Ken's Blog from Florence

January 21, Warming up with Ribollita

It’s no secret to anyone who listens to The Wine Experience or pays us a visit here on the web that we like to eat!  And I have to tell you, Tuscany is a great place to do just that! 

Winter in Tuscany means a whole bunch of different foods and dishes tending to the filling and hearty. One of those is Ribollita.   Almost any trattoria, osteria or enoteca you walk into offers Ribollita. It’s a thick soup that can be a meal in itself and there are as many variations in style off of the basic combination of ingredients as there are places to order it.  So it’s been my lunchtime mission to sample as many as possible! 

To call Ribollita soup is even a stretch because it’s not soupy at all.  In fact at one lunch stop near Radda in Chianti I ate mine with a fork. 

The basic ingredients are a chicken or vegetable stock, white beans, carrots, onions, celery and a winter green called cavola neri, which is like a dark leafed cabbage or Swiss chard. Everything is cooked for a long time.  But the magic of Ribollita is that it’s served over crusty, even stale, bread, or the bread is mashed right into it.  Then you sprinkle some olive oil on top, grate on a little cheese and have at it along with a glass of the vino della casa.

It is the ideal way to warm up on a chilly winter day and to lay in a hearty base for some wine tasting in the afternoon! 

Speaking of which… I’ve gotta run!  There’s a place named Montalcino waiting. Ciao!

January 19, On the Road - Greve, Panzano, and Castellina

Greve is a cute little town and kind of the jumping off place to explore the Chianti region.  And since it’s only a half hour out of Florence it was also the perfect stop for a coffee and breakfast at a little place on the piazza.  This piazza though isn’t square, it’s more a triangle surrounded by little shops.

The highlight, with apologies to favorite son, Verrazzano, whose statue is a focal point, is really a visit to the butcher Falorni for locally made sausages, other meats and seasonings.  They specialize in products from the cinghalie (wild boar) and even have a stuffed one right outside the front door to greet you.  Stepping inside the shop you are immediately struck by the sausages and prusciutto hanging from the ceiling overhead.  I understand that even the folks from Florence will drive out here to get Falorni’s offerings.

Leaving Greve and heading southward toward Panzano you are in the wine country.  This wine country is distinguished by more mountainous terrain and steeper valleys than a Napa or most parts of France.  In fact, it’s not unusual to see terraced vineyards.  The terrain of Chianti Classico flattens more and becomes more rolling further to the south past Radda and Gaiole. 

At almost every turn there is a sign for a winery… many with recognizable names like Rampolla, Castellare, Rocca della Macie and so on.  And the farther you go, the more steeped in the wine culture you get.   Castellina in Chianti is a charming village, ‘Che bella paesa.’  And part of the fun of exploring without an agenda is that you never know what you’ll find. 

Inside the old stone church we found a body.  No, we didn’t stumble upon a funeral, but by a side altar there was a tier of devotional candles lighting the glass encased skeletal remains of a saint.  I believe the name was Faustimos but it was difficult to read (guess we’ll have to Google him/her later... or if you know who it is send me an email).  In the churches and cathedrals reliquaries are pretty common.  Most are ornate and contain a piece of bone or bit of hair.  But this was the whole body completely clothed and even crowned. 

I don’t know how this adds to The Wine Experience because it’s definitely not the “body” we usually talk about, but it sure made me ready to have a glass of Chianti Classico!

January 17, How Special are the Piazzas

The cities and villages of Tuscany are typically characterized by central gathering places called piazza.  I guess the loose English translation would be plaza, but these are much more than a square of open space bordered by buildings containing shops, restaurants, offices or just apartments.  There is a sense of life and living in the piazza. 

In a village like San Gimignano, the main piazza surrounds the old well and is the historic gathering place of the town.  Today it still is, but here we stopped for a lunch time Panini of prusciutto and mozzarella along with a glass of the local Vernaccia. And In Siena, the Campo is a large area with an elaborate fountain fronting the ancient town hall.  Each July and August it is transformed into the a dirt covered race course for the famous Sienese Palio. 

Small piazzas throughout the cities are like the front yards or neighborhood squares for people to enjoy.  In Florence we are staying on the Piazza Santa Croce which is a large rectangle facing the famous church with its incredible frescoes by Grotto and the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli and others. (So, in between the wine we add a little culture!). 

This piazza has an interesting history as the site of soccer matches dating to the 1400’s and which are still held by local teams, including a match last Wednesday night at 2 A.M!  But the it’s the contemporary use and lifestyle of the piazza that’s so different from the experience of many Americans.

The Piazza is the meeting and hang out place for socializing.  And Saturday night in Santa Croce there was sure a lot of that!  Clusters of friends together laughing, talking loudly, singing and having a good time into the wee hours would seem to be a part of the younger Florentine’s lifestyle.  Sounds bounce off of the stone streets, piazza and facing buildings. And we get to share that with them instead of sleep! 

Perhaps the surprising part of this is that this Piazza, unlike the Piazza Signoria or the Piazza Di Republica, doesn’t have bars and cafes forming the perimeter. It’s my guess that the piazza is so when you’re at the out and about stage of life here because most urban Italians don’t enjoy the living space to have other alternatives.  The piazza becomes the family room or rec room substitute. 

Socially, it’s like a mall or park that never closes. 

January 15, Sometimes it's not Which Wine - It's Just Having Wine

Mid afternoon is a great time to take a break from shopping or sightseeing and stop into an enoteca for a glass of wine and perhaps some cheese.  While doing just that we had an experience worth sharing with you.  It’s not about the wine we had, a simple Montepulciano D’Abruzzo, but is all about simply having wine.

Gino was very proud of the wine choices he had by the glass and bottle so it was easy to start some wine talk, in itself a fun thing to do.  But it became an even larger experience because seated next to us were two young women from Japan sharing a bottle of Brunello.  The ensuing conversation, mostly about language, Italy and wine, between the Japanese ladies, the Italian wine guy and ourselves was amusing to say the least! You can imagine the attempts at language, although as usual, both the Japanese and the Italian had more English than our broken Italian or non-existent Japanese.  It was a cross cultural, entertaining and engaging time spent centered on wine.

What struck me is how much wine brings us together.  These Japanese ladies have followed wine around the world, with visits to Napa and Sonoma to tour and taste and several visits to Europe, especially Italy.  And their motivation and passion is wine.

By the way, Gino had a really nice selection of wines from smaller producers that he was eager to turn us on to… and we were only to happy to oblige!  So we walked out of there with four bottles and it would have been more, but it was just too darn far to carry them back to our hotel.

Ciao. 

January 13, A Restaurant at Every Turn

Mangiamo!  "Let’s eat” is one of may favorite suggestions and when you’re visiting Italy it’s certainly easy to do!  As you walk down a Florence street there are snack shops and restaurants at virtually every turn. Deciding where to go and what kind of eating experience you want is part of the fun of each day here.  It used to be that the hierarchy of the dining experience was captured in the name by virtue of the place’s description as Ristorante, Trattoria, Osteria or Enoteca and while those distinctions have become increasingly blurred it’s still helpful to know their traditional meaning.

Ristorante means you should expect a restaurant experience with perhaps a more serious menu as well as good linens and glassware.  Maybe a bit pricier too.

Trattoria, while historically a simple place for good ‘home style”  and regional food prepared traditionally, has evolved into more of a ristorante but retained the food focus… still a bit simpler and traditional to the area. 

Osteria was once a place for a glass of wine and a very simple meal, but is now basically the same as the trattoria.  In my experience the osteria are actually a bit more like the classic trattoria, having a good solid menu, great house wine by the glass, carafe or bottle and simple furnishing… like the Osteria de’Benci.

We were at the Osteria de’ Benci the other night and had a terrific pasta dish that is their specialty and that deserves a featured spot on The Wine Experience!  Here’s why… the dish is called spaghetti dell’ubriacone (which the waiter told me means “drunken spaghetti!).  You see they boil the pasta in red wine instead of water.  The spaghetti is infused with the color and flavor of the wine so it comes out a beautiful deep garnet color.  Then it’s simply tossed with olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes.  It’s awesome… and we’ll definitely be back for more!

And of course there’s the Enoteca.  Historically the Italian wine bar, the enoteca today can also be a serious restaurant or a very simple place for a bite to eat.  The distinction that’s still the most important for enoteca?  You’re immediately clued into the fact that wine is the starting point.

January 11, Get on the Road and See the Real Tuscany

Road trip!  The only way to experience the countryside is to take the wheel.  I love to drive the country roads of the Chianti Classico area.  It seems that there’s a photo op at every turn and there are so many villages to see and wines to sample that you could spend weeks here.  This is the countryside with cypress lined roads and rolling, vineyard covered hills that epitomize Tuscany. 

Driving is Italy has a bad reputation among most Americans because the cities are a chaotic mix of congestion, narrow streets and seemingly no logical traffic laws… believe it or not, it’s actually crazier than driving in Boston!  So head for the countryside.

The roads are all very well marked and in great shape.  The main wine route running south of Florence and throughout the Chianti Classico area is called the Chiantigiana.  You leave the Autostrada and head for Greve as the jumping off place to fully experience this land of the Black Rooster (the symbol of Chianti Classico).  Each town seems to bring its own magic to the drive much the same way that each estate brings their own style to the wine. 

We spent a night in Borgo San Felice which is a very small village at the southern end of Chianti Classico and where there is a wonderful hotel.  It’s surrounded by the vineyards of the San Felice commune and across the rolling terrain the hilltop Villa Arceno is visible.  If you’re ever in the neighborhood there is little village a few kilometers away called San Sano... don’t miss La Grotta Della Rana.  It’s a wonderful place to have dinner… simple, unpretentious, great food (my seared and sliced steak was awesome)… accompanied by one of the local Riserva’s from Brolio or Badia a Coltibuono, or perhaps San Felice’s super Tuscan, Vigorello, a blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet.  Actually Badia is worth a stop for lunch.  It’s high on a hilltop between Radda and Gaiole reached by a road that snakes through a forested area, and the view across the valley to the Monti del Chianti is worth the drive up.

January 9, Go Local

“One of the best parts of visiting another city in a country not your own is having the opportunity to “go local.” 

Now all too often we don’t get that chance since our vacations or business trips are rushed or we try to jam too many places and too much sightseeing into the itinerary.  But regardless of the amount of time you may have, being able to visit a local market is one of the best ways to get a sense of the people and place. 

There are several markets in Florence but this morning we went to the Mercato Sant’Ambrogio.  It’s like a farmer’s market, flee market and trip to the butcher and deli all rolled into one.  In addition to the fruit and vegetable vendors and the fresh baked breads there are clothes and shoes, kitchen items and flowers, sheets and towels.  Then, inside are the butchers, salumeria, cheeses and fish stalls.  Want fresh tagliatelle?  Some zucchini flowers? How about a roasting chicken or fresh bufala mozzarella?  This is the place! 

The people are very helpful and the idea of customer service is still alive and well.  We were buying the ingredients to have a small dinner party and picked fresh carrots, onions, garlic, celery and tomatoes from one of the vendors before heading inside for the pasta and meat that would make the sauce. 

Meat sauce is simply called “ragu.” and the lady at the salumeria (deli) where were getting the fresh pasta seemed to intuitively understand our goal.  She launched into an expressive description of how best to make the ragu and then how long to cook the pasta…. And we realized an important ingredient or two were missing.  We had forgotten to buy oregano and basil to use as part of the seasoning and sauce.  So back out to the veggie vendor we went. When we asked for those missing ingredients she simply smiled and pointed to the bag I was carrying.  Inside were the sprigs of oregano and the bunch of basil she had given us, at no charge, somehow just knowing they had to be included with the rest of the vegetables we were buying.

How’s that for a shopping experience?”

January 6,Ciao da Firenze!

Greetings from Firenze!  This is a city that loves to eat and drink and the drink of choice is wine.

On almost every street there is a place to snack or dine and sip some of the wonderful wines of Italy.  Mostly the selections are local with Chianti dominant on the shelves.  We found a fiaschetteria (wine shop) about a block from where we are staying so we immediately introduced ourselves to the owner, Massimo, and made a few selections… just to have on hand!  We bought a couple of bottles of San Felice’s Il Grigio da San Felice Chianti Classico Riserva 2000 along with Villa La Paglaia Chianti Classico 2002.  Both are from the southern section of the Chianti Classico district near Siena.  Of course Chianti Classico is easy to recognize.  All of the member producers in the district share the symbol of a “black rooster” that is usually found on the neck band of the bottle.

And we have already been sampling some of the wonderful foods.  The Enoteca Baccadama in the Piazza Santa Croce stands out.  In the tradition of the enoteca, Baccadama has a nice selection of wines by the glass and bottle.  Their bottle list is extensive and features terrific wines, including some of Italy’s best.  There’s several Brunello and a long list of Barolo’s.  The menu, which changes daily, is, for me, the ideal enoteca menu.  Baccadama offers appetizers of bruschetta, crostini and plates of local meats (prusciutto and salami) and cheeses, simple pastas and one or two secondi (entrees).  But what distinguishes it is that the wine is center stage and the daily food choices are created to highlight it… not the other way around.  The other wonderful part of a visit to Baccadama is Lorenzo.  Host. Maitre d’, and sommelier, Lorenzo knows his wine and presents it with aplomb and style. 

So the best way to enjoy the experience begins with a simple phrase in Italian: “Che cosa ci consiglia.” What do you recommend?” 

I think that’s a phrase I’ll be using a lot as we work our way around this very special city.  The Florentines are proud of their wine and food tradition and love to share it with you.