TorreBarolo Blog

A shortlist of some the most important Italian wines events for the coming months, recommended by TorreBarolo:

As already mentioned in a previous post back in October last year,  tomorrow SlowFood will introduce its own eagerly awaited Italian Wine Guide 2010, that will have less focus on awarding stars and a greater focus on informing consumers of the land, the people, the history and the climate that contribute to the vintage.

On January 30^th and 31^st in Verona the Consorzio Tutela Vini Valpolicella will present the Amarone della Valpolicella Millesimo 2006.

From February 14 to 18 Nobile di Montepulciano Millesimo 2007 gets its turn at an event in Montepulciano dedicated to the public and sector professionals organized by the Consorzio del Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.

The tradition will continue in Florence, which will host the annual “Chianti Classico Collection” on February 16 and 17. Tastings will be offered of Gallo Nero vintages 2009, 2008 and 2007 reserve organized by Chianti Classico Collection.

On February 19 and 20 Montalcino will host “Benvenuto Brunello”, which will present the 2005 reserve organized by Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino.

From March 4 to 7, Sciacca will be hosting “Sicilia en Primeur”, during which the rating for Sicily’s 2009 vintage will be announced.

From 20 July 2010 to 15 May 2011 the international exhibition Vinum Nostrum, in Florence at the Museo degli Argenti – Palazzo Pitti. Original artefacts, sculptures, frescoes, and mosaics as well as videos and other multimedia devices will tell the story of wine and the vineyards it comes from. There will even be a reconstruction of a wine cellar from ancient Pompeii, created following literary descriptions. From Mesopotamia to modern-day Italy, from the rituals of communion to the celebration of plain drunkenness, wine and the vineyards. Info at Firenze 2010 – Un Anno d’Arte.

Castelmagno is a cheese which has been made for centuries. The earliest known mention of it dates back to 1277. In our lifetime, it wasn’t until the 1980s that the cheese re-emerged in popularity culminating in 1996 with a DOP (Denomination of Protected Origin) which restricts the production to three communes of the Upper Valle Grana, the south west of the Province of Cuneo. These communes are Castelmagno, Monterosso Grana and Pradleves, where there are only 12 producers that make about 6,000-7,000 wheels annually.

In 2002, the jury of the World Championship Cheese Contest that took place at Madison, Wisconsin, named it the #1 cheese among the category “Open Class Hard Cheeses”.

Castelmagno is a semi-hard, half-fat cheese produced from whole cows milk, obtained from cattle of the Piedmontese breed fed on fresh forage or hay from mixed meadows or pasture. On occasion some milk from sheep or goats may be added to the cows’ milk.

The taste is often described as similar to that of a young, semi-hard Parmesan with a similar texture, though flakier in consistency and can sometimes be crumbly. It has a tart, mild nutty taste and is a good cheese to use for grating or adding small pieces to appetizers as a topping.

My personal experience with this unique and delicious cheese is when I used it for the mantecatura in my Barolo risotto. This suggestion I got from Giorgio Locatelli (though not personally!) as normally Parmesan is used in making risotto. I think it is the combination of the robust, earthly flavor of the Barolo wine combined with this cheese from the same area that makes for a wonderful taste sensation. The cheese is also great eaten with just a drizzle of honey and some fortified wine.

It is a hard to find Castelmagno outside of Italy, more specifically Piemonte, but if you have a cheese specialty shop, ask them if they can get you some. And if you stay with us at TorreBarolo you can try it in any restaurant nearby. You won’t be disappointed with its unique flavor. A great selection of Castelmagno’s pictures and recipes can be found on our Fan Page on Facebook.

This is one of the largest royal residences in the world, La Venaria Reale, comparable in size to Versailles. This huge complex includes the baroque Royal Palace and gardens as well as the 3000 hectare of La Mandria Park. The palace was commissioned for Duke Charles Emmanuel II, as a base for his hunting expeditions. La Venaria Reale opened to the public in 2007, following the largest restoration program in Europe. Both the palace and park are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

This extravagant baroque Royal Palace was used as a Savoy residence in the 17th to 18th centuries and is one of the most significant examples of baroque art and architecture in existence and is considered one of the most beautiful royal residences in Europe.

The entire surrounding village of Venaria and the Duke’s hunting grounds were reshaped to incorporate the palace and its many annexes so that they all flowed together into one monumental site.

The garden was completely destroyed in the 19th century but etchings and drawings of the original garden were used in creating the new garden. The new garden has the same lines and proportions as the old garden but has a more contemporary style.

In addition to touring the palace, there are exhibitions available to visit, both permanent and temporary.

In keeping with providing a restaurant recommendation for your day trip, there is a very special restaurant contained within the Palace. Dolce Stil Novo is the restaurant of Alfredo Russo, and is considered one of Italy’s most renowned restaurants. It opened in 2008 and although I can’t personally recommend it (yet) the unique setting would be a great venue to celebrate a special event.

Entrance into the Palace and gardens is €14 and they are open Tues-Sunday. At La Venaria Reale you will loose yourself in nature, history and the arts, it’s located just 10km from Turin city center, or about 50min by car from TorreBarolo.

How? If you aren’t already a Fan of TorreBarolo on Facebook, simply become one by the end of January and you automatically will qualify for the drawing. If you are a Fan of TorreBarolo already, then easy, just continue to support the TorreBarolo Fan’s Page with your comments.

The rules:
1. As of January 31st, all names on the Fan page will be entered into a hat and we will draw a name. If the lucky winner is unable to redeem their prize, then we will draw a 2nd winner … and so on;
2. The prize of 3 nights at TorreBarolo has a value of €375 and is not redeemable in cash. As is standard at TorreBarolo, a security deposit will still be requested upon check-in;
3. The availability period for the winner’s 3 night stay runs from Feb 5th, 2010 to March 31st, 2010;
4. If the winner removes him/herself from the TorreBarolo Fan’s page before their 3 night stay, the winner forfeits their winning;
5. After staying at TorreBarolo, the winner will be requested to enter a review on the TorreBarolo website as well as on TorreBarolo Fan’s page;
6. The winner will be contacted via Facebook directly to their message inbox;
7. The final winner will be announced on the Fan’s page on Feb 1st.

Last night I saw the musical film Nine, directed by Rob Marshall who is best known for his film adaptation of the stage musical Chicago. The trailer of the movie is very intoxicating as it is filled with chic beautiful people in iconic Italian scenery set to a catchy musical number titled “Be Italian”.  For this reason I wanted to see the movie, although the reviews haven’t all been stellar.

My brother is our family movie critic and he said it was “entertaining”, which was enough to be able to convince my Italian boyfriend to accompany me. This post isn’t to review the film itself but more to reflect on what the film captures so well, which is the era when Cinecittà (Cinema City) was at its peak.  It was a time in the late 50s and 60s that you had world famous Italian and international directors making glamorous and historic movies at this 99 acre Roman movie studio. The chic, elegance of the Italian society was both a beautiful backdrop to these movies but also these glam images were exported to the rest of the world via glossy magazines reporting on the on-goings of the stars living and working in the Italian capital. Some might say that this era was Italy at its best and it was a delight to indulge in watching a movie that captured this Campari-drinking, Alfa-Romeo spider driving period so well. In the movie there are 2 particularly catchy tunes. One is titled “Cinema Italiano”, which is sung by Kate Hudson.

The song is about the director but has a few verses that reflect the images of this era. For example, “I love the dark and handsome guys with their skinny little ties dressing mod and looking out of site. I love to watch them as the cruise with their pointy leather shoes, wearing shades in the middle of the night”. The song I like the most was the title song, “Be Italian”, which is sung by Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas. She does an excellent performance playing a grittier, more sexual Italian woman and in her performance was mesmerizing portraying this essence of Italian. Enjoy the clip and I’d love to hear your views of the movie.