A German Easter

I must apologize for the lack of updates and assurances after the terrible earthquake last week. I have been very busy recently, first attending Vinitaly in Verona then heading to Germany for Easter. First, Vinitaly is like Disneyland for wine lovers. It was a bit overwhelming at first, but once I developed a strategy I never wanted to leave. Imagine 4 convention centers put together, all dedicated and filled to the brim with Italian wine producers, all with plenty of tastings to offer.

Below is a classmate and myself enjoying the Piemonte area. Then taking a break...preparing to enter the Veneto (which is that entire building on the left)
After returning from Vinitaly and one day of class, I left for Germany. I went home with a classmate to Saarlouis, a small town near the French border. It was very relaxing and her family was very hospitable, I enjoyed some good homecooking, and a nice change in scenery. We took several day trips into the Mosel area for some great Riesling and spent a lot of time with a beverage in the very welcome sunshine. Germany was great and I would love to return, but after 8 days and a very uncomfortable night train, it was nice to come back home to Italy.

Aceto Balsamico

Last week was pretty calm after returning from Sicily. It was mostly filled with a class on how to "Brand" so my project was creating an imaginary agriturismo in the hill country and I must say, everyone wanted to go there by the time I was through making it up. I guess my branding strategy worked! One day was spent on a stage for Balsamic Vinegar, which can only be produced in the provinces of Reggio Emilia and Modena, bordering Parma. It was very low key compared to other stages, we saw the barriques and learned about the process, had lunch, and basta. I do have to say, if you've never tried real traditional balsamico, please do at least once in your life. It is not the brown watery stuff that is sold in grocery stores for $1.50. The real stuff has the consistency of syrup, it is sweet, acidic, and complex. The problem is that it is also expensive. But if you ever get the opportunity, please take it. Or next time you're visiting the Wolf house, ask for a taste of the stuff. Other happenings- I stayed in Parma for the weekend and participated in "family dinner" on Sunday afternoon. My contribution was some good southern gravy. I think I made some fans. Thanks Grandpa! (from whom my mad gravy skills came)

Sicilia

The 6 days that I have just spent in Sicily were some of the most exhausting, incredible, stuffed, and bizarre of my life! The trip was planned by the "Regione Sicilia" which is basically the Sicilian government (whereas all other university trips are planned by the university) therefore it was an odd mix of sales pitches, back scratching, and putting on a good face with a little slow food thrown in on the side. From the moment of arrival, it was uncommon for us to have an entourage smaller than 10 people, some from the region, maybe one slow food leader, and lots who probably just heard there was free food. A camera man and a photographer became daily instalments, even on our bus. By day 4 our questions were finally answered about why in the world these strange men were following us around. The region is making a video which hopefully can be seen on you tube soon. The only problem is that my self esteem might suffer this next week without anybody in my face trying to take my picture! But over all, the trip was like a dream. I ate lots of cannoli, a good few kilos of ricotta, lots of fish, wine, more ricotta, olives, oranges, another cannoli, and more oranges. And that is all in one day (or so it seemed). I did Marsala tastings, olive oil tastings, fish farms, had a Palermian spleen and lung panino, and saw cheese made from the sheep to the final product all within about 12 feet of distance and a few hours. And a lot of waiting around for the Sicilians to show up, feeling suspicious if we were less than an hour and a half behind schedule, and making up conspiracy theories in the back of the bus about who all those men in suits and sunglassess were!

I left home with a 6 kilo bag and returned with 17. Everywhere we went we were given products and brochures. Here are just some of the
products I received!

Also, raw sheep milk is really nice if anyone's curious!

Cheese and Chocolate

I have to admit that school-wise, this last week was ridiculously enjoyable. Cheese Tasting, Italian, Wild edible herbs (during which we foraged around the park with an ethnobotanist), and Chocolate tasting. Then Friday, one of the classes had graduation, to which we were all invited, after a talk by Carlo Petrini, the founder of Slow Food. Mostly though, I've been getting excited about this next week...Sicily. We leave tomorrow on a flight out of Milan, and we'll be there until late Saturday. The schedule is packed and I will probably not be able to eat anything for several days after I return. I think we have a dinner planned with just about every slow food chapter in the entire western half of the island. This is what last week looked like...

I don't think I like Italian-German food!

Last week was primarily 2 classes: Semiotics (the study of signs) and Rural Economy. Both were very conceptual and really, neither are among my favorites so far. Also, I gave a presentation on powdered milk for the conclusion of food technology. At the last minute, we were told that there would be no classes on Monday...3 day weekend! A friend and I decided to go to Trento (as in "The Council of Trent"), which is in a northern province bordering Austria, Trentino-Alto Adige. I mostly wanted to go because I had never been in this region and I needed to cross another off my list. It was a very pretty city, surrounded by snow covered mountains, but very confusing. Not only was everything now labeled in both Italian and German, the food was this very odd mixture of the two. On Saturday evening, I joined a group of Trentini at a place resembling very much a biergarten (?) complete with platters of sausages (both Italian and German style), sauerkraut, potatoes, and mustard, with lots off beer to wash it down. The next night was local spinach gnocchi with house brewed beer and rye bread, with strudel for dessert. It was like a weird dream, and I'm still not sure what I think about it! But now only 3 regions remain on my "never eaten a traditional meal there" list. So I feel accomplished.

Cheese and violins

Last week, in addition to classes on Wine Technology, we had 2 days of stage for Parmigiano-Reggiano. We traveled in and around Parma to see cows, old men making cheese, businesses promoting and protecting the brand, and large warehouses full of the straw colored wheels. Unfortunatly, I ran out of battery and was only able to take pictures at the caseficio (cheesemaker). Please, when you shop, do not buy the stuff in the green can! It is a poor imposter!

Chillin' in the brine....
Over the weekend, two friends and I took a train to Cremona, about 1 1/2 hours away. It is located in the southern part of Lombardia. It is the birthplace and home of Antonio Stradivari (as in the famous violin.) There are still many violin workshops all over town. It is also home to the second highest bell tower in Europe, which we were stupidly ambitious enough to climb. All 592 steps of it!
At the top...

Brunello

Because I have allowed 2 weeks to pass since the last post, I'm gonna break it up into 2 parts. Last weekend, a group of 9 of us rented cars and drove to Montalcino, a small wine town in southern Tuscany famous for its Brunello wine, considered by many to be the best wine in Italy. A preview event for the newly released vintage (2004) was held for 2 days. Only 2,000 tickets were avalable, mostly for professionals, but the school was able to procure some tickets for us for free. What? Endless Brunello for free? Yes, please! Unfortunatly we were only able to stay for only one night, but it was a fantastic trip! And even better, 2004 is considered to be the best vintage since '95. Lucky me!

Another newsworthy highlight was a school trip to Forlimpopoli, about 2 hours SW of Parma. The father of Italian cookery was born there (Pellegrino Artusi) and there is now a library, resturant, wine vault, and cooking school in his honor. Wendall Berry (a renowned American farmer-author) was giving a lecture, so we attended the lecture, and then enjoyed a lunch made from the 19th century recipes in Artusi's cookbook.