Sat 20 Feb 2010

You say goodbye and I say hello

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Thank you for joining me in my wine journey. I have now documented every wine trip I have taken so far in this personal wine journal. It has been a tremendous experience and an invaluable growing opportunity to visit so many countries and meet with so many talented wine producers that I can’t help but feel incredibly blessed.

After running my own Wine Bar in New York for the last 2 and a half years, I have finally taken the plunge and decided to become a chef. From February 2010 to June 2010 I will be studying Culinary Arts at the Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners in Flores da Cunha, a rural tiny town in the southern most state of Brazil.

For those not familiar with it, the south of Brazil has a staggering number of Italians and Germans settlers and it is the largest and most important wine producing area of Brazil. If you want to check how I am doing, read my postings under Culinary School, a category dedicated entirely to my studies at the ICIF. All other wine related entries will be posted under Wine Journal. I look forward to going back to school and to reporting all about it here. Stay in touch.

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Wed 3 Feb 2010

Germany: Munich

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Stepping off the train from Vienna felt just like coming home. I love Munich for many reasons beyond my understanding. Maybe those deep roots do have an influence after all. My great grand-father was German and my great grand-mother was Austrian or Hungarian- or both. I, on the other hand, never had any interest in Germany until I met my husband, who’s German.

I don’t know if it’s the beer, the wine, or the Schnitzel that gets me, or if it’s something about their obsessive methodology, efficiency and perfectionism that draws me to it. Perhaps it’s all those wursts, all that green and all those fancy cars, but there’s definitely something about Munich that feels so homey. I love to walk around the historical city center, to stroll through the Englischer Garten and to simply wait and count the seconds until the bus arrives at the exact scheduled time.

From the Hauptbahnhof we walked to Hofbraukeller at Wiener Platz, where we had a Schnitzel of course, in their Biergarten near the Gasteig- Munich’s Philarmonic. It was the perfect way to end the trip and prepare myself psychologically to go to my real home in New York. Actually, the trip really ended at the airport, where I enjoyed a Currywurst with a Weissbier at the Airbräu- the next closest thing to heaven.

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Sun 31 Jan 2010

Vienna: Grinzing

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Heuriger is pretty much an Austrian wine tavern where wineries serve their latest vintage or their freshest wines along with traditional Austrian food. Heueriger means ‘this year’, which refers to this year’s harvest. The word comes from the Latin ‘hodie’, meaning ‘this day’, however it wasn’t until 1784 that emperor Joseph II allowed Viennese vintners to sell their home-made products that Heurigers were born.

As charming as it can be, many Heurigers are in the middle or surrounded by vineyards, and most have communal wooden tables in the garden where one must try a Sturm. Another Austrian tradition, Sturm is made of both red and white freshly pressed grape juice known as must. Highly anticipated and sold for only a few weeks, Sturm is slightly carbonated, thick and cloudy like a juice, but infinitely better.

Only a couple of tram stops away, Grinzing is the best known place to visit a Heuriger, although plenty of others can be found within and around Vienna.  A part of every day life, Heurigers attracts locals and tourists craving a part of Vienna life style. Grinzing is a sublime place to watch the sunset overlooking both the vineyards and Vienna. I cannot think of anything more romantic than drinking my wine under the stars on a hot summer night.

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Sat 30 Jan 2010

Vienna: Weingut Wieninger

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Fri 29 Jan 2010

Austria: Vienna

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The next day my friend Silvana and I took a train from Munich’s Hauptbahnhof to Vienna, capital of Austria and UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001. Founded around 500BC, Vienna was once the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire that ended after the first World War in 1918. The city though, seems to have been preserved in its grandiosity.

Culture life in Vienna is at all times sizzling. Home to a number of opera houses, theaters, museums, churches and famous for its architecture and design, Vienna is a true metropolis with a medium town feeling. With an abundance of outdoor spaces, it seems like the Viennese really know how to enjoy life. Everywhere you look there’s a Kaffeehaus, a Biergarten or a Gästehaus, where one can enjoy an Apfelstrudel, a glass of Grüner, a Schnitzel or simply stare in wonder.

We were in Vienna for only 5 days, which is enough time to get to know the city, visit most prominent sites and- if you are lucky- even catch an opera for $6 Euros a pop. However, if you fall in love with Vienna, like I did, then you probably will never get enough of it. I cannot wait to go back, but in the meantime I rejoice in local alternatives as close as a block away from home.

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Tue 26 Jan 2010

Austria: Innsbruck

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Breakfast in Italy, lunch in Austria, dinner in Germany, oh the good life I have! Besides the natural anatomy of those countries, and the fact that if you drive from Germany to Italy you must cross Austria, it still sounds utterly decadent to be in three countries in one day.

Also in the Alps and surrounded by three very high mountains, Innsbruck is an international winter sports destination. In 1964 and in 1976, Innsbruck hosted the Winter Olympics and the First Winter Youth Olympics of 2012 is being held in Innsbruck as well.

Believe it or not, the day we were there they were having a festival that happens only every 20 years. We beat the odds of this all-weekend drink and dance fest that had most residents celebrating in traditional costumes. After checking out the altstadt we stopped at Stiftskeller for a Wiener Schnitzel and a Gruner Veltliner. By 10 o’clock we were back in Munich having- you guessed- another Schnitzel, this time with an Augustiner-Braeu.

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Wed 20 Jan 2010

Italy: Veneto

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Romeo and Juliet were lucky to have had so many good wines on hand. Being from Verona, a beautiful Roman city in the Veneto, the two had Soave, Bardolino and Valpolicella within 5 miles or less. Pioneer in implementing the first wine road, or strada del vino, and to open Italy’s first wine school, the Veneto has more DOC wines than any other wine region in Italy.

This time around we decided to stick with sigh seeing and not visit any producer as we barely had a weekend. The first night we spent in Verona and the second in Lake Garda, another famous tourist destination in the Veneto, and one I was looking forward to visiting. Now I know why it attracts so many people. All tackiness aside, the place is magnificent.

We climbed Monte Baldo, not on foot or on bicycle like most people, but embarrassingly by car. Nonetheless, we got to the top and enjoyed the breath-taking view of Lake Garda just like everyone else, without breaking a sweat. I just wish we had a bottle of the local Bardolino to enjoy while up there.

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Thu 14 Jan 2010

Italy: Trentino Alto-Adige

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Ciao Bolzano! or should I say Halo Bozen?

Bolzano or Bozen is one of the two provinces that make up the region of Trentino-Alto Adige, in the northernmost part of Italy. Südtirol as it is known in German, has a long history. The south of the region around the city of Trento has always been Italian, while Alto Adige, in the north around Bolzano, was once part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Since 1918 the whole region has been officially Italian, but 75% of the population still speaks German.

Alto Adige is mostly in the Alps, where only 15% of the land is suitable for cultivation. Wine-making is limited and challenging, and yet, it is the region that exports the highest proportion of its production. Such conditions reflect in the price, but the quality is generally worth it. The style is usually light, dry and high in acidity, with varietal labels of native and international varieties.

On the southern counterpart, Trentino is a major source of commercial Pinot Grigio from much less challenging slopes. Both regions also produce small amounts of reds from local black grapes. On our way to the Veneto we had lunch in Bolzano, or Bozen, in a nice traditional ristorante. It was my first time in Italy, but it didn’t feel like it until we crossed Trento.

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Wed 13 Jan 2010

Portugal: Lisbon

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Our last night in Portugal was well spent in Lisbon. First things first: before hitting the town we relaxed in the hotel’s courtyard in the company of a sparkling Vinho Verde, 100% Alvarinho grape. Super nice and crisp, it helped us to come up with the plan.  We would start with drinks at Chiado and then have dinner at Bairro Alto, both in Downtown.

Cervejaria Trindade- Portugal’s oldest brewery and  Lisbon‘s Cultural Heritage- is housed in a gorgeous 13th century monastery. The building had been nearly totally destroyed by a fire in 1708, and again by an earthquake in 1755. In was only in 1834 that the Cervejaria was built within the remaining walls of the monastery, where murals depicts the 4 seasons and the 4 elements in hand painted azulejos.

Next morning I rushed through Alfama, the Se’s Cathedral and the St. George’s Castle, but with so many options and so little time I decided that another trip to Lisbon is the way to go. Next time I’ll stay at Praia de Caparica, a beach town across Lisbon and work my way south towards the Algarve. I wonder if I mind as well buy just a one way ticket.

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Mon 11 Jan 2010

Portugal: Tomar & Coimbra

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Lunch in Tomar was bucolic, the city though, surprisingly pretty. Founded as headquarters of the Knights Templar in the 12th century, Tomar is home to some of the most significant monuments in Europe. The best example is the The Convent of Christ of Tomar- part of Unesco’s World Heritage since 1983.

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Capital of Portugal during the First Dinasty, Coimbra was another pleasant surprise. Although a bit too hilly for me, the university town is really, really beautiful. Founded in 1290, Coimbra’s University is one of the oldest in Europe and famous for its monumental architecture and vibrant cultural life.

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