Venice 2010

Writing this while drinking an unsulphured bottle-fermented prosecco - Profondo Bianco Secco - very dry, violet-floral, lavender scented. Tart, minerally, slightly cloudy. This intriguing wine is created by the owner of the enoteca in which we found it; Mauro Lorenzon. 

Enoteca Mascareta
Calle Lunga Santa Maria Formosa
Castello 5183
Venice
t: +39 (0141) 523 0744

Then a glass of Incrocio Manzoni which apparently is a blend of Italian Riesling plus the eponymous Manzoni grape.

The Incrocio Manzoni (or Manzoni hybrid) is a white grape that comes from crossing Pinot Bianco with Riesling Renano, created in the 1930s by Prof. Luigi Manzoni.

Yellow, even brassy. Firm. Reedy, river bankish. Crushed crocuses (or should that be croci?). David says, ‘Artichoke’. Dry, apple skin finish. A bit antique style.

Mauro himself arrives with a bunch of chums all carrying cases of wine. He looks as jolly and eccentric as the portrait on his labels.

The third glass is Tocai Italico. Very funky smell and colour of olive oil. Very reductive aroma of funghi and almonds. Slightly rancid almonds. Weighty but not really flavoursome. Vegetal.

We’re warming up for dinner following a recommendation of winemaker Stefano Inama – at a place that apparently specialises in ancient Venetian cuisine.

At the Osteria De La Testiere we have a charming welcome from Luca della Vita.

Osteria De La Testiere
Calle del Mondo Novo
5801 Venice
t: +39 (0141) 5227220
e:osterialletestiere@yahoo.it

We drink Vitovska Skerk from the Slovene border. It has notes of fur, saffron and warm bun. A burnished colour with a hint of pink from skin contact.

A very good balance. Salty, some weight, mineral smooth, skins. A hint of curry?

Apparently the Slovene fishermen drink Malvasia and Vitovska!

We share ‘schie’ grey shrimp from the lagoon with local white polenta. The polenta looks like clotted Vaseline and has the texture of tapioca. Very simple and perfect with the wine.

A ravioli of orange and cream cheese with sea urchin sauce brings out the most wonderful things in the wine. It brings out citrus zest and peel, violet and body. This is a very comforting experience!

He describes this last dish as bringing up the salty sensation.

David attacks a plate of langoustines in a sweet and sour sauce. I enjoy fillet of sea bream with fines herbes and lovely, aromatic red peppercorns. A great delicacy of touch with such intense flavours.

Luca brings us Borgo del Tiglio 2002 Collio, made by an ex-pharmacist. He makes you ‘taste the terroir’. 100% Merlot it is a true Friulian Pomerol. We tasted a blue cheese flavoured with fruits of the forest called ‘El Sior’.

We sleep well at our gold box room at Ca’Gottardi.

Ca' Gottardi
Cannaregio, 2283 - 30121
Venice
t: +39 (0141) 2759333
e: info@cagottardi.com

The next day at Fiaschetteria Toscana we have the rare Blanc de Rosis from Schiopetto. Must be the blend of grapes – Pinot Bianco, Ribolla?

Blanc des Rosis comprises five hand-picked grape varieties - Tocai Friulano, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Malvasia and Ribolla - which are fermented and aged separately before blending and bottling.

We drink 2006 which is surprisingly textured and full. Malvasia? David says, ‘Velvet brocade, plush’. It is Venetian wine. I have tuna tartare and David takes the smoked goose breast served with rocket and pomegranate seeds. That is an amazing cured meat and the rocket has great intensity. 
 

Fiaschetteria Toscana
Salizada S.Giovanni Grisostomo,
Cannaregio 5719
Venezia
t: +39 (0141) 52 85 281
e: busatto@fiaschetteriatoscana.it

The fresh lobster ravioli with a broccoli sauce is simply sensational. The broccoli is a pea green purée with thin orange packets al dente on top.

We had a butch main course with a sweet local scorpion fish in Mediterranean style with little olives and tomatoes. This alone cost 48 euros and was deboned expertly at the table. In adventurous mood we tried bitter Sardinian artichoke (castraure di Sardegna) done in Venetian style. That is a black taste – like lead in the bloodstream. The waiter tells us there is another seasonal speciality from the Venetian isle of Casatella where the artichokes are ten times as bitter. It is a speciality we have to learn to love (!) and must give rise to those bottles of Cynar, the digestive that boasts an artichoke on the label, seen in Italian delis. 

I feel quite transcendental now – almost fizzing inside.

We finish with Ramandolato from Uve Decembre – it is a DOCG I have never heard of and has a soft taste of pear that is perfect with small caramelised pears (pere cannelline). We taste the pear again with a grappa of Ramandolato and possibly the best espresso I have ever had. A sense of volume in a tiny liquid. Richness effortlessly carried off.

Further wines from this Italian excursion:

Manoncor Sauvignon 2008 – so herbal, vegetal without the typical greenness. More angelica. Wonderful. Rich with a sweet flavour and a very distinctive piquant nose.

Anselmi Soave San Vincenzo – very deep colour with a hint of green. Sweet pear. A delicate concentration with sweet almond. Background of lavender. Smooth but with some crumbly minerality. Round. Dried mirabelles.

Les Cretes ‘La Tour’Syrah – very deep colour, almost black. Young herbal aroma. Sweet baked and preserved fruit of the forest. Very pleasant.

Vezzoli Franciacorta Blanc de Blancs (Chardonnay) – nutty and developed, hazlenuts – and a delicious unsulphured Valpolicella Ripasso 2004 from Monte di Ragui.