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| The Frecciarossa Estate |
Our first appointment was at the local ‘Universita’ for a
tasting with Marco Sabellico, a wine journalist with Gambero Rosso. In those
days Marco was just starting out and had been at Italy’s most important wine
magazine for a couple of years.
We turned up at the University in extreme heat, it must have
been 100 degrees outside. The room where the tasting was being held had no
air-conditioning and very few windows. Marco began his tasting of local wines
and spoke knowledgeably about the area and grape varieties. He found his
confidence as we all began to perspire. Slowly people began to leave the room,
some even hopping out of the low windows. It was like an oven. Marco just kept
on going and going, who knew that there were so any things to say about Oltrepo.
As special guests we had to sit it out. Finally when the heat became
intolerable and we were all parched as if we had been on a trek in the dessert,
we got up and left. We never got to hear the end of his presentation but I
doubt that we could have concentrated on it anyway.
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| Marco Sabellico |
One of the group had elected to have a sleep instead of coming out for drinks. He had slept for several hours by the time we had all gathered in the lobby waiting to go out. I won’t mention Bill’s surname suffice to say he is one of the nicest guys.
We gathered in the lobby and realised that Bill wasn’t with
us. Someone went up to his room and called him, he was still asleep, probably
jet lagged as he had arrived late. He said it would just take a minute to get
ready. As he promised he came downstairs soon after. However, he looked a
complete mess, his curly hair needed a cut and hadn’t been combed so it he
looked like ‘Little Orphan Annie’, he wore a pair of old jeans and a crumpled
t-shirt and the outfit was completed by sandals.
We explained that we were going to a rather swish sort of
place and didn’t he think he should change. “Oh, yes, maybe I should”. He went
back up stairs and was down again immediately. He had exchanged the crumpled
t-shirt for a crumpled denim shirt but apart from that nothing else had changed
and we left the hotel in fits of giggles. This was Bill’s version of formal
attire. |
| Le Fracce |
Following our visit to Le Fracce, we headed to a smaller winery where we would have a tasting and they would put on a home-cooked lunch for us. Once again I won’t mention the name as the visit ended up as a battle field with us, seven journalists, in the firing line.
What started as a very pleasant visit with the owner of the
winery turned out to be rather nerve-wracking. The young man showed us around
the winery which was particularly old but he was trying to rebuild and renovate
with modern equipment. It was obvious that he was certain he could make it into
the dream winery he wanted. He had finished winemaking school and had come back
to the family farm. His father had tried winemaking in his youth and had given
up as he couldn’t make it work, he never found it worth the effort. However the
son had asked him if he could take over the winery and he said yes.
The son came back at a time when the Italian wine industry
was going through a boom period with new technology and ideas, these he took on
board and surprisingly the winery had started to make reasonable wines that
were selling well within Lombardy – or at least in Oltrepo.
What we didn’t know was that the old man was extremely
jealous of his son’s success. While we were having lunch and talking to the
son, the old man kept on interrupting and saying it was his winery and the son
shouldn’t forget that. He knew how to make wine and it wasn’t that difficult. We
were in the middle of the two men as we tried to keep things below boiling
point and it was obvious the old man thought he could take the son on in a
fight and win. The mother could see the old man getting upset and tried to
placate him with plates of different foods she had prepared for lunch.
All of a sudden the table erupted and it was on for young
and old. Food and plates went flying while we hopped out the back door very
quickly. In a surreal moment, the mother thanked us for coming as if this was
all normal. We quickly got back into our mini bus and waved goodbye and sped
off down the driveway.
I don’t know why but trouble seemed to be following us no
matter where we went. Was it us?
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| Part of the Certosa of Pavia - The Cloisters, a magnificent Abbey in the area worth visiting |
Thank goodness our next visit was to Frecciarossa where
normality reigned. I am very fortunate because I have been able to maintain my
relationship with the family Odero for many years and each time I see them it’s
as if I haven’t been away.
Frecciarossa means Red Arrow. It
was so named by Margarite Odero’s grandfather who established the winery before
WW1. It was passed on his death to Margarite’s father, Giorgio and now she runs
the business. She is well inot her 70s but you wouldn’t know it, she is so
energetic I can’t see the business moving to her daughter yet. |
| The magnificent villa at Frecciarossa |
The winery and Villa are surrounded by vineyards and farmland, it is truly a little piece of visual beauty. When I have stayed at the Villla, I have slept in a room at the top of the house with sweeping views of the countryside.
Although by this stage we expected trouble, after all it had
been following us, but a visit to Frecciarossa was cool and calm and probably
just what we needed.
After leaving Frecciarossa it was still early enough for us
to catch the Soccer world cup on TV. We were invited to watch it on a ‘big
screen TV’ at the villa of Vercesi dei Castellazzo. The Vercesi family were very nice and allowed
us the use of their big lounge room and TV. Obviously they don’t watch much TV
because large to them meant portable TV to us. We had to sit rather close to it
to recognise any of the players. But we were in Italy, in a villa above a
village named for the family and we were fed and watered very well. I don’t
think any of us will forget that day when we were lords and lady of the manor!
I have included a recipe for Malfatti, a traditional recipe of
Lombardy. We were served this dish several times, each time slightly different from
the last. These little dumplings are also made in Tuscany where they are known
as Gnudi – both claim to have invented them.
Malfatti.
This
is one of Italy’s oldest recipes first mentioned in the 1300’s. Originally a
plain meal eaten by the poor, it has been changed over time to become quite
sophisticated with the addition of ricotta, spinach and parmigiana.
Makes
enough for 4
1 lge bunch spinach or Swiss chard (or 1 packet of
frozen spinach with the water squeezed out)250 gm ricotta cheese
125 gm Parmigiana, finely grated
1 egg
200 gm plain four
salt and pepper to taste
½ tspn nutmeg
1. Boil the spinach, drain and dry with paper towel so that
there is no excess water. Chop finely.
2. Mix all the ingredients together.3. When all ingredients are combined well take teaspoon-sized bits of dough and roll them into balls. To make it easier to ball the dough, wet your hands. Make sure the balls are small and tight because if they are loosely packed they will come apart when boiled.
4. Have a saucepan of water boiling on the stove and place the balls, a few at a time, in the water. When they come back to the top they are cooked. Take them out and replace them with more. The cooked malfatti can now be added to sauce or butter and sage.
Do
Not handle the malfatti too much or they will fall apart. When adding
them to the sauce
(tomato or gorgonzola) drop them in gently. If using
butter and sage, roll them over gently to coat
them. If you
want to, you can bake them in the oven
covered in sauce.
Fruity, richly intense, long lasting with hints of white flowers, citrus and balsamic notes.
Giorgio Odero is considered by Gambero Rosso, Italy's leading wine and food
magazine one of the best Italian Pinot Nero and has been awarded the top award
of 3 bicchieri twice.
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