in all of Italy
- the vineyards are all south facing taking in the sun all day
- close to 100% Nebbiolo/Chiavenassce
- and for those of you that don't know, the region famous for Nebbiolo comes from Barolo

An now a few things about Nino Negri:
- the winery is located in the small village of Chiuro
- the winemaker Claudio, has been with the company for six years and was previously in Borolo
-  founded in 1897 by Nino Negri and is now owned by GIV (Gruppo Italiano Vini)
- they have vineyards in Sassella, Grumello, Inferno and a Cru area of Valgella called Fracia, which are all DOCG zones
- owners of 31ha of vineyards and also purchase grapes from local growers
- all grapes are harvested by hand around early October
- Nino Negri uses helicopters to quickly take harvested grapes from the vineyard to the winery
- all wines (with the exception of 2) are stainless steel fermented, pressed and spend another one or two months in stainless steel before going to the barrel for aging, which is typically for one year
- they make the reputable Sfurzat wine called "5Stelle", which is only made in the best years and is known as the best Sfurzat in the region. Once these grapes are harvested they are kept in huts in their respective vineyard to be air dried for 110 days (called appassimento). They are kept in small bins and benefit from the afternoon breezes of Lake Como that comes in through the open walls of the huts. This gives a concentration to the grapes making the wine sweet yet dry at the same time. Then the grapes go to new french oak for 16 months for fermentation and aging.

Sadly, I have not come across any Valtellina wine in Canada, however Nino Negri has a strong presence in the USA. I will be seeking it out my next time down in Florida when I visit my Dad!

Below are photos of the bottles from my tasting as well as the winery and the different barrel formats they use.

Il Tabernario wine bar

If you are ever in Valtellina, I have the perfect wine bar to recommend!

I had a fantastic evening while in Sondrio, Italy which is the centre of the Valtellina region. I was only in the village for one night and I wanted to try as much of their wines as possible. The region is very difficult to get to. No express trains or airports close by, just narrow Italian apline roads. See my map from school below. I have put a circle around the small narrow Vally.
In the early afternoon I walked into Il Tabernario, enoteca della Alpi.
www.enotecadellealpi.it

The man working there spoke good english and recommended the best vineyard zones for me to walk trough and to come back when they reopen after 6:00pm for a tasting.

They sell only local wines made from the Nebbiolo grape, or as they call it Chiavennasca.
I was set up with a flight of wines from a variety of producers and from each of the DOCG zones. There are no more than 40 producers in this small region of only 1,250 ha. So you can imagine if you are involved in wine everyone knows everyone. The DOCG classified zones (which is held in the highest regard) are as follows from West to East:
Maroggia DOCG
Valtellina Superoire DOCG
Sassella DOCG
Grumello DOCG
Inferno DOCG
Valgella DOCG
Also, there there is a style of wine called Sfurzat where the grapes are left to dry for three months before vinification. Sfurzat is made only in the best years and holds the DOCG when the grapes are from one of the above mentioned zones.

I was treated with great hospitality by the Sommelier Marco. He said he is a wine geek and enjoys talking about the region. He presented me with a map of the region with explanation and plate of the local cheese and Bresola meat. The cheese pairs perfectly with the Sfurzat and the mouth filling texture and fat from the Bresola was a perfect match with the acidity of the wines. For those of you that are not familiar with Nebbiolo wines, they are typically high acid, high tannin with medium body. I always like to experiment with this wine and surf n' turf. Tannins for the beef and light enough body for the seafood.

Towards the end of my tastings some of the locals came in and brought some unique wines that they invited me to share: sparkling wine from Sicily, a Champagne (FRA) and a local producer came in with a magnum of Chiavennasca he bottled that day.

See some photos below of the terraced vineyards, the wines and Marco:)

Dear Diary,

Dear Diary,

I have been focusing my blogging on my findings in wine regions and I thought I would do a Dear Diary entry with some venting. You know, to give a personal touch to the blog:)

My first answer if anyone were to ask me, 'how's it going?' would be - I'm tired!!!! I think it was towards the end of my time in Alsace I was starting to feel the mental drain of travel and fatigue followed. I thought back to how long I have been living out of a suitcase and it has been since June 3rd. Shocker and no wonder I'm drained! I went to visit my friends in Zurich for 5 nights and I think I went outside their house a total of 3 times and never for longer than 3 or 4 hours. It was still busy with laundry, blogging, helping to earn my keep around the house, the kids and just spending time with everyone.

What has been the most stressful part of my journey is renting manual cars. Grrrrr...(that's a noise that I make with the clutch, haha). I have rented cars in Alsace and now in NE Italy. There is no other option to get around so I have to deal with it. In Alsace it caused me so much stress I would dream about driving some nights and wake up with a neck so stiff it hurt to turn my head. One day I thought I killed the battery and the nice man at Hugel winery was arranging for me to get a jump from one of the employees cars. Turns out the steering wheel was locked and I just had to giggle it a little. Embarrasment! Another time in needed a 'knight in shining automobile skills armour' when I was looking for my hotel in Colmar. I was relieved to see the hotel sign so I turned into the first right which lead into a parking garage with a gate at the bottom. The problem? The gate didn't open AND I was stuck on an 80% slope and panicked at the thought of going in reverse and rolling forward into the gate. I took a deep breath and gave it a shot - then I stalled. I got out, went into the hotel lobby where there were 3 couples waiting and a 4th couple came in behind me. I'm sure I had an anxious look on my face. I decided to put myself in the middle of the lobby and ask "does anyone speak English?" No response other than the others looking at me like I was crazy...hum. So I talked directly to the couple that came in behind me. He did speak English and I explained that I just needs some help with my car. The girlfriend gave the nod to release him. Long story short, he successfully drove the car in reverse up the slope after 2 tries himself! Phew!!!

After getting some down time in Zurich I took an early morning train to Milan which takes 4 hours. This is amazing; on a Sunday in Zurich they have a train going to Milan every 2 hours. I arrive in Milan and take the shuttle bus to the airport to pick up my next rental car, manual of course. This one has a GPS...but only in Italian...from Zurich to my destination in the heart of the Dolomite mountains, it took me 11 hours. On the Autostrada heading north I found myself in a corridor of the Alps which are magnificent! Then it was time to head west to Marilleva and then got a glimpse into Alpine driving. Stress!!! My advice, go slow, pull over for others to pass and DON'T look over the guard rail! This day rattled me. My hotel ended up being much farther away from where I thought (due to the roads) and had to re-plan my week. The reason I chose this location is it is right in the middle of the 2 wine regions I wanted to visit: Valtellina and Trentino Alto-Adige. After my long travel day I parked the car, did some computer work and took a challenging 4 hour hike (some photos below). It's all working out in the end, and I have successfully managed a terrifying 2+ hour drive to the Valtellina wine region and back, west of where I'm staying.

A number of people have been asking how my beau Chis is doing in London. Right now he is doing fantastic, but that wasn't always the case. He started his job in the kitchen at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay a few weeks ago. After 3 days of working 16-18 hours a day he was ready to vacate. He gave notice and the chef asked him to stay and offered time off when I came to visit. So, he decided to stay. To sum up, after 2 weeks of his deteriorating health, not thinking clearly from lack of sleep and the terms that were agreed upon were not fulfilled, he walked. He always had a back up plan in mind and that is working as a freelance chef. He made the call to a company on Monday and he was working the very next day. The beauty is he has his own schedule and can work as much as he wants. London is a hub of events, entertainment and it never stops. There is no shortage of work and so far (I know it's only been 2 days) he is loving it!

As far as jobs for myself in London go, I have applied as a Footman (butler in training) at Buckingham Palace and I have a PR firm that works with wine events sending my resume out for me. While I was in Zurich I had the time to fill out my UK Visa application. I got to the end and they asked for $1,300 US just to process it!!! Heck no! So I'm rethinking what I will do. I'm only planning on being there a year so I'm hoping I can find a way to be self employed. I am consulting my tax advisor aka, Dad (wink;). But if Buckingham did call back I would drop the coin in a heart beat. I have images of working a Coronation banquet in my head, LOL. When I am in London next week a classmate of mine will be in town for 2 tasting events and he is hoping to get me in with him. My resume will be in hand along with my networking skills:)

Thank you for listening to my Dear Diary entry. Below is a photo of me while I write this. The Dolomites really are incredible and I'm thankful I got to see them. In conclusion, I'm safe, healthy but I worry of scurvy as there only seems to be cheese, bresola and speck to eat....but not to worry, I found a salad today.

Hugel and Trimbach

These are two wineries that were at the top of my list to visit and the first appointment that I made. Why? The have a large importance in the international market, exporting over 90%. These brands would come up every now and again during my course as 'study wines'.

What they have in common is they were both established in the 1600's and still to this day family members of the Trimbach's and Hugel's are owners and operators!!

Let's start with a bit about Trimbach. The are located in picturesque Ribeauville, Alsace. Like many other wineries they own multiple parcels of vineyards in a multiple number of villages (50 parcels and 7 villages = 44ha). Their crown jewel is the 'Clos Sainte Hune'. Anne Trimbach hosted my tasting and she represents the 13th generation. She was able to talk about the linage and significant contributions her great-great grandfather had made to the business. As for myself, I have no clue what my great-great grandfather did or even his name.
Their wines are broken down into the Classics, the Reserve, Reserve Personnelle including Cuvee Frederic Emile and Clos St Hune. I am going to quote the Trimbach Style from the Producer Profile that was given to me: "...dry, sometimes steely, even a touch austere", "lean, precise", worthy of gastronomy.....and personally I couldn't agree more.

Hugel is located in the village of Riquewihr and their tiers of wines are as follows: Classic, Tradition, Jubilee, Hommage a Jean Hugel and then the sweeter styles VT (Vendage Tardive) and SGN (Selection de Grains Noble). I had my tasting with a member of the Hugel family and also had a tour of the winery with their export manager David. David took me around first and he commented about this fully functional winery in the middle of a medieval village. I never stopped to think about how difficult it must be to bring in your grapes with the traffic time and vehicle size restrictions. Plus it is a heritage building so you can't do anything to widen your bay doors or paint the windows etc......What an eye opener! It was an entertaining and informative tour featuring barrels over 150 years old! I very much enjoyed their wines and the assistance I got from my tasting host during my false alarm car troubles!
They provide a nice brochure with food and wine pairings with Asian cuisine. There is a complimenting relationship with spice and Alsacian wines with a bit of body and residual sugar. Thought I could share with you the following suggestions:
Indonesian and Malaysian Cuisines - Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, Gewurztraminer VT
Thai Cuisine - Gewurztraminer VT. For seafood - Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Gris
Coconut Milk based desserts - Gewurztraminer VT, Gewurztraminer SGN
Japanese Cuisine, sushi, sashimi - aromatic Gentil (blend of grapes) and Riesling. Tempuras - Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Gris
Indian Cuisine - Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris

Now I'm hungry....and thirsty!

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