Friuli with the Red Dress On
Feb 15, 2010 Wine for all & all for wine
Friuli is famous for its spectacular whites. In fact, anytime anyone tells me they don’t really care for white wine, my response is usually “Yes, you do,” while handing them a Tocai or Ribolla or Chardonnay or Malvasia or a blend from Isonzo or Collio or the Colli Orientali. There is a pause, and then: “Oh, this is good.”
Another convert.
Forget these magnificent whites for the moment, though. At this upcoming tasting it’s Friuli’s reds that will take center stage:
- Sunday, February 21
- 10 am – 7 pm
- Hotel Monaco e Gran Canal
- Entrance: €10
There you’ll find over fifty producers offering a wide variety of rich reds. Those created from familiar varieties like Merlot and Cabernet (Franc and Sauvignon) stand alongside others with less recognizable names, but highly recommended for conducting research: Schioppettino, Marzemino, Refosco, Terrano, maybe even a Tazzelenghe or Pignolo.
Another reason to attend: a selection of specialty foods will be offered by the restaurant Il Ridotto dell’Acciugheta.
Even if you’re not in Venice at the moment, do make sure to check on wine events during your stay…they’re always fun, inexpensive, and offer an excellent opportunity to taste many wines you’ll never find back home.
Tags: red wine, venice, vino, wine, wine tasting
Venice means fish…but which is which?
Oct 21, 2009 Eating & Drinking Venice
Almost every travel guide will rightly advise you that for dining in Venice, don’t skip the fish. It’s good advice, and perhaps you’re coastal and are already familiar with the myriad of shapes and sizes seafood comes in: crustaceans, mollusks, and regular fish that range from pinky- to thigh-size.
But if you’re a landlubber or are simply more familiar with freshwater fish, I thought I’d run a series of short posts focusing on the fish and seafood waiting for you both on the menus in Venice and in the Rialto Market should you care to visit them before you consume them.
CANOCE: Mantis Shrimp
The first don’t-miss fish is a crustacean that has an official name of Pannocchia, but that is referred to in Venice as the canocia (in Rome and Tuscany, cicala di mare). The English nickname is Mantis Shrimp, referring to both its front appendages and the sweetness of its meat.
These canoce are from the high Adriatic, and so are generally smaller in size that those you might find fished from larger seas. In fact, all fish from this area are scaled to the Adriatic’s size. And according to some pescivendolo (fishmongers) are sweeter as a result. I’m staying out of that argument, however.
At the market, all the canoce’s undersea defenses are easily identifiable: the fake eyes on the tail, the front legs poised to strike, and a shell that’s pointy from stem to stearn.
Canoce are often served as part of an antipasto (but can take part in many a seafood dish, including risotto). Although they’ll be unarmed by the time they reach your plate, you’ll still need some technique to extract the meat from the remaining shell. For best results, hold the tail with your knife, and strip the meat from the bottom shell with your fork (or vice versa). It should separate easily, but if not, don’t hesitate to ask your server for a demonstration. (In the photo, the canoce is on the lower right.)
So, if they’re indeed in season, don’t let your unfamiliarity with the canoce’s looks or name stop you from ordering these tasty morsels…you’ve come too far for that!
Emerging from Hibernation, Leonardo in Proportion
Oct 12, 2009 Events & Offerings
The Vitruvian Man (1490), perhaps the most famous of Leonardo da Vinci’s drawings, always resides at the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice. It is not, however, always on display (five-hundred year-old paper must be preserved). In fact, the last possibility to view this work was over seven years ago.
It’s time has come, however. If you’ll be in Venice between now and just after the first of the year, you’ll be able to view this celebrated study of human proportions envisioned from notes of Roman architect Vitruvius Pollio (…the distance from the bottom of the neck to the hairline is one-sixth of a man’s height, the maximum width of the shoulders is a quarter of a man’s height, the distance from the middle of the chest to the top of the head is a quarter of a man’s height…), with Leonardo’s own notes in his equally-famous mirror writing, through January 10, 2010.
The Vitruvian Man (Uomo vitruviano)
Gallerie dell’Accademia
Dorsoduro 1050 (just off the Accademia Bridge in the Campo della Carità)
041 520 0345
Through January 10, 2010
Hours:
Mon, 8:15 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Tue – Sun, 8:15 a.m. – 7:15 p.m.
Last entrance is 45 minutes prior to closing.
Tickets:
€8,50 (+1€ to reserve)
Reservations may be made by phone at the number above, or online.
Tags: da vinci, exhibits, venice, vetruvian man
Book the Basilica, lose the line.
Sep 15, 2009 Instructions for Use
The Basilica di San Marco is certainly one of Venice’s don’t-miss sites: the interior, 8,500 square meters of gold mosaics recounting the story of Venice’s patron saint (who resides in the crypt after being misplaced…twice), is like so much of Venice, impossible to imagine – it must be seen. The result of its popularity, however, is that the line to enter can be daunting in length, frequently extending well into the piazzetta. It does move quickly, but if the weather’s intemperate, the wait can seem eternal.
There is a way to avoid the line entirely, however: visit the San Marco Basilica website and book online. It’s free, as is entrance to the Basilica, and can make it easier to plan your visit and your stay.
In addition to booking, the Basilica site is very informative and can help you understand more of what you’ll be viewing once inside. There, under the Plan Your Visit tab, you’ll see links for both and making Reservations, and for Guided Tours (available from April through October excluding Sundays and holidays).
Booking notes:
- the booking and the visit is free
- you may book for up to 5 people
- you may book up to 48 hours prior to you visit (better sooner, as slots fill up)
Once you’ve made your booking, you’ll be furnished with a voucher which you’ll need to print and present on arrival. You’ll enter at the Porto San Pietro, second from the left as you face the Basilica.
Don’t forget:
you’re permitted no backpacks or other bags. You may leave them at the nearby Ateneo San Basso, which faces the left side of the Basilica (just beyond the two lion statues).- Do not leave without taking in both the Pala d’Oro (behind the main altar), and the upstairs Museo San Marco (look for the sign and the narrow staircase on your right once you enter the atrium, before going into the Sanctuary) where you’ll find original mosaics, the four original bronze horses from Constantinople, San Marco’s chariot, sacred tapestries, and where you can step outside to take in the expansive view of the Piazza.
- The Basilica is an important place of worship. To avoid being denied entrance, remember to cover shoulders, midriff, and knees.
There’s more to see inside the Basilica; be sure to consult a good guidebook, or consider booking the group tour above or even a private guide (see suggestions in the sidebar) for an even richer experience.
Tags: basilica, booking, online booking, san marco, venice
Venetian Spritz Recipe (I give up).
Sep 7, 2009 Eating & Drinking Venice, Instructions for Use
I call it the National Drink of Venice.
The Venetian Spritz is not, shall we say, an “important” thing. Drink. Whatever. It’s red, for crying out loud, and composed of any unassuming white white,* sparkling water, and your choice of either Aperol, Select, or Bitter (Campari or even the herby Cynar) concoctions. Although the fist Spritzes were made with white wine and seltzer only, the newer, flashier red version is a Campari creation that has become a Venetian (and Veneto) habit: as one of its many Facebook-dedicated pages states, is “not just a drink, but a way of life.”
That appealing shade of orangish-red, however, makes the Spritz extraordinarily entertaining; when you witness late afternoon Venetian sunlight angling through the glass, firing it the color of icy embers, ti viene la voglia. It just MAKES you want one. This is by design of course, and a quantifiable phenomenon. Ask anyone.
It would seem obvious, then, that you should order at least one Spritz during your stay, if for no other reason than to stare in compania, to hang out and blend in. It’s even safe to “try this at home” (although I must to warn you: it won’t be the same).
Thanks in no small part to furious commercial efforts on the part of Campari (who also produce Aperol and Cynar, by the way), this unpretentious, borderline silly libation is aiming to be the National Drink of Italy. But the Spritz (or ‘Spriss’ in Venessiàn) will always be best enjoyed on its home turf (turf?), perhaps Al Chioscchetto on the Zattere, as the sun lowers over the Giudecca Canal sloshing vigorously before you, while everyone at surrounding tables sips theirs, chattering away, catching up with a friend they’ve connected with by chance or by appointment, in who-knows what language. Maybe there’s live music; maybe not.
The Spritz fa il suo effetto (has its effect) on most everyone who tries it; and the result is una marea of requests for the recipe; and although I’d rather recommend a good wine, it just makes sense to post it once and for all. Evvia.
My favorite Venetian Spritz recipe is stamped on the canvas bags made by women in Venetian prison – it’s one of the ways those inside support themselves. Keep an eye out yourself for kiosks located in a number of campi in the city, selling these charming, handy bags in a variety of designs.
“Official” Spritz recipe
INGREDIENTS:
1 part white wine
1 part Aperol (medium sweet) OR Select (less sweet) OR Campari or San Bitter
1 part seltzer/sparkling water (it helps if you can blast it into the glass)
Combine the above with
a little ice,
an olive, and
a slice of orange / lemon / lemon
respectively, according to your choice of aperitif mixer.
For maximum effect, add late afternoon sunlight and
consume near a large body of water.
If you do try making them yourself, let me know how they turn out, won’t you?
___________
ONE FINAL NOTE: Don’t forget, when ordering your Spritz, you must specify the mixer. For example, “Spritz con Aperol,” “Spritz with Select” (pronounced SELect), etc. If you don’t, you’ll be asked which you prefer.
* Aperol (made by Campari) has now decided a Spritz is made by combining it with Prosecco, which is convenient in that it supports Prosecco production and can reduce the number of Spritz ingredients to two (or creates a too-fizzy concoction). The hold-outs among us prefer the original, and to enjoy our Prosecco in purezza, by itself.
all photos © Nan McElroy
