Have you ever considered cooking with Grappa? Well, you should, I did it in Trentino and here’s my adventure + a recipe
… Cooking with Grappa in Trentino
Category: In vino veritas
“Age is just a number. It’s totally irrelevant unless, of course, you happen to be a bottle of wine.” ~ Joan Collins
Racconto diVino :: The taste of words
Racconto diVino :: ovvero :: Il sapore delle parole | photo: ©MateldaCodagnone
“It is already difficult to express a scent, a taste, a sensation with the words of one’s own language, let alone transporting the baroque and imaginative descriptions, which the authors do not skimp on, with the strict German precision or with the sharp English simplicity … it is a thankless task. As the authors Fruttero and Lucentini say, he [the translator] is asked to consider as his greatest triumph that the reader does not even notice him.”
It is a wine story, where words become flavors and adjectives turn into scents … [Read more (in Italian) :: Il sapore delle parole via Verba Volant]
Racconto diVino :: ovvero :: Il sapore delle parole | photo: ©Lonza65
Racconto diVino :: ovvero :: Il sapore delle parole | photo: ©MateldaCodagnone
Italian Flavours :: In Vino… Venea
The English Idiom “good things come in small packages” translates the Italian “nella botte piccola c’è il vino buono” (small casks carry top-quality wine). If this holds true for “things” in general, it should be truer for wineries.
Venea is a 25-acre winery on the hilly backcountry around Fossacesia (Chieti). The name recalls a former Roman temple dedicated to Venus Conciliatrix (“the peace maker”), on whose ruins the Abbey of San Giovanni in Venere was built in the IX century A.D.
This is just one instance of how Paolucci family is strongly and firmly tied to this stretch of land, caught between the sea and the Maiella massif. Nicolino, Serena, Michele and Elena are the kings and queens of this tiny kingdom, a treasure chest where you can find excellent wine and extra-virgin olive oil.
Nicolino Paolucci spent some years in the local cooperative winery and then he realized it was high time to run his own wine business. He and his wife Serena merged the lands both families owned since four generations ahead and started their own “cantina”.
However, with such a rich and important background, one should not think that Venea is tied to bygone days. Their approach to wine-making is updated to the new trend, e.g. it is respectful of the environment through the implementation of the integrated pest management. Even the choice of the name for their rosé wine comes from the title of the one of the most popular Italian rocker’s songs – Vasco Rossi’s Albachiara. But again their roots come up again with a tribute to a local noblewoman, who gives her name to Venea’s Trebbiano and Chardonnay white wine – Spinalba.
Venea’s style mixes old and modern references but keeps its focus on the land. Venea’s estate is included in the upcoming Parco della Costa dei Trabocchi (Trabocchi Coast Park), whose aim is to protect this unique area from unauthorised building development and other land violations. The Trabocchi Coast Park setup could be another asset for the Paolucci, whose love and respect for their land is the leading inspiration for their activity.
Contact: Nicolino Paolucci
Telephone & fax: +39 0872 60303
email: info@venea.it
Azienda Agricola Venea – Via Piano Madonna – 66022 Fossacesia (Chieti)
A stroll in the vineyard… | photo: ©MateldaCodagnone
Venea, a family story of wine and “spirito abruzzese”| photo: ©MateldaCodagnone
Homemade “salumi” and extra virgin olive oil | photo: ©MateldaCodagnone
Paolucci’s family | photo: ©MateldaCodagnone
Paolucci’s family | photo: ©MateldaCodagnone
In Vino Veritas :: Venea, a family story of wine and “spirito abruzzese” | photo: ©MateldaCodagnone
Venea Winery | photo: ©MateldaCodagnone
