The tomb of Dante in Ravenna
“And that you may the less marvel at my words, look at the sun’s heat that becomes wine when combined with the juice that flows from the vine.”
— Dante Alighieri
You could almost set your watch by it. Every evening at exactly 9:15pm, the first glimmer of light can be seen across the valley in the beautiful Castello di St Polo in Rosso. The valley lies between the village of Fonterutoli and the vineyards of Castello di Ama. The castello, now a private house, incorporates a 12th-century church and a beautiful air-conditioned music room.
Concerts are held in the summer, usually by superb Russian musicians, in the music room or in the church. During the interval, Prosecco and canapés are served on the lawn or in the courtyard of the castello.
What makes the evenings so wonderful here in Tuscany, apart from idyllic temperatures, are the wonderfully clear starry skies and the fireflies, photinus Pyralis, in the garden. These small flying insects contain the oxidadive enzyme, luciferase, and emit beautiful white light as they fly around. They are charming, but don’t ask me to explain the biochemistry!
The Tuscan countryside is full of wildlife. Yesterday, my two eagles returned to the valley. Chiara called me to look at them but, by the time I had found my binoculars, they had almost disappeared. They cover vast distances, high in the sky, without moving their wings but floating on the hot air currents. A truly spectacular sight.
The red wines of Tuscany are justly famous and I have written about them many times. This year, I decided to head for the Marche. This is the area south of Emilia Romagna on the east coast. We took a detour through the city of Ravenna.
The port of Classe was made famous by Augustus Caesar and became an important part of the Roman naval domination of the Mediterranean and Adriatic seas.
Ravenna is not a particularly attractive city, but is renowned for its mosaics. It is said, but also disputed, that mosaic was used in Ravenna and Venice because they feared the dampness would damage frescoes.
Whatever the reason, we have inherited a stunning window into the lives of churchmen and nobles, together with their type of apparel and of course, stories from the Old and New Testament.
The mosaics reflect Etruscan, Roman and Byzantine art styles. The ability to show movement, facial expression and folds in tunics, together with the ‘freshness’ of the images, is truly remarkable. The other monument to see in Ravenna is the burial place of Dante, where he died after he was expelled from Florence.
Offida Pecorino
Going south into the Marche (pronounced Markay), we headed for the city of Jesi (pronounced Yaysee). This area is known for the production of wine from the Verdicchio grape and is the birthplace of the composer Pergolesi. However I also learnt of a grape, new to me, called Offida Pecorino. I thought the name Pecorino was only used for the cheese made from ewes’ milk in Tuscany.
I have had many indifferent Verdicchios in Ireland but, following a brief reading of this year’s Gambero Rosso guide to Italian wines, we found some exquisite examples.
A bottle of Le Vaglie, 2008, Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi cost €14 in a restaurant! When you are accustomed to paying €25 for a bottle of indifferent mass-produced wine in Dublin restaurants, this was remarkable value.
Gambero Rosso, which admittedly can be somewhat flowery with its language, says of this wine: “A vein of acidity lends the progression an agile rhythm, driving into a favourable finish.” I agree.
A visit to Enoteca Brunori in Jesi was a high point. We met Simonetta, who runs the wine shop. Her husband, his sister and her father-in-law have a small vineyard, about eight hectares.
We tasted their Brunori San Nicolò, Verdicchio 2009. Absolutely beautiful and €5.50 per bottle. We took some of their sparkling Verdicchio with us (expensive at € 5.50 a bottle) and had it as an aperitif before lunch. Wonderfully crisp and dry…such a pity it is so difficult to find.
The secondary fermentation takes place in the tank, rather then in the bottle, like Prosecco, and this keeps the price down. Interestingly, Simonetta told us that many winemakers, including Brunori, have reverted totally or in part to using cement for fermentation, just like the Romans.
Our stay in Jesi was enhanced by an excellent lunch, accompanied by some more delicious Verdicchio.
We will return sadly to cold, wet Ireland and no doubt will have to suffer the indignity of Aer Lingus offering a ‘panini’ for sale. I keep telling them that panino is the singular and pannini is the plural. Anybody for sandwichessss?
Ciao,
Giovanni.
About admin
Loading ...
