Gambero Rosso Wine Travel Food - july august 2015

YEAR 20 N. 87/88 - JULY/AUGUST 2015

WINE

T R AV E L

FOOD ®

• THE GRAVNER VISION • LOMBARDY BEST WINE BUYS • CAGLIARI HOTSPOT

www.gamberorosso.it

TOKYO CHALLENGE RICCARDO FANUCCI

a tavola

28

COVER STORY 28 | Riccardo Fanucci; a Roman in Tokyo The Gambero Rosso Academy takes on Tokyo with classes, events, show-cooking. A young chef comments on the great experience

WINE 32 | The Gravner Vision The greatest grapegrower in the world,” according to Luigi Veronelli, explains his philosophy of wine and life 38 | Best Buys: Lombardy Next door to Expo 2015, top wines under 10¤

july - august 2015 2 JULY - AUGUST 2015

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44

“In Italy, they add work

and life on to food and wine.�

Robin Leach

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38

FOOD

NEWS & MORE

51 | Chefs share their recipes. Antonia Klugmann - My own Friuli One of the few women chefs in Italy prepares a creative menu where ideas, thoughts and personal feelings come together with her territory

4 | Editorials 6 | News 11 | Events/Gambero Rosso Experience in Tokyo 16 | Street Food/Florence 18 | Wine of the month 20 | Twitter dixit 21 | Italians abroad/Simone Tondo in Paris 22 | 3Bicchieri3Forchette/Rudy Travagli 24 | Food&Design/Alice Schillaci 26 | Pairing Lab/Japanese food & Italian wines 58 | Letter from Paris

TRAVEL 44 | Cagliari Hotspot. Sardinian identity at the table and within the city walls This growing Sardinian city balances modern verve with millennia of history

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EDITORIAL

TIME IS THE INGREDIENT are long, very long. His evolution took him through stainless steel (“My youthful sin”) and he was among the first in Italy to use barriques.

He pioneered the adoption of amphorae (“an amplifier of wine”). The next step will be pressing grapes with their stems. But time matters in the cellar, above all: 7 years for Ribolla and 10 for Pignolo, a choice mulled over in the course of 30 years of work. In the pages ahead, we invite you to read about a new book dedicated to him and his story. And I almost forgot. Ribolla 2007 is a wine that gives the word ‘extraordinary’ its true meaning, a concentrate of complexity and expressive naturalness: I can already tell you that it has been awarded Tre Bicchieri in our Vini d’Italia 2016 Guide.

Visiting Joško Gravner in his essential, spartan winery near the Sacrario in Oslavia – there where Italy meets Slovenia – is an intense emotional experience. We sip from wide-mouthed crystal glasses that he designed, and as I enjoy an astonishing bit of salami and a flash of his smile, I’m soon overwhelmed by his solid thinking, the power and lucidity of his explanations.

His work is the result of a process that is both human and technical, but also intellectual, a production philosophy that reflects a way of being in the world. Joško Gravner is his wine, and his wine is Joško Gravner – the coherence of ideas and actions.

The word ‘time’ is a constant. “Time is a tool. What flavor can you expect from a grape harvested at the beginning of August?” He harvests always – and only – after the middle of October, barely a bunch of grapes per vine. Macerations

Lorenzo Ruggeri

4 JULY - AUGUST 2015

trebicchieri

2015

Special edition Milano expo 2015 10 taStinG eventS inSide Milano expo at the Italian Wine Pavilion curated by Fiera Verona Vinitaly

>

the events, dedicated exclusively to wines awarded Tre Bicchieri in the Vini d’Italia 2015 guide, will take place in the pavilion tasting room: 10 guided tastings (in italian and english) led by expert wine journalists from Gambero Rosso

expert

aUGUSt saturday 8 friday 28

<

room

17:30-19:00 Lorenzo Ruggeri 17:30-19.00 Eleonora Guerini

Convivium Convivium

SepteMBeR saturday 12 20:00-21:30 Marco Sabellico friday 25 17:30-19.00 Gianni Fabrizio

SympoSium Convivium

octoBeR thursday 15 thursday 29

SympoSium Convivium

17:30-19.00 Eleonora Guerini 17:30-19.00 Gianni Fabrizio

www.gamberorosso.it

NEWS

CHAMPAGNE & BURGUNDY ON WORLD HERITAGE LIST. French vs Italian wine: tie score

The wine worlds of France and Italy are competing for UNESCO recognition.The friendly tug of war began in 1999, with the listing of France’s Saint Emilion (to which was added, but only from an urbanistic point of view, the historic center of Bordeaux). Then, last year, the Langhe, Roero and Monferrato zones were Italy’s answer, and, in less than a year, the prized nomination was doubled with Pantelleria’s alberello grape vines added to the Heritage category. That was the first time that an agricultural practice made it on to the UNESCO list. And now, the recognition of Champagne and Burgundy evens the score. Session 39 of the World Heritage Committee unanimously recognized Champagne Hillsides, Houses and Cellars for their exceptional universal value, “very specialized artisan activity that has become an agro-industrial enterprise.”

The committee also recognized the 1,247 Climats, (a sort of cru) terroirs of Burgundy. The rise of the Champagne region began, according to history (or legend) in the 17th century with the Benedictine monk, Dom Pierre Perignon, who developed the process we now call méthode champenoise. In the three centuries since that discovery, the region has learned how to export the cultural, historic, and productive qualities now seen as a universal patrimony. Pierre Cheval, president of the Association des Paysages du Champagne is satisfied. “Our inclusion on the list is a recognition, but it is also a responsibility towards the other nations, and we must rise to the occasion.” As for Burgundy, the international organization will concern itself with the vineyards of Nuits and Beaune on the hills south of Dijon. UNESCO recognition is particularly aimed at protecting the terroir belonging to some of the most evocative names of French viticulture, such as Romanée-Conti, Clos de Vougeot, Chambertin.

Greece. RETSINA IN A TIME OF CRISIS

Usually a white, occasionally a rosé, Retsina is a wine to which Aleppo pine resin is added at the start of fermentation. In ancient Greek times, resin was used to seal amphorae, and later as a protection against oxidation. Today it is only an aromatic addition. In the early 20th century, Retsina made from the saviatano grape could be found only in Attica, the region around Athens rich in vineyards and pine trees, and it was served out of barrels in the city’s taverns. Since the 1960s and the bottling of wines, retsina was available all around the country. But by the 1970s, most of the vineyards of Attica had disappeared, and the city of Athens itself had changed. Retsina consumption dropped sharply. Today, especially with the rebirth of Greek enology, Retsina is mostly for tourists looking for local color and folklore. Among the best versions is the elegant and refreshing Ritinitis Nobilis made by Gaia Wines from roditis grapes grown around Corinth. Another version is from the Tetramythos Winery, made by enologist Panagiotis Papagiannoupoulos from roditis grapes grown organically at an altitude of 750-1000 meters above sea level. His wine ferments with resin in amphorae from Crete. Retsina pairs well with fried vegetables, stuffed tomatoes and the classic mezedes antipasto of feta cheese, oregano and black olives.

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POWDERED MILK, YES OR NO? The EU vs the Italian law that protects national cheese quality. Who will prevail?

Brussels has issued yet another blow to the Italian food sector. This time, the battle is over cheese. Italy holds a position of unequaled quality in this area, thanks also to strict national laws which, since 1974, have forbidden the use of powdered or concentrated milk in dairy production. This regulation protects the entire Made in Italy sector. But the European Commission is not in agreement, and, in the name of the free circulation of goods, has required Italy to accept powdered milk among its permitted ingredients. The result is that cheese made from not-milk could soon find its way to Italian tables, opening the national market to a multitude of potential competition from abroad, where the practice is already acceptable. The entire cheese production line is at risk, starting with mozzarella made from cow’s milk, which is often produced with milk preparations coming from Germany, Poland and Lithuania, and now further threatened by Brussels’ pronouncement. The provision could also seriously damage Italian farmers, who will suddenly find themselves in competition with cheap, poor quality powdered and concentrated milk coming into the country from other European nations.

A return to the soil.

AGRICULTURE’S APPEAL.

The data from 2014 inspired hope. In the first trimester of the new year, encouraging numbers confirmed the upward trend in the entire agriculture sector, despite problems tied to climate change, epidemics and international politics. Although service and industrial sectors are still suffering, agriculture is moving ahead, multiplying the employment opportunities in the area. Of the 133,000 new hires in Italy in the first trimester of 2015, 45,000 found work in agriculture, both in the north, where growth was more significant, and in the south, in both autonomous and subordinate positions.

Among the new employees were many foreigners, both from inside and outside the European Union, amounting to 36% of the total. Central Italy, on the other hand, is still behind in terms of productivity and employment. The surprise, however, came from exports. A few more data will help convey the importance of this success. Agricultural exports are up 7.8%. Industrial food products that bring Made in Italy food to the rest of the world are up 5.8%. Overall, the food sector showed an increase double that of other Italian exports.

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NEWS

THE BREAD OF THE FUTURE. How global warming changes wheat

Greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide and global warming are three topics much-discussed over the last ten years. But could these climate threats influence what we eat? Researchers have begun studying one of the oldest foods, bread. An Australian government-sponsored group led by Dr. Glenn Fitzgerald, professor at the University of Melbourne, carried out a study on the ratio of different types of proteins in wheat, and the effects that climate change can have on plants. According to their results, by 2050, the amount of protein in wheat will be reduced, making for smaller, less elastic loaves. Flour will contain less protein. The bread of 2050 was grown in Agface, an area where conditions foreseen for the future were artificially created, duplicating the carbon dioxide concentration expected in 35 years. The bread was not tasted, but consistency and size were measured.

Loaves were distinctly smaller than standard. More CO2 and less protein, but more wheat fields are predicted. “There are positive aspects that we are trying to emphasize,” Fitzgerald explained. Although carbon dioxide reduces wheat protein, rendering the dough less elastic, it also makes the plant grow faster.

“When the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increases, the level of nitrogen in the plant decreases,” he says, and this factor influences the structure of the plant. “We still have time,” Dr. Fitzgerald told the Telegraph. Researchers are examining grain types to see if they can develop a variety resistant to high levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

LONDON’S BLOBFISH BAR hosting the sea’s ugliest fish

Officially, it is “Psychrolutes marcidus”, but to its friends, it is known as blobfish. A gelatinous, rose-colored mass with a thick head and big eyes, blobfish was voted the ugliest fish in the world two years ago. After “Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium”, “Annie the Owl” and “Scooby’s Boutique Coffee Bar”, all animal-themed bars, London now will have a place dedicated to blobfish. The opening is set for the summer of 2016 although the address has not been announced. The stars of the show will be Barry, Lorcan and Lady Swift, three blobfish from the deep oceans near Australia. The news comes from a dedicated web site, but updates can also be found following Lorcan the Blobfish on Twitter. For now, we know that the fish will be visible in a pressurized aquarium. The bar menu will provide light lunches and more serious dinners, with gourmet evenings, organized weekly, serving eight fish-based courses. Besides being officially the ugliest fish in the world, the blob is also at risk of extinction and accustomed to life in very special conditions in the depths of the ocean. Questions about the safety and well-being of the creatures arise naturally: how can these conditions be recreated in a London bar? Answers on the site are vague. According to its owner, the aquarium-bar project emerged from collaboration with marine biologists, but no research or study center is cited.

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2015/2016

worldtour

Vini d’Italia

trebicchieri 2015 OCTOBER

28 october SEOUL

tour 2015/2016

2016

MaRCH

jaNuaRy

12 march

january

DüSSELDORF

MUNICH SPECIAL EVENT

Vini d’Italia guide

Roadshow

PRESENTATION

trebicchieri march

may

TOKYO SPECIAL EVENT

may

juNE

OSLO

trebicchieri

STOCKHOLM

NOVEMBER

Vini d’Italia

23 MELbOURNE

june

FEBRuaRy

trebicchieri

trebicchieri

4 february

aPRIL

june

TOKYO

2 november SHANGHAI trebicchieri

4 november

HONG KONG trebicchieri

11 february

Vini d’Italia

15 february

WARSAW Vini d’Italia

Roadshow

May

16 may

SAN FRANCISCO

ZüRICH

2 december

SAO PAULO

trebicchieri

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DECEMBER

4 april

9 february

trebicchieri

30 november

march

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NEW YORK

MOSCOW

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CHICAGO

19 november

SEATTLE Roadshow

21 SYDNEY

SINGAPORE Roadshow

18 may

bANGKOK Roadshow

20 may MANILA

Roadshow

INFO: SEGRETERIA.ESTERO@GAMBEROROSSO.IT 10 INFO: SEGRETERIA.ESTERO@GAMbEROROSSO.IT JULY - AUGUST 2015

PRESENTATION

bEIJING

30 october

Vini d’Italia

Vini d’Italia guide

june

VANCOUVER trebicchieri

TORONTO

MOSCOW

SPECIAL EVENT

Vini d’Italia guide PRESENTATION

EVENTS

by Lorenzo Ruggeri photos by Andrea Ruggeri

THE TOKYO EXPERIENCE After Moscow, the Gambero Rosso Experience moved on to Tokyo. Four days – from July 3 through 6 – of seminars, tastings and pairings were entirely dedicated to Italy’s wine and food culture. On the front lines, producers dealt with probing questions and the desire for knowledge on the part of Japanese consumers and journalists.

The Tokyo public enjoys understanding the history of each product, and is attentive to every detail, notably interested in trying new flavors. Familiarity with Italian and other European products is more widespread in Japan than in any other Asian country, the fruit of experiences while traveling in Italy: every year, over 500,000 Japanese visit.

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EVENTS

The events took place in the new Accademia del Gambero Rosso in the delightful Kagurazaka quarter: low buildings, relaxed rhythms, and a myriad of French bistros and Italian eating places. Restaurant names amused us: “Stagione fruttificare” (literally – season to bear fruit – as odd in Italian as it is in English), “I Scampi”, and pizzeria Margherita Pagliaccio are a few examples. Each day brought participants twelve hours of guided tastings and workshops: the aromas of Gragnano dried pasta, olive cultivars of Brindisi, buffalo mozzarella from the Salerno zone, peeled Italian tomatoes tasted just as they were and then paired, and even Italian liqueurs and unusual cocktails. Wine was an underlying theme, linking all the experiences together.

The four days were curated by the Academy’s resident chef, Riccardo Fanucci.

“For a chef, Tokyo is an 12 JULY - AUGUST 2015

incredible experience in terms of new products, cuts of meat, cooking methods. For Italian businesses, it’s the right place to invest. Not only is there financial fluidity, but there’s also real consumer interest and curiosity,” he explained as he sliced guanciale.

The representatives of the wines of the Consorzio Salice Salentino (Cantina Due Palme and Vecchia Cantina enjoyed particular success) opened the first day’s activities. Then came two seminars with the award-winning wines of the Vini d’Italia 2015 guide. The atmosphere was attentive and rigorously silent except for a few precise and careful questions. White wines appealed more than they did a few years ago. At the end, a closing party featured another Made in Italy symbol, the new Cinquecento. Café Fiat hosted all the producers, over 300 people. “Promotions involving the synergy of Italian companies from different sectors is a winning strategy abroad, and has still not been fully exploited. The impact of Italianità is powerful. The Japanese have a crush on us, and love everything about us, our cooking, our life style, our fashions. They admire quality, detail, imagination and creativity, things they possess themselves but express less in their firmly stratified society,” confided Tiziana Alamprese, Fiat Japan’s marketing 13 JULY - AUGUST 2015

EVENTS

manager. The Italian ambassador in Tokyo, Domenico Giorgi, commented, between one tasting and another, â&#x20AC;&#x153;How many Italians are there living in the city? About 2,000 registered, but around the country there are 90,000 restaurants inspired by cucina italiana. Tourism is the key element leading to familiarity with our food. From the culinary point of view, Japan and Italy have many common traits: ties to their territory, seasonality of products, few condiments and clean flavors.

We understand each other perfectly at that level. These similarities lead to a great love for Italy.â&#x20AC;?

This love is reciprocated â&#x20AC;&#x201C; at the Milano Expo, the average wait to visit the Japanese pavilion is two hours. Taking advantage of this moment, from July 16 -19, the Kampai Sake Festival visited Rome and Naples, introducing products that have never before been imported or tasted in Italy, making them available to all.

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15 WE

MOVE

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STREET FOOD

FLORENCE

and the Mercato Centrale Florence is enjoying a successful revamping of a long-established traditional market. Umberto Montano, well-known local entrepreneur, with his son Domenico and the Cardini Group, had an idea â&#x20AC;&#x201C; transform the first floor (second floor for Americans) of the historic Mercato Centrale di San Lorenzo into a modern showcase for top-quality, artisanal food and drink. The space inside the splendid cast iron and glass structure from the late 19th century is now drawing crowds with the excellent products of 12 artisans who handle and transform their specialties in their adjoining workshops. The quality regulations they observe were written and signed by 16 JULY - AUGUST 2015

themselves. Open 365 days a year, from 10 a.m. to midnight, the Mercato is a magnet for Florentines and tourists, for the curious and the passionate, for anyone looking for a special culinary experience, to take away or consume on the premises, street food and not. Each shop has an eating space and table service is available.

On the roster, fresh fish from Maurizio and Paola Rosellini, fried foods and meatballs from Marco Rosi and Paolo Soderi, fruit and vegetables from Filippo Viana and Alessandra Camèra, fresh and cured meats by Famiglia Savigni, truffles from Savini Tartufi, sandwiches made by Fabrizio Bodini di Amblé, lampredotto (Florentine tripe) by Lorenzo Nigro, mozzarella di bufala from Angelo and Emanuele Campomaggiore, cheese from Franco Parola, chocolate and gelato by Cristian Beduschi, bread and pastry by David Bedu, pizza from Romualdo Rizzuti of Pizzeria Sud, fresh pasta from Raimondo Mendolia. To complete the picture are other more traditional establishments: Ristorante Tosca, birreria Ditta Luigi Moretti, coffee bar Caffè Italiano & Flò, wine bar, Enoteca del Chianti Classico, a cooking school - Lorenzo de’ Medici, Eataly grocery store, Luca Gardini wine school, Giunti bookstore and, to satisfy soccer fans, a Fiorentina souvenir shop. In the evening, the atmosphere in the market changes, shifting towards an entertainment scene, complete with musicians and street performers.

MERCATO CENTRALE DI SAN LORENZO | PIAZZA DEL MERCATO CENTRALE | FLORENCE | TEL . 055 210214

WINE OF THE MONTH

The inspired Rosso Piceno Rosso Piceno Morellone 2008 LE CANIETTE 24,000 bottles ex-cellar price: 9,50 euros On the hills of Ripatransone, a zone in the Piceno part of the Marche region that slopes gently towards the Adriatic sea, brothers Giovanni and Luigi Vagnoni are the heirs to a century-old wine-growing tradition. True grapegrowers, over the years they have built a recognizable style: solid wines, saturated colors and aromas that convey the sun-drenched exposure of their vineyards in the glass. The constant breezes from the nearby Adriatic have permitted the use of organic agricultural procedures for years, and their little jewel of a winery has the virtue of environmental sustainability. Their artisanal approach also makes room for originality, expressed in their use of barriques for aging their Offida Pecorino called â&#x20AC;&#x153;Io Sono Gaia Non Sono Lucreziaâ&#x20AC;?. (My name is Gaia, not Lucrezia). Small barrels are used for their more ambitious reds, while stainless steel is for younger, easy-to-drink bottles. The winery creates contemporary labels, but still stays close to its roots. The range of wines is solid, whether whites from indigenous grapes such as passerina and pecorino, or reds: the Vagnoni brothers turn out a particularly inspired version of Rosso Piceno. Morellone â&#x20AC;&#x2122;08 is magnificent. After a complex aromatic opening comes a round, relaxed and expansive palate, underlined by tannins of unusual finesse and maturity, in which fruit is still fresh and juicy. The finish is intriguingly spicy.

This is the perfect companion for red meats grilled outdoors in the summertime.

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TWITTER dixit

PerfectCellar

@PerfectCellar #winequote #StephenFry

Neal Martin

The Wine Wankers

@NealMartin No news yet if UGC probe to Pluto has found signs of terroir. Fingers crossed.

@winewankers Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re a real winelover when you can make furniture out of leftover wine corks!

Underground Cellar

Elizabeth Caravati

@UCellar Why have fries when you can have wine? #wino #wineupgrades #winelover

@escaravati Vintage2015 is well underway. Chardonnay clusters in Carneros NapaValley

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ITALIANS AROUND THE WORLD

The French Revolution

Simone Tondo’s new restaurant in Paris

In our last issue we talked about Giovanni Passerini and his new Ceros. This month, we stay in Paris to meet another talented young Italian who is starting his own revolution.

Countdown time for Simone Tondo. On July 31, his Roseval celebrates its last supper. And then? “Then I begin to look for a new space.” After a vacation, clearly. Like his friend and ex-boss Giovanni Passerini (whose story we told in our last issue), the moment has come for Tondo to leave the location where he had his Parisian success, and look elsewhere in the city. Three short years were enough to bring this little corner restaurant in Belleville to the center of the Parisian culinary scene. It took less than a year to convince Le Fooding guide that Roseval was the Best Bistrot in France, and another to consolidate his presence on the food scene of the capital city before deciding that the moment had come to move on by himself, without Michael Greenwold, with whom he had launched the adventure.Three years to find his feet, and just a few months to decide that it was the moment to make his move. Now, at 27, he is closing without any place definite to go. “Nothing. I can’t look for a new place and work at the same time. I have to be 100% focused on whatever I’m doing and on my clients, and I can’t do it if my brain is somewhere else,” he said, and added, “Plus, I can’t be away from Roseval.” The tiny restaurant (24 seats plus a few outdoors) also has a tiny kitchen and therefore, a tiny brigade. “Three people, including me and someone washing dishes. If I’m not present, there’s no structure to cover my absence. The kitchen is in front of the bathroom, and if I’m not there, everyone will know.” He’s joking, but, he goes on, “Being in the kitchen is a chef ’s duty.” A chef ’s job is also made up of events and conferences, “and I have to be able to leave without causing a problem.” That

means having a larger staff. His objective, therefore, is a larger space, with room for a brigade. No more tiny rooms, tables crowded together, that relaxed intimacy? “No, it’s all in the future. I’m looking for something atypical, but comfortable.” In what zone? “I’d like to be in the eleventh arrondissement, because I’ve lived here for five years, but I’m looking for a space, not a neighborhood.” So what’s essential? “I have to like it. I don’t want to be unhappy in order to be somewhere that’s supposed to be cool. If I move, it’s to be happy, and if I don’t find the right place, I’d rather stay someplace small, the way I am now.”

The need for more space doesn’t mean a change of direction, though. “What I want is to do better just what I’m doing today. More rhythm, more fun, more technique, but keeping it simple. And I want a pastry chef on the team.” Do you have an idea of who?

“No, I don’t and I don’t want to have one, because if I can’t manage it, I’m just shooting myself in the foot.”

So these are the last weeks in Roseval. And then, what schedule does he have in mind? “If everything goes smoothly, we should do it in 4 months. At worst, 8, I think.”

Timing like this is impossible in Italy, with its elephantine bureaucracy. But perhaps it’s just this greater ease in starting something new that means new places open quickly and close just as fast. “They open restaurants all the time,” Tondo said, “even if the market is still not saturated, it’s a stimulus for us to differentiate ourselves even further. But,” he added, “at the end, it’s the same places that stay open.”

Do you ever think about opening a place in Italy? “I do think about it. Maybe when I’m 35 and have a child.”

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JULY - AUGUST 2015

3 BICCHIERI 3 FORCHETTE

Rudy Travagli

“Wine and food should be fun!”

“What’s the best pairing?

Eat well and drink even better!” Rudy Travagli, from Emilia Romagna, is sommelier at Enoteca La Torre a Villa Laetitia, a Roman restaurant near the Tiber River, owned by the Fendi family. This year it won the prestigious Tre Forchette award from Gambero Rosso’s Ristorante d’Italia guide. “We have 1,700 labels in our cellars. A great deal is from France, above all Burgundy and Champagne, but Bordeaux is less in demand” Travagli told us. The wine selection is broad, and deep in vintage years, but its true added value is in the flexibility of choice.

“We can offer 150 wines by the glass and 25 tasting flights. A client can choose the number of wines to sample and drink at will.

He or she can select, or ask me to suggest a selection.”

There’s room for plenty of entertainment. The choice goes from more affordable flights to one for 3,500 euros that includes glasses of Cristal ’89, Petrus ’96, Chateau d’Yquem ’83. All this is made possible by that great invention, Coravin, that allows exceptional bottles (except for sparkling wines) to be served without even the cork being removed. The wine is conserved as if the bottle had never been breached.

We began with one of chef Danilo Ciavattini’s iconic dishes, inspired by his origins in the area of Lazio known as Tuscia. “La patata interrata, the ‘buried potato’, calls for a Burgundy, either white or red. The potato is all about aroma, like a Pinot Nero, with notes

of earthiness, mushrooms and tobacco, the same as the wine. What do you say to an Aloxe-Corton from Daniel Largeot?” We accept the suggestion, but our attention is drawn to many labels of aged Valtellina Superiore on the wine list.

“We want to be free in our choice of pairings. Wines tell about the person, the grower, the vintage year, the winery – details about lives lived.” We move on to the next course, vermicelli with butter and anchovies.

“This is a simple dish that I serve with a peasant-style wine: Tunia 2011 from Chiarofiore, vermentino and trebbiano grown on a biodynamic estate near Arezzo.” The chef is also a hunter and loves game.

Wild game birds cannot be served in restaurants, but if he could, he would cook his in a frying pan and serve it with lentils, black truffle sauce and its own liver. “Game birds need wine with structure and aromatic intensity. I would serve a Bordeaux, or a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Prologo from De Fermo (the 2012 is on his list). It has wonderful structure and great fruit. It’s full of flavor and leaves the mouth marvelously clean. We like to drink it at dinners with friends.” Then we sip a Motilla Moriles Don Px Gran Riserva 1983, and the game is over.

ENOTECA LA TORRE A VILLA LAETITIA | ROMA | WWW.ENOTECALATORREROMA.COM

by Lorenzo Ruggeri 22

JULY - AUGUST 2015

Find the best food and wine and enjoy the city more

STREET MAPS INSIDE restaurants pizzerias trattorias cafés hotels DelicatessenS and wine sHOPS Xt e t h s i engl 0 5 .

7 € y onl

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FOOD & DESIGN

HANDS-ON

Italian gestures Every year, in April, Milano shifts gear. From fashion capital, it turns into the headquarters for home furnishings and industrial design thanks to two events, Fuorisalone and Salone Internazionale del Mobile. This is the month when new young talents emerge, showing off original, glamorous objects, the creations of beautiful minds. Alice Schillaci, in her twenties, a fashion photographer and now also tableware designer, is one of the rising stars in this interior decoration world. She quickly attracted attention with her line of dishes, Casalinghe di Tokyo (Housewives of Tokyo, the name of a contemporary Japanese crime novel). In this project, Alice brings together Italian ceramic tradition and modern artists for a collection of unique tableware done in two colors, the same design viewed from six different perspectives.

Who is Alice Schillaci?

Casalinghe di Tokyo is Alice Schillaci, Milanese fashion photographer. Casalinghe are all those who participate in this experience. This project came out of my desire to apply my ideas to something that allowed a different, new and immediate approach.

Having a simple idea and using one’s hands is something everyone should try. I am used to working with my head a lot, and Casalinghe di Tokyo is a great safety valve. I am obsessed with tableware. I like to choose where to eat, and above all, I love surrounding myself with objects that make me feel at home.

With this project, I satisfied both that and my desire to ‘make’ something.

When and how did the Casalinghe di Tokyo project start?

Technically we started in 2014, but the shape came clear in 2015 when we presented our first product at Fuorisalone: a line of ceramic dishes inspired by Italian gestures, a tribute to the work of Bruno Munari, a great Italian artist and designer. The name of the project was an accident. I was at a friend’s house and trying to think of a name that could mean everything that was in my head – the kitchen, design, irony. Certainly it was Bruno Munari and his approach to design that started me playing with shapes, ideas and objects, even without any background in the field.

There’s a Japanese term that Munari likes, asobi, art in the sense of pleasure in play. In this term I found the starting point for the project. I wanted a name that suggested Japan and its minimalism and at the same time, didn’t take itself too seriously. As my mind was rolling around from one idea to another, my eye fell on the book my friend was reading at the time, the celebrated crime novel by Natsuko Kirino, Le quattro casalinghe di Tokyo. (In English, the novel is entitled Out.) The name was perfect. It carried the idea of Japan, and using the word housewives when we’re talking about cucina seemed to add the right pinch of irony.

24

JULY - AUGUST 2015

What philosophy lies behind this line of dishes?

I like to think of Casalinghe di Tokyo as a design idea that comes from inside the kitchen, a space for play, narration and dialogue. In 2015, we launched a line of 6 + 6 plates called Stereotypism, inspired by Bruno Munariâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s book Supplemento al dizionario Italiano. He examines the ways of expressing oneself without speaking, using not only our hands, but also different facial expressions. I asked two artists, Martina Merlini and Lucio Bolognesi, to imagine traditional Italian gestures in different combinable patterns. It became a narration in ceramics, where each dish is harmoniously related to the other, in a constant dialogue within the entire set. Lucio chose a classic Italian gesture seen from six different angles and accompanied by letters that, in order, compose the word stereotypism. Martina developed six patterns, each one different, to frame each hand. Production was turned over to expert artisans in Nove, a town in the Veneto which, despite having a long family tradition behind them, today are working in a deeply contemporary way.

Where can we buy these unique dishes?

Today they can be purchased directly in the BUY section of our site. They are on sale at Funky Table in Milano on Via Santa Marta and at Atelier MaNo in Paris, near the Canal Saint Martin. A sales campaign on the German website, Monoqui, just finished. Obviously, we are hoping to expand.

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s next?

We are now developing our next project. It will be called Trame Italiane, and it refers to the famous Italo Calvino book Fiabe Italiane, published in 1956.

We decided to explore the multi-hued heritage of Italian fables. We want to tell the stories of the most evocative fables through 50 illustrations by Arianna Vairo, a Milanese artist, embroidered on place mats made from natural fibers. Each place mat will be a window into the worlds of each of us, all of us different but similar individuals, as we share the parabola of human life.

Stefania Annese collaborated 25 JULY - AUGUST 2015

PAIRING LAB

JAPANESE FOOD &

drawing by Chiara Buosi SCHIAVA

FIANO FSOAVE

frappato

verdicchio

morellino

Sashimi

TRENTINO SAUVIGNON BLANC

SCHIAVA

FIANO FSOAVE

Grilled Ayu

FRANCIACORTA BRUT SCHIAVA

FIANO FSOAVE

frappato

morellino

verdicchio

Prawn Tempura Ramen

VERDICCHIO DEI CASTELLI DI JESI 26 JULY - AUGUST 2015

frappato

morellino

& ITALIAN WINES Temaki sushi roll VERMENTINO DI GALLURA

Tuna Tataki

ALTO ADIGE SCHIAVA

Chicken Yakitori

CERASUOLO D'ABRUZZO

27 JULY - AUGUST 2015

COVER STORY

by Lorenzo Ruggeri photos by Andrea Ruggeri

A Roman in Tokyo

Riccardo Fanucci Gambero Rosso brings its expertise and insights to a city of grand cuisine.

Two civilizations meet 28 JULY - AUGUST 2015

29 JULY - AUGUST 2015

COVER STORY

C

hef at the Ristorante Zodiaco and the eclectic Momò Republic, both in Rome, by way of a three-year Mastery of Cooking at Boscolo Etoile Academy – and then the great leap, 10,000 kilometers away… Since January, 2015, Riccardo Fanucci has been the resident chef at the Gambero Rosso Academy Japan.

He is the first foreign cooking docent to obtain an executive visa to the country. The academy is in Kagurazaka, in the Shinjuku neighborhood, a zone studded with French and Italian eating places. Riccardo is not only skilled technically, but is also a careful, experienced buyer of Italian food products, meticulously recreating in Tokyo an authentic piece of Italy.

From the banks of the Tiber to Edo: how were your first six months in Tokyo?

The academy is in the right location. Kagurazaka is the gourmet quarter of Tokyo. We have launched courses for enthusiasts, show-cooking classes and wine seminars. My first reaction was amazement: adjusting to different eating habits, new and exotic ingredients. Life in Tokyo is frenetic. People have very tight schedules. But I found that food varies as much as Italian cucina does in terms of tradition and history. I’ve been able to learn new techniques and visit fabulous markets like the Tsukiji fish market, the largest in the world. For a chef, Tokyo is a great experience.

How good are Italian restaurants in Tokyo?

Italian restaurants in Tokyo are mostly managed by Japanese who have spent time in Italy. There are very few that serve traditional

30 JULY - AUGUST 2015

food that respects our rules. The Japanese are fascinated by Italian food traditions. They are passionate about the story that lies behind our products. What’s basic to us is new and exciting for them. The most popular dishes are pasta and risotto. They’re very curious about cooking pasta al dente. Tomatoes are a mystery to them. In my courses, they were full of questions about how to use them.

How do academy courses work?

Courses for amateurs are generally in the morning and last about 3 hours. Participants are mostly women. Traditionally, Japanese men cook very little. Students who come the first time generally return. They experiment at home, sending me photos and feedback to show me that they have absorbed the lessons. We also have showcooking evenings when our clients watch live lessons and then taste alta cucina dishes, sometimes including experiments with fusion. Finally, we offer bread-making and pastry courses led by Ivana Di Stefano. The demand for these is very strong because it’s a world that the Japanese particularly love.

Why should European wine-and-food-producing companies invest in Japan?

Japan is the right place for those who invest in quality at all costs. Here there’s financial fluidity and visceral attention paid to all phases of the process, including packaging, on the part of consumers as well as the large distributors and commercial chains. Even convenience stores sell some quality products. Numerous Japanese food buyers live abroad and are continually seeking out new niche products. This is a country that loves food in all its forms, from street food to great international cuisine.

WINE

Stefania Annese collaborated photos by Alvise Barsanti

The Gravn

A great winemaker explains that his secret is to respect time and nature. Especially time.

ner Vision

33 JULY - AUGUST 2015

WINE

J

oško Gravner was born among the vineyards of a village called Lenzuolo Bianco (which means White Sheet) near Oslavia, in Friuli. During the First World War, the entire population of this border zone with Slovenia was evacuated.

At the time, the family farm consisted of about 2.5 hectares producing grapes, cherries and apricots.

On the family’s return to their land after the war, in 1919, the Gravners planted their first real vineyards, mostly varieties native to the Gorizia zone, such as ribolla gialla and

pignolo, but also some international ones. The wine they produced was bottled for the first time in 1973, the year in which young Joško successfully established his name on the national and international marketplace, thanks to his distinctive approach. In the 1980’s, Joško began to take charge of his winery’s destiny. He introduced vinification in stainless steel, aging and fermentation in French barriques, and launched an entire series of production procedures that lasted until the first half of the 1990s. But this is ancient history...

Now the wine world knows Joško Gravner for his Ribolla Gialla vinified in amphorae, for his intense, juicy, drinkable bottles that find themselves at home with almost every food. The presentation of the book, Gravner - Coltivare in Vino (Gravner - Growing Wine, in Italian only), published by Cucchiaio d’Argento, gives us a unique opportunity to know this great man, not just as a producer, but as one of the fathers of rigorous viticulture in Italy and abroad. The volume, written by Stefano Caffari, director of special initiatives at Cucchiao d’Argento, with photographs by Alvise Barsanti, takes us on a voyage through time and space into Gravner’s world. Ste-

JOSKO GRAVNER © M. MOCILNIK

34 JULY - AUGUST 2015

fano seeks intimacy with his subject, and, avoiding technical language, puts readers of every level of expertise under his subject’s spell. The book has a circular structure in which the word ‘time’ returns in an intriguing way from start to finish as it becomes the fundamental ingredient in Gravner’s hands while he produces his precious nectar. “We fill the glass with what Nature allows, by exerting self-control, waiting to harvest in the right moment,” Joško says. “Time is fundamental and necessary so that the plant can nourish the grapes with all its substances, and so I don’t have to do any intervention in the cellar. In the work of the enologist, there’s often an obsession with safety, as if you want to solve something before it happens, but the secret is that not doing is as powerful an action as doing is. Time is a tool until Nature has run its course.”

35 JULY - AUGUST 2015

WINE

This is the thinking that underpins all Gravner’s production philosophy. It matured after his trip to California. There Joško found one kind of certainty: that was not his way of doing things. So he went home to look for what he himself calls “clean water”. He made a second trip, this time to the Caucasus, where wine was born millennia ago. There he came to understand the classic methods of fermentation and aging in large terracotta amphorae.

“The hailstorm of 1996 influenced my way of being in the world,” Gravner states.

“Its ferocity devastated the harvest. It was only at that point that I realized I was working in a winery that had no roof. My first step was to

try to find my own serenity, the right path for restoring to wine the integrity of its territory. Wine lives in thought and in the waiting.

But it always starts with a very great grape.”

The work to produce an excellent wine begins in the vineyard, and must be planned there. In the winter months, the wise grapegrower prunes the vines in such a way that when it awakens in spring, its energies are channeled into the bunch of grapes. When the harvest comes, the fruit is complete and the wine for the next year begins. But why wait seven years to release?

Gravner knows that this period brings with it a series of risks: work, commitment, but above all the commercial loss for wines that are not

immediately available. Add to this selection in the vineyard of not more than three bunches per vine and then, the release of very few bottles overall. Despite everything, Joško trusts in Nature, in the right phase of maturation of the grapes and the vintage year that shapes the way to work. “The most important thing for a peasant, a grape-grower, is to be dissatisfied with what you do.

If not, you stop evolving, and research doesn’t interest you any more,” Gravner concludes. “For example my next project involves making wines including their stems, which means going back to the origins of production.

The beauty of making wine is never to be content. Your thoughts must always be about your will to do better.”

BERE BENE: BEST BUYS

Lombardy

Both still and sparkling labels in the spotlight 38 JULY - AUGUST 2015

In this year of the Expo, Lombardy shows off its varied, wide-ranging, healthy winegrowing scene.

Metodo classico wines from Franciacorta and Oltrepò Pavese are the region’s top draw, but both still and sparkling labels also offer solid good buys. In our review, Oltrepò Pavese plays the leading role with bonarda grapes: numbers and potential are there, but much work remains to be done in expressing precise territorial character and opting for more reasonable selections and yields. There are not many examples of high quality Rhine Rieslings, but we invite you to try Cristian Calatroni’s version.

The Garda zone is doing well and 2013 releases reveal a series of easy-to-drink, fragrant Chiaretto bottles.

After years of growth, Lugana is undergoing a quality shakeout, with markets, above all Germany, still turning to this denomination.

Encouraging news comes from the Mantua area, where the southern zone is producing under-valued Lambrusco labels. From Brescia, reds and whites are showing up in types that were in vogue before the popularity of metodo classico wines surged. From Valtellina, filtered by our price limit, we spotlight only one wine, but it’s a good buy, pleasurable and lighthearted: Rosso di Valtellina 2013 made by Nino Negri is one of our favorite labels.

39 JULY - AUGUST 2015

BERE BENE: BEST BUYS

vineyard produce 500,000 bottles annually. This Chiaretto alternates berry and delicately floral notes. The palate is succulent but fresh at the same time, with good fruity substance and a finish that prolongs and dispenses flavor.

Valtenesi Chiaretto Rosamara ’13, COSTARIPA

Mattia Vezzola heads this historic winery, founded in 1936 on land stretching from the Desenzano del Garda territory to the hillside of Salò.

Fragrant, savory, elegant, and with unusual persistence, this 2013 Chiaretto proves to be one of the best of its kind. It offers typical notes of black berries, pomegranate and licorice along with floral tones. Radiantly fresh on the finish, it is an ideal table wine, but also good sipped on its own.

Il Bardughino ’13, ALESSIO BRANDOLINI We have been following attentively the evolution of young Alessio Brandolini’s small winery. He is clearheaded, determined and anxious to improve his production of territorial wines year after year. This one is a fine version of Malvasia secca with an interesting, wide range of aromas and an intense, firm and convincing palate.

Oltrepò Pavese Bonarda Costa del sole '13,

MARCHESE ADORNO

This winery, one of the largest in the Oltrepò, has benefited from major investments that, together with the influence of esteemed enologist Francesco Cervetti, have brought considerable results over the last few years. This Bonarda is elegant, fresh, silky and appealing right from its sparkle. Nicely balanced between tannins and sugar residue, it has a fine almondy finish.

Lugana I Frati ’13, CA’ DEI FRATI Ca’ dei Frati is one of the wineries that made Lugana famous, with 150 hectares of vineyard along the morainic hills that embrace the southern part of Lake Garda. This version of Lugana I Frati is decidedly lively. The 2013 vintage gives it a marked fruity fragrance, modulated by tones of almond, anise and lime. On the palate it reveals energy, flavor and solid structure.

Oltrepò Pavese Bonarda Campo del Monte ’13, F.LLI AGNES

Oltrepò Pavese Moscato Frizzante ’13,

Sergio and Cristiano Agnes can’t be left out of any discussion of Bonarda dell’Oltrepò Pavese. They make every variation – bubbly and still, with or without wood aging, with more or less sugar residue. Campo del Monte is intense and fragrant, soft, properly tannic and long on the palate, structured, and with a modulated sugar residue.

CA’ DEL GÈ

Among the range of wines released by the Padroggi family, we especially noticed this Moscato. It was particularly well-made, right from its brilliant color and fresh, floral, citrus aromas.

Impact in the mouth was pleasant with good balance, substance, and noteworthy cleanliness.

Valtenesi Chiaretto ’13, AVANZI The 2013 vintage year brought one of the best ever versions of Chiaretto produced in this handsome winery, founded in 1931. Its scale is important: 77 hectares of

Agòlo ’13, CA’ TESSITORI This family-run winery attracted our attention in recent years thanks to a series of targeted products, all

40 JULY - AUGUST 2015

It’s easy to say Bonarda, but in reality, even in the best-known and popular sparkling versions, there are many ways of interpreting the variety, often tied to the geographic zone at the source. The Rossetti and Scrivani families’ winery is located in the central-western part of the Oltrepò, where Bonarda has less intense colors, more floral fragrances and, if made well, as in this case, also a certain elegance.

with excellent price/quality rapport. One of the most recently developed is Agòlo, already mentioned last year, a fresh white from sauvignon blanc grapes with a golden color.

The characteristic fragrances of the variety emerge in a balanced way, allowing the wine to reveal itself in all its pleasantness.

Oltrepò Pavese Riesling ’07, CALATRONI

Curtefranca Bianco ’13,

Young Christian and Stefano Calatroni amazed us with their 2007 Riesling, a bottle for true fans of this variety – evolved, mature, mineral and fruity at the same time, sustained by a praiseworthy acidic vein, all at an unbeatable price.

FERGHETTINA

The Gatti family runs one of Franciacorta’s most solid wineries.

Starting from a warehouse and a small, rented vineyard, they developed Ferghettina into 160 hectares of property and a beautiful company center with modern, spacious cellars near Adro. We recommend Curtefranca Bianco ’13, a wine that leaves aside concentration and density in favor of freshness and citrus fruit sensations. Linear and coherent, it is an all-around table wine at an affordable price.

Oltrepò Pavese Bonarda Vivace Sommossa ’13, CASTELLO DI LUZZANO Rovescala is the true home of Bonarda. We like Giovannella Fugazza’s creativity in the naming and labeling of her wines. Obviously, we like the wines, too. This Bonarda has a dark, intense color, sensations of black berries and fruit that’s almost chewy.

Riesling Lo Spavaldo ’13, FINIGETO Founded in 2005 by young Aldo Dallavalle on the slopes of Montalto Pavesi, the winery is on soil best suited for growing white grapes. This wine demonstrates how even riesling italico can give a good quality product, all floral and fragrant tones, very pleasant in the mouth with good overall balance.

Lugana Sorgente ’13, CITARI Founded in 1975, this winery in San Martino della Battaglia can draw on 22 hectares of vineyard for production that annually numbers 150,000 bottles. Lugana Sorgente displays notes of reduction at first, but then opens into an intriguing aromatic picture. White fruit accompanies spicy notes of saffron in an elegant and harmonious flavor.

The finish is precise and unwavering, with long aromatic persistence.

Lambrusco Mantovano G ’13, GIUBERTONI For over 100 years, the Giubertoni family has been producing and marketing Lambrusco mantovano in San Nicolò Po. For our publication, we could have chosen Vecchio Ponte, dedicated to the bridge destroyed during World War II, but we liked G more because it is a little less rustic, but honest and fruity, pleasurable, and easy to drink by the bucket as you eat cold cuts and fried snacks with friends.

Oltrepò Pavese Bonarda Vivace ’13, TENUTA LA COSTAIOLA

41 JULY - AUGUST 2015

Oltrepò Pavese Riesling Renano V. Martina ’13,

sionate enologist son Matteo. In the vast range of the company’s wines, we chose Bonarda from the premium line. A medium-ruby color, it offers floral notes with hints of berries: balanced and substantial.

ISIMBARDA

This is one of the most interesting producers of Rhine riesling in the zone: vertical tastings of the oldest vintages confirm the wine’s validity and longevity.

For fans of the variety, it is a true pleasure to note the emergence over the years of classic mineral and petrol notes, but for those who prefer the wine young, this Vigna Martina offers generous floral aromas and a pleasant, fragrant palate.

Curtefranca Bianco Campolarga ’13, IL MOSNEL

Mosnel is one of the most relevant Franciacorta wineries, with its headquarters in a beautiful 17th-century residence, perfectly restored, in Passirano. Emanuela Barboglio and Giulio Barzanò turn out a well-curated range of Franciacorta bottles and territorial wines. Intense and varietal, easyto-drink, Campolarga is 60% chardonnay, 40% pinot bianco. Intense citrus notes, particularly harmonious in the mouth: creamy, balanced, sustained by lively acidity.

Capriano del Colle Marzemino Berzamì ’13, LAZZARI Berzamì is the dialect name of marzemino, an eclectic variety that, when vinified to consume young, as in this case, gives very easy-to-drink wines. Berzamì is fragrant and fruity, with dark cherry and berry aromas, seductive, intense, soft and balanced. Naturally, it is not particularly complex, but it is an invitingly pleasant bottle to share in the company of friends.

Rosso di Valtellina ’13, NINO NEGRI Nino Negri today belongs to the Gruppo Italian Vini, the company that promoted the Valtellina territory in Italy and abroad. We’ll put aside the celebrated Sfursat bottles to tell you about the delicious basic (or entry-level) wine, Rosso di Valtellina ’13. The color is notably pale. It develops slightly earthy sensations and fragrant tones of wild strawberries. Drinking it is a joy. The body is slim but well-supported by creamy tannins, tautness and a markedly fresh finish.

Lambrusco Mantovano Rosso dei Concari ’13, LEBOVITZ From another historic winery in the zone, located near the confluence of the Mincio and Po rivers, Rosso dei Concari is a most representative wine, obtained from lambrusco viadanese, maestri and marani grapes.

The color is almost impenetrable, the sparkle cheerful and intense. Aromas suggest red fruit and violets. In the mouth, good structure, lively and appealing, with some sugar residue and good overall balance.

Oltrepò Pavese Sangue di Giuda Fior del Vento ’13, ANDREA PICCHIONI

Oltrepò Pavese Bonarda Sabion Bertè & Cordini ’13, FRANCESCO MONTAGNA

Andrea Picchioni has shown himself to be one of the most interesting winegrowers in the Oltrepò. The small winery he founded attained an excellent standard some time ago, and not only with important reds. We recommend the Sangue di Giuda because we enjoyed its

A long-established traditional winery, acquired from the Berte and Cordini families in 1974, it is now going through the changing of the guard for the winemaking part, as Natale Bertè makes room for his young and pas-

42 JULY - AUGUST 2015

disappointing in terms of constant quality, cleanliness and typicity. A beautiful, intense, violet-ruby color, it has honest aromas of flowers and berries. In the mouth it is firm, pulpy and fragrant, with fine tannins and a good, fresh, fruity finish.

substance, honest aromas and overall balance between tannins and sweetness.

Gran Rosso del Vicariato di Quistello ’13, CANTINA SOCIALE COOPERATIVA DI QUISTELLO

Oltrepò Pavese Bonarda Vivace Possessione di Vergombera ’13, BRUNO VERDI

Lambrusco is not only from Emilia. We found interesting interpretations in the Oltrepò mantovano. This is the case with the historic Cantina di Quistello and its Gran Rosso, made from ancellotta and grappello Ruberti, a wine with an important name, re-fermented in the bottle. In the glass it is straightforward, robust,and fragrant, with a lively mousse. Substantial in the mouth.

A lovely expression of Bonarda from Paolo Verdi ( the company still bears the name of his father, Bruno). Creamy sparkle, honest aromas with hints of berries, violets and balsamic notes. Assertive in the mouth with well-evolved tannins, good balance, honesty and good energy.

Campèi ’12, VILLA FRANCIACORTA

Oltrepò Pavese Bonarda ’13,

Villa Franciacorta is located in a beautiful 17th-century hamlet in Monticelli Brusati, where, in the 1960s, Alessandro Bianchi laid the foundation for his present-day, successful winery. Today the winery has over 100 hectares, of which 40 are vineyard. Its Franciacorta production perfectly represents the house style. Among the still wines, Campèi is the most surprising for its expressive immediacy. Made from monovarietal chardonnay, it plays with fruity aromas such as yellow peach and, in the mouth, shows a slim and energetic body.

PIETRO TORTI

Sandro Torti ably handles the winery inherited from his father and always deserves our praise for his commitment and dedication. His Bonarda regularly shows up as one of the best in the Oltrepò in blind tastings: fragrant, aromatic and soft, thanks to a fairly high sugar residue. Very pleasant to drink.

Oltrepò Pavese Bonarda ’13, VANZINI One of the greatest virtues of the Vanzini family is knowing how to combine quality with quantity. Over 100,000 bottles of this Bonarda are produced annually, and it’s never

True Abruzzo 43 JULY - AUGUST 2015

Contesa società agricola

www.contesa.it

Collecorvino (Pe)

TRAVEL

Cagliari Hot Sardinian identity at the table and within the city walls

44 JULY - AUGUST 2015

tspot

A favorable climate, lively atmosphere and centuries of history bless this metropolis of the Mediterranean. Cagliari has protected its authenticity, the fruit of innumerable cultural collisions.

Seafood and the best from inland farms come to the table in both traditional and creative ways.

45 JULY - AUGUST 2015

TRAVEL

MULTICULTURAL IDENTITY

IDEAS FOR A WALK AROUND TOWN

A LITTLE HISTORY

The fortified high citadel constructed by the Pisani offers complex little streets to explore. The old Castello, Marina, Stampace and Villanova neighborhoods coexist with the modernity of a unique metropolis that grew remarkably in the second half of the 20th century and today has about half a million inhabitants. An approach to the Sardinian capital must start with a visit to the bastions and views over the light-filled horizon, before a plunge into the churches and basilicas of the old city. Its artistic patrimony speaks of centuries of history, from the Byzantine architecture of San Saturnino to the crypt of San Domenico in Gothic-Catalan style, to the Romanesque Cathedral of Santa Maria. In the Marina quarter, Sardiniaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest urban archeological site spreads out in the underground area of Santâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Eulalia. The Roman amphitheater from the 1st and 2nd centuries AD is beautifully set in a natural valley on the slopes of the Colle di Buon Cammino.

In the heart of the Mediterranean, protected by the gulf that has made it a safe refuge for centuries, Cagliari owes its historic and cultural identity to its geography. Stratified over time, the city reveals the traces of a multiethnic past in the warmth of its hospitality. Antique civilizations such as the Punic, Roman and Byzantine and, more recently, the aggressive maritime republic of Pisa and the Piedmontese in the 18th century all left their mark on the city.

SAFFRON

46 JULY - AUGUST 2015

CUCINA.EAT ANTICA HOSTARIA - FREGOLA PASTA WITH CLAMS

CULINARY CAGLIARI FROM ITS MARKETS TO ITS TRADITIONAL TABLES

Let yourself be drawn into the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s atmosphere, starting from its food resources, especially Italyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest covered market, San Benedetto, in the heart of Cagliari. But many other locales protect Sardinian culinary traditions, both its seafood and its farm products. Marine, peasant and pastoral influences all play their part. The island tables offer goat and sheep cheeses, bitter corbezzolo honey, cooked grape must, almonds and saffron along with Sardinian suckling pig roasted on a spit, wild boar prosciutto to eat with one of the thousand types of local bread, sea urchins and bottarga, clams and spotted dogfish, boiled octopus and fregola pasta served with tasty toppings. Traditional dishes are wellloved along with amazing creative interpretations of the territory.

BOTTARGA

47 JULY - AUGUST 2015

TRAVEL

ADDRESSES ANTICA HOSTARIA | CAGLIARI | VIA CAVOUR, 60 | TEL. 070 665870 | WWW.ANTICAHOSTARIA.IT

PIAZZA GALILEO GALILEI, WWW.SHOPCUCINA.IT

RISTORANTE ITALIA & OYSTER | CAGLIARI | VIA SARDEGNA, 32 | CAGLIARI | 070 657987 | RISTORANTEITALIA_CA@TISCALI.IT

RETROBURGER | CAGLIARI | VIA DOMENICO ALBERTO AZUNI 98 | 388 850 6085

In the Marina quarter, chef Claudio Mura continues the traditions of a long-established restaurant, with typical dishes expertly prepared, ranging from malloreddus alla campidanese (gnocchi-shaped pasta with sausage and pecorino) to fried octopus and fregola pasta with clams.

1 |TEL. 070 0991098 |

A place with a soul, welcoming and versatile, this successful, experimental locale is a bistro, wine shop (with great labels and many artisanal beers, spirits and well-made cocktails), gourmet grocery store, bookshop, kitchen and tableware emporium. You can also eat in the piazza.

Sixties decor and excellent Mediterranean hamburgers (beef, horsemeat and lamb). Evenings only, but Sunday lunch as well.

Historic, traditional restaurant, serving above all the freshest of seafood, simply prepared. Recently opened on the ground floor next door is Oyster, a wine bar with a few dishes, much raw seafood and a selection of wine by the glass.

ANTICO CAFFÈ DAL 1855 | CAGLIARI | PIAZZA COSTITUZIONE 10/11 | TEL. 070 658206 | WWW.ANTICOCAFFE1855.IT

DAL CORSARO | CAGLIARI | VIALE REGINA MARGHERITA, 28 | TEL. 070 664318 | WWW.DALCORSARO.COM

One of Cagliari’s historic cafés. In the heart of the city, at the foot of the Bastione di San Remy, it offers everything from breakfast to after-dinner drinks. Comfortable outdoor space, perfect for people-watching on one of the city’s principal shopping streets.

One kitchen, two restaurants. To the left, Fork, an appealing bistrot. To the right, the historic dining space, with young Stefano Deidda in the kitchen, an Italian prodigy chef with international experience. His talent is obvious in every dish – creative, showy, but with real substance.

PASTICCERIA PIEMONTESE | CAGLIARI VIA FRANCESCO COCCO ORTU, 39 | TEL. | WWW.PASTICCERIA-PIEMONTESE.COM

LUIGI POMATA | CAGLIARI | VIALE REGINA MARGHERITA 14 |070 672058

070 41365

The Aresu family has run this historic Cagliari pastry shop for 60 years. Their specialty is chocolate, but everything is good from leavened breakfast pastries, flaky tarts and elaborate celebratory cakes.

The headquarters of chef Luigi Pomata from Carloforte.

Modern ambiance, sushi bar, bistro and pleasant outdoor space. Premium seafood ingredients, especially fresh tuna.

Order linguine with tuna, capers, olives and lemon – a classic on the menu since 1973 in the historic Da Niccolo restaurant.

BIFFI | CAGLIARI | VIA SAN GIOVANNI, 6

One of Italy’s great cocktail bars. Founded some years ago, it is now perfectly managed by barman Ivan Mereu. No sign outside, only a white door and a doorbell, but everyone is welcome. The atmosphere is from another era, with perfect music to accompany a perfect drink.

LOCANDA CADDEO | CAGLIARI | VIA SASSARI, 75 | TEL. 070 680491 | WWW.LOCANDACADDEO.IT

A view of the sea while eating focaccia, filled, soft and wellleavened. Or artisanal, crisp potato chips. Munch along with your choice of a good wine by the glass.

GELLATO | CAGLIARI | VIA PERGOLESI, 12

Truly artisanal gelato, with a vast, delicious selection of ice cream cakes. Don’t miss the classics: hazelnut and pistachio but also fruit.

LA PIZZETTA D’ORO | CAGLIARI | VIA DELLA PINETA, 29 | WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/PAGES/ PIZZETTA-DORO/164730550208104

CHEZ LES NEGRES | CAGLIARI | VIA SIDNEY SONNINO, 175 | TEL. 070 654997 | WWW. CHEZLESNEGRES.IT

Since 1972, traditional little tomato and mozzarella pizzas to eat while you walk, served folded up in wax paper. Variations include prosciutto, capers or anchovies.

A pastry benchmark since 1964, with traditional classics made on the spot. Good cake and almond paste sweets.

CUCINA.EAT | CAGLIARI |

48 JULY - AUGUST 2015

A GUIDE TO THE LEADING 850 COMPANIES PRODUCING FOODSTUFFS IN ITALY

An indispensable tool for foodies but even more so for industry insiders promoting the best of Made-in-Italy worldwide.

www.gamberorosso.it

WWW.FERRARITRENTO.IT

50 AUGUST 2015 THE ITALIAN ART OFJULY -LIVING

Venezia, Piazza San Marco ore 4:54

RECIPES FROM TOP CHEFS

by Stefano Polacchi photos by Cesare Genuzio

MY OWN FRIULI Antonia Klugmann After the success of Venissa in Venice, Antonia Klugmann has opened a restaurant in her beloved region of Friuli. One of the few women chefs in Italy to do so, she prepares a creative menu, dishes in which the territory, rather than tradition, prevails, and where ideas, thoughts, and personal feelings come together.

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RECIPES FROM TOP CHEFS

TERROIR AND ITS BORDERS

Antonia Klugmann is one of the very few women chefs who offer a creative and innovative restaurant menu in Italy. Her route was an unusual one: she turned to serious cooking after studying law for three years, and immediately aimed high. After 2001, back in her beloved Friuli, she worked in the kitchens of chefs Raffaello Mazzolini and Bruno Barbieri at Arquade, as well as in Cioccolateria Giraudi in Alessandria, She also spent some months in the De Prà family restaurant in Pieve d’Alpago. She and her companion, Romano De Feo, finally opened a restaurant in Pavia di Udine (L’Antico Foledor), and there she found her path, a personal approach to food in the light of her many experiences. Besides the abilities honed in the kitchens where she had worked, Antonia, the daughter of doctors, had also studied acting, music and photography. She excels in skiing and sailing, All this plays a part in her kitchen life. “The cucina we offer today is closely tied to the territory in which Romano and I work, but also to the personal memories we associate with our ingredients,” Antonia says. “We are always looking for new pairings and sensations, rather than revisiting tradition.

Seasonality and vegetables are the principal elements, the foundation of our dishes. What grows in local gardens motivates our choice of primary resources.”

After two successful and gratifying years at Venissa in Venice, Antonia opened her own restaurant again, in her own Friuli.

Here she presents a Friuli that avoids clichés. Other cultures and ideas come into her food, as they have for centuries in this border region in Italy’s northeast.

She is happy to use new technology and techniques, such as Ferran Adrià’s texturas. Antonia Klugmann was selected by Davide Rampello as one of the ambassadors of cucina italiana at Expo 2015.

L’ARGINE | DOLEGNA DEL COLLIO (GO) | LOC. VENCÒ | TEL. 0481 1999882 | WWW.LARGINEAVENCO.IT 52 JULY - AUGUST 2015

WHITE AND GREEN ASPARAGUS 4 SERVINGS 16 WHITE ASPARAGUS 1 BUNCH GREEN ASPARAGUS 50 G BAY LEAF POWDER 40 HOP SHOOTS GROUND IVY (GLECHOMA HEDERACEA) BUTTER, EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL, GELESPESSA (XANTHAN GUM)

PREPARATION Prepare the bay leaf powder: dry the leaves, pulverize them in a spice grinder and then strain through a chinois. Cook the white asparagus on a salt block for about 20 minutes at 190째C. Wrap each stalk in aluminum foil and season with a little oil, butter and salt.

Mince the green asparagus stalks. Cut the tips into small pieces, respecting the natural

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form of the vegetable. Centrifuge any extra bits of the white asparagus, thicken with gelespessa and taste for salt. Blanch the hop shoots and season with oil, garlic and salt.

Arrange the white asparagus on a dish.

Season them with the two consistencies of the green asparagus (kept separate), a few drops of the asparagus centrifuge, the hop shoots, laurel powder and ground ivy.

RECIPES FROM TOP CHEFS

NETTLES, RADICCHIO AND SAVORY MERINGUE SOUP 4 SERVINGS 1 ONION 2 POTATOES

FOR THE MERINGUE: 200 G POWDERED GLUCOSE

500 G CLEANED NETTLES

160 G EGG WHITES

GELESPESSA (SEE PREVIOUS RECIPE)

1 CLOVE GARLIC 3 HEADS OF WILD, YOUNG, WELL-WASHED GREEN RADICCHIO LEAVES YARROW AND CLOVER

A PINCH OF SALT

PREPARATION Beat the whites into peaks with the glucose. Shape into disks and bake at 110째 C for 2 hours. Sweat the julienned onion and garlic clove with water and olive oil.

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Add potatoes sliced into rounds and warm water to cover. Simmer until potatoes are soft. Puree and cool. Blanch the nettles in salt water and cool rapidly. Puree together the cold nettles, whipped potatoes, a few ice cubes and a teaspoon of gelespessa.

Strain through a chinois. Serve the cream of nettles reheated with the radicchio leaves, pieces of salted meringue and finish with a little Maldon salt. Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and wild herbs.

LAMB, STRAWBERRIES AND AGRETTI 4 SERVINGS 1 LEG OF LAMB, CLEANED, BONED AND CHOPPED INTO 8 FAIRLY LARGE PIECES 200 G DEMI-GLACE* 8 STRAWBERRIES 300 G STRAWBERRY JUICE (MADE WITH A POT FOR EXTRACTING JUICES BY HEAT) 300 G CLEANED AGRETTI 1 TABLESPOON HONEY CLARIFIED BUTTER

100 G CENTRIFUGED GREEN CELERY (THICKENED WITH A LITTLE GELESPESSA AND WILD FENNEL) 200 G FRESH FAVA BEANS (OR 100 G FROZEN) 2 CLOVES GARLIC

PREPARATION *To make the demi-glace, roast 800 g of lamb bones and scraps of meat in the oven for 30 minutes. Place all ingredients in a pot on the stove and brown in a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil together with vegetables (carrot, celery, 3 tomatoes, a bunch of herbs – thyme, bay, rosemary, sage). Add a cup of red wine and reduce. Add 4 liters of water and simmer for at least 4 hours, skimming constantly. Filter through a fine sieve. Thicken the broth (one liter) with 70 grams of flour and 70 grams of butter, cooking for 1½ hours until thick. Preserve in refrigerator or freezer.

Peel the fava beans and blanch in salted water, then chill quickly in ice water. The outside skin will come away easily. Dress the beans with a little oil and salt. Leave to marinate with a clove of garlic. Sauté the meat in an iron frying pan with clarified butter. Remove from heat and leave in a warm place for at least 10 minutes.

Cook the strawberries in an aluminum pan over high heat. Salt and deglaze with the strawberry juice. Finish the cooking by adding a tablespoon of honey. Blanch the agretti for a few seconds. Dress with oil and salt. Serve the meat with the warm strawberries, agretti and fava beans. Finish with the demi-glace and a few drops of centrifuged celery.

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RECIPES FROM TOP CHEFS

SHERBET OF MANDARIN ORANGES, CANDIED CITRON, BERGAMOT ORANGES AND ARUGULA 4 SERVINGS FOR THE CANDIED CITRON: 1 CITRON, SLICED VERY THIN

FOR THE BERGAMOT MARMALADE: 4 BERGAMOT ORANGES

FOR THE LICORICE GELATIN:

300 G WATER

SUGAR

WATER

300 G SUGAR

PECTIN

SUGAR

Boil the syrup for 3 minutes and while hot, pour over citron. Leave in infusion for 1 hour.

Peel the 4 bergamot oranges, being careful to remove all white from both fruit and peel. Slice the peel into julienne strips. Add half the fruit’s weight in sugar and stir in pectin in proportion. Simmer until the marmalade has thickened to the right consistency. Pass through a food mill.

GELATIN LEAVES

FOR THE MANDARIN ORANGE SHERBET 300 G MANDARIN JUICE 50 G LEMON JUICE JUICE OF ONE ORANGE

200 G SUGAR

FOR THE MANDARIN: 4 MANDARIN ORANGES

200 G WATER

Peel the fruit and separate into sections.

2

GELATIN LEAVES

Boil the water and sugar syrup for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add the softened gelatin leaves and the strained fruit juices. Beat together. When frozen, beat with a Bimby.

FOR THE MANDARIN SUGAR: 200 G LIGHT BROWN SUGAR Grate only the orange part of the skin of 2 mandarins and mix into 200 grams of light brown sugar.

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LICORICE

Make an infusion with licorice and water, leaving it to rest, covered, until cool.

Strain. Add to the liquid ¼ of its weight in sugar and 2 gelatin leaves for every 300 g of liquid. Cool until it forms a gelatin.

ASSEMBLE THE DISH Serve a quenelle of sherbet with a tablespoon of marmalade, a blade of candied citron and the fresh mandarin oranges.

Add 3 teaspoons of licorice gelatin and finish the dish with a dusting of mandarin sugar and a few leaves of arugula.

PAIRINGS

WHITE AND GREEN ASPARAGUS

NETTLES, RADICCHIO AND SAVORY MERINGUE SOUP

CONEGLIANO VALDOBBIADENE PROSECCO TRANQUILLO 2013 | GREGOLETTO | MIANE (TV) | WWW.GREGOLETTO.COM

OGRADE 2012 | SKERK | DUINO AURISINA (TS) | WWW.SKERK.COM

A perfect territorial pairing with the asparagus, which, at their best, come from the same or nearby Prosecco zone. The wine’s excellent acidity helps cleanse the mouth, with bitter and astringent notes sweetened by the fruitiness of the wine and absence of tannins.

A marvelous blend of vitovska, malvasia, sauvignon and pinot grigio, a sure thing from the Carso Triestino, and a bolt of lightning with this dish where the sweetness of the potato, the vegetal notes of the nettles and the meaty bitterness of the radicchio dominate.

LAMB, STRAWBERRIES AND AGRETTI

SHERBET OF MANDARIN ORANGES, CANDIED CITRON, BERGAMOT ORANGES AND ARUGULA

MONTEFALCO SAGRANTINO 2009 | ANTONELLI SAN MARCO | MONTEFALCO (PG) | WWW.ANTONELLISANMARCO.IT

COF PICOLIT 2009 | LIVIO FELLUGA | CORMÒNS (GO) | WWW.LIVIOFELLUGA.IT

An elegant wine, airy and aromatically intense. This Tre Bicchieri bottle has aromas of raspberries and wild strawberries, with a spicy component that closes the circle. The right tannins balance the lamb and its demi-glace. A great pairing.

We stay in the zone with an elegant, complex wine, rich in varietal aromas. They offer the nose tones of orange peel, apricot and candied fruit, together with notes of citrus fruit, acacia and spices. Complex in the mouth, with acidity and sweetness in harmony.

57 JULY - AUGUST 2015

LETTER FROM PARIS

POSTCARD FROM CHILE Visiting Chile at the end of the winter is an illuminating experience. The torrid climate perfectly reveals the incredible contrast between the desert-like aridity of the Central Valley and the green oases of the lateral valleys, transformed by rivers that emerge at the feet of the Andes. Vineyards are growing in a peaceful, modern country that has fully benefitted from the first long period of tranquillity in a history that burdened its people with suffering of every kind – coups, civil wars, economic crises, earthquakes and devastating tsunamis. Urban life in the large cities favour the natural conviviality of a people that loves to go out, to eat and drink. The atmosphere draws many foreign tourists, mostly from the United States or nearby countries.

Visitors from Peru, Argentina and Brazil in particular also love to eat, drink and visit Chile’s many natural marvels. In this country, wine is part of normal family life, without the snobbishness that often exists in Europe, but also without its refinement.

Chileans love red wine above all: strong, peppery, fruity, merrily consumed while young. The younger generation, generally women, is more interested in spumante and in white wines, and often consume them without food, by the glass, in the bars of Santiago and Valparaiso. They don’t like expensive wines (prices from 5 to 10,000 pesos – between 5 and 13 euros – seem more than enough

for a quality wine) and so 95% of the iconic wines are exported. There is not yet a luxury culinary-experience market, with sommeliers attentive to food-wine pairings, as there is in Brazil, but this trend is beginning to show up in the restaurants of the most prestigious wineries.

The principal vineyards flourish in the heart of the Central Valley, on a 300 kilometer strip extending north, northwest, south and southwest of Santiago. In all the wineries we visited, which were among the most important and prestigious in the country, we saw a new generation of agronomists and enologists asking themselves the right questions about the evolution of their practices and the flavours of their wines. It is evident that organic and biodynamic viticulture is increasing, along with a search for a better understanding of the soil, of its vegetal matter and the most suitable grape varieties.

Some growers are moving towards red wines with more balanced alcohol and tannin, harvested earlier and with more precision in order to attain more moderate sugar content and more stimulating acidity. As globalization of wine strengthens, the principles and production philosophies of New World wines are increasingly closer to those that shape Italian and French viticulture.

Michel Bettane & Thierry Desseauv

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GAMBERO ROSSO www.gamberorosso.it

SENIOR EDITOR Lorenzo Ruggeri

PHOTO EDITOR Rossella Fantina

LAYOUT Chiara Buosi, Cristina Tripodi

CONTRIBUTORS Stefania Annese, Francesco Beghi, Michel Bettane, Thierry Desseauv, Stefano Polacchi, William Pregentelli

PHOTOGRAPHS AND DRAWINGS Alvise Barsanti, Chiara Buosi, Giacomo Foti, Cesare Genuzio, M. Mocilnik, Andrea Ruggeri, Francesco Vignali

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All rights reserved. Nothing may be reprinted in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher.

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July - August 2015

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59 JULY - AUGUST 2015