food and wine
EDINBURGH – ITS EASY Grave robbers, murderers and fine wine. BY ANDREW LICUDI DIPWSET
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feel I ought to write something about Edinburgh; after all, with easyJet’s direct flights starting in March I suspect Scotland’s capital may well become a favourite destination for us Gibraltarians. Today it’s snowing and its rare enough for me to take a photo and send to my brother who responds by sending one of a warm and sunny day in Gib. Strangely I am not jealous. I guess I am used to the weather here because even in winter I rarely wear gloves or a scarf and dress as I would in Gib under my coat. Edinburgh is said to be one of the best-looking cities anywhere. Its divided into two distinct parts the ‘Old Town’ and the ‘New Town’ either side of Princes Street. Both have their charm. The old town has the High Street, the Castle and Holyrood Palace and of course the buildings there are ancient. This is where most tourists congregate. For me however the New Town is the truly unique part of city. It’s a wonderful collection of Georgian residential houses, restaurants and tiny shops in cobbled streets and charming gardens now a UNESCO World Heritage site. Here we bought our first flat when the New Town was a happy 74
hunting ground for impecunious, first-time buyers. These days are long gone and flats here are expensive and hard to come by. The best time to see the New Town is at dusk when one can peer into people’s living rooms, through large astragal windows and see paintings and furniture from an era long-gone in most other cities. You can even look into Robert Louis Stevenson’s house - a brass plaque telling the passer by the house is private and not a museum!
The star attraction is a book covered in the human skin of William Burke. Edinburgh and wine go back a long way. It was the signing of the Auld Alliance back in 1295 which set the Scots and the French against the English. It it gave Scottish Merchants the privilege of selecting the first choice of Bordeaux’s finest wines - a privilege which was eagerly protected for hundreds of years. Wines were landed at Leith and
taken to the wine vaults which to this day still overflow with fine wines from France and beyond. In Leith today (a short bus ride from the centre of town down Leith Walk towards the river) you will find excellent fish restaurants, pubs with good food and of course the Royal Yacht Britannia. One can still imagine smugglers pushing barrels of claret up its cobbled, narrow streets which remain virtually untouched to this day. I can’t remember exactly when I first met Silvio Praino probably ten or fifteen years ago at a now defunct restaurant he managed called Vintners located over the ancient wine vaults in Leith. I still remember their ravioli with veal and sage the restaurant excelled at. I still meet Silvio now and then. He is an easy-going, affable man who today runs Divino Enoteca in Merchant Street a short walk from the High Street. He is an expert on Italian wines and loves talking wine or arranging small informal tastings, so don’t hesitate to call him or dine at Divinos when you are next here. The restaurant’s ambience is exceptional and has a very good reputation for its Italian cuisine. GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE MARCH 2020
