Today I am going to do something different than usual... I am writing to you not to help you do something, but to share with you the emotion that is possessing me to the core in these two days among the vineyards of Friuli. With a little bit of presumption, to you who have been following and reading me for a long time now, I think you might be interested in what I am feeling in a land that I did not know, in a soil that was the first time I was treading.
I left Ravenna yesterday at around 11 a.m., drove along the Romea state road for hundreds of kilometres, took the motorway in Venice and arrived in Udine at around 2 p.m. And I got lost in the Udine countryside endlessly. I wandered around looking at vineyards and cultivated fields and the navigator on my iPhone didn't help me... but luckily my years of orienteering came to my rescue and looking at the map I came out almost with ease... however, when I arrived at the Relais la Collina, Giorgio told me that not even the people who landed from the rubber dinghies in Lampedusa have a face as destroyed as mine at that moment!
This photo, however, is already post-shower... as soon as I arrived, I was really unbearable even for the hungriest man on the planet 😀
Now you're probably wondering what I'm doing in Friuli with Giorgio (TV producer)... but we weren't alone! There's also Andrea (agent), Leonardo (presenter), Claudio (accountant) and Saverio (you know wineblogroll.com, right?) Well, know that I have no intention of telling you now 😉
I actually feel like sharing with you the fact that I've started an experience which is really exciting me, which will lead me to travel a lot and have a role I'm excited about! And to put up with Saverio... all joking aside, I have discovered a true #winelover, the kind with a capital W, as the lovers of the genre would say! He doesn't have a technical background like mine, he is not an AIS sommelier... but I can assure you that I have met few people as knowledgeable about wine as he is in my entire life! He drinks a lot and it shows... but above all he loves wine at least as much as himself. And then he's a character... with that tempered glass bow tie he absolutely won me over... even if he's a bit long-winded for an engineer like me 😉 And then isn't that chicken-ass mouth delicious? ehehehehe 😀
A moment of the show...
[Tweet ""The only weapon I tolerate is a corkscrew." Jean Carmet"].
After the work meeting at Relais La Collina there was a theatrical evening organised by Giancarlo Bloise called 'Cucinar Ramigo'... something very special! The actor was really good from an acting point of view, although he did not leave room for emotion. Overall, I really enjoyed the show, just as I enjoyed the combination of acting and cooking. It was also unusual to smell all these spicy aromas and taste the dishes prepared at the end of the performance. The actor's manual dexterity was excellent (he cut the vegetables holding the knife like a real chef) and I'll tell you that the curry and orange sauce that seasoned the chicken was worthy of a good Indian restaurant (about the chicken I can tell you that it was one of those conceptual dishes like 'escaped chicken'... this is because I didn't get there in time to taste it... 😀 ) Anyway, I'll post the whole show, it's not the one I filmed of course, but it's the official one! If you feel like watching it, maybe while cooking something... it's totally in!
[Tweet "Jesus turned water into wine. No wonder 12 disciples followed him everywhere. Coluche"]
As you can guess from the photo below, afterwards we enjoyed the delicious apericena buffet! The baked bread crust was extraordinary... I ate too much of it! But it was unmissable! And the horseradish créme fit perfectly... in small doses!
I may be repetitive, but I would like to emphasise the cooked ham in a bread crust 😀
The cured meats were also really good! The Zorzettig wines are as elegant but simple as the proprietor: neat blond hair frames a face that is severe only in appearance, whose blue eyes tell of an extraordinary passion for her work and a fussiness that in this case is an absolute virtue. They go well with a homely dinner without overpowering or impoverishing it. The rooms of the Relais are beautiful, with elegant but not snooty furnishings and attention to every detail. The aromas of the bath products are delicious, reminiscent of a refined Orient. The sofa at the entrance and the walk-in wardrobe are very comfortable. The abat-jours are exactly like Annalisa Zorzettig, contextualised but with great character: they are the pieces of furniture I liked best. But the view of the vineyards is what will remain most in my heart, especially after the relaxing breakfast (shame about being in a hurry). The only flaw is the tea selection, too commercial and not particularly excellent. But the bread is fresh and the jam is good.... and above all a terrace like this forgives all! It's a shame, though, that the sheds are disturbing the landscape... but is it only in Romagna that the Landscape Department breaks my balls about everything?
And then it was off to work... but I can assure you that it was a very pleasant job: it allowed me to get to know the Consorzio dei Colli Orientali del Friuli and some really interesting Friulian producers (forgive me if I can't mention any of them for now... I'll just say that I drank a memorable wine among all those that the wineries kindly offered us... but we'll go into more detail later 😉 )
Francesco Saverio Russo of Wine Blog Roll... but would you seriously take someone who stares at you with a cork pointed in his jacket and a tempered glass bow tie? 😀
Well... after work a regenerating lunch at Villa Nachini osteria - enoteca. I had a memorable burrata... and a very simple and quite tasty spaghetti (but I remain curious about the black angus burger... if I deliver it, it's mine).
Now it's back to work... before setting off again for Ravenna! Tonight Gianni Greco (if you've never been to one of his optical shops in the centre of Ravenna, you can't understand how much class and culture distinguish this man and his wife!) has invited me to a big evening with the Cigars Club... who knows if I'll be able to go! He made me very curious with two cigars to taste, but I'm still in Udine... will I make it?
[Tweet ""Water divides men; wine unites them." Libero Bovio"].
In case I update you! And I recommend some good cigars of course 😉
A hug,
Chiara
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