The day before in question was Saturday and the Vinitaly pre-event was OperaWine’s Finest Italian Wines – 100 Great Producers. For the second year in a row OperaWine brought together many of Italy’s most famous wines and unless you taste fermented grape juice for a living, alas I am not part of that select group, it is at once incredible, overwhelming and intimidating to find yourself in front of all these wines.

There were, of course, the Barolos, Barbarescos, Super Tuscans and Amarones. But there were also memorable Aglianicos, Fianos and Nero d’Avolas, to name just a few of the wines on offer.

Rather than taste all the most famous producers, which is what I tried to do last year, this time I squeezed in a lot of the smaller, overlooked names. I did find time for some of the big names that have successfully broken into the international market including Planeta, Ceretto and Donnafugata. But I didn’t taste a single Amarone and only got in four Brunellos and three Barolos in the three-hour event.

Rather than rewrite my tasting notes – which would be a bit difficult anyway as I lost my notebook, the effect perhaps of not having spit out enough of the wine – I’ll recount just a few general thoughts.

The Nebbiolo grape has become duly famous for the excellent results it gives in Piedmont in the production of Barolo and Barbaresco. The grape has had some success elsewhere, but not at the level of Piedmont. One of the few exceptions is in Valtellina in northeastern Lombardy. As this is my adopted region, Milan is the capital of Lombardy, I took particular joy in drinking Nino Negri’s incredible 5 Stelle Sfursat di Valtellina 2009: Nebbiolo 100 percent, two years is new French barriques and then another 4 months in the bottle before it reaches the market. This is without a doubt the best expression the Nebbiolo grape outside of Piedmont that I’ve had.

Another particularly memorable wine was Bellavista’s Franciacorta Vittorio Moretti 2006, a traditional method sparker that is released seven years after the harvest. No wonder it goes for about 100 euros a bottle. I visited the Bellavista vineyard this past summer for an article about female wine producers.

Donnafugata brought its Mille e una Notte 2007, a wine made almost exclusively with Nero d’Avola and aged in French barriques for 16 months before sitting another 30 months in the bottle. What’s wonderful about this wine is that it displays the rich complexity and power that the Sicilian nero d’Avola grape is capable of. And it is nice to see that because you can also find barely drinkable nero d’Avola’s that go for 3 euros a bottle. Mille e una Notte will cost you about 15 times more, but it’s worth the splurge.

Andrea Illy of coffee fame, he is Illycaffè’s chief executive, took time off from his coffee endeavors to pour Brunello Vigna Loreto 2008 made at the Mastrojanni estate, which Gruppo Illy bought in 2008. Bit funny to have Italy’s Mr. Coffee, and he really is the face of Italian coffee, pouring you Brunello, especially when the last time you saw him it was during a break in a board meeting. Speaking of Brunello, my favorite of the four I tasted was Siro Pacenti’s Riserva 2007.

General thought on the Barolos: the 2008s are already more drinkable that the 2007s were at last year’s event. In both cases better to wait at least 3-4 years before drinking.

Much ado about nothing, I decided. That was until a decade or so later grappa made its way back into my conscience thanks to its appearance at card games I attended as a student in Bologna. That was also about when I started hitting the mountain trails in the Italian Alps where you find grappa flowing a plenty in every restaurant and mountain hut from Mount Blac in the west to Caporetto in the east.

And so grew my appreciation for grappa and digestives, infused liqueurs that Italians are fond of drinking and when possible making themselves. Take just about any fruit, herb, flower, bush, nut, spice or whatever and throw some pure alcohol on top. Wait a few weeks then add some water and sugar and you have your digestive. Travel as much as I do and soon you have tried quite a few homemade digestives from one infused with high-altitude flowers in the north to one made with prickly pears in the south.

Not long ago I tried a new one on a recent trip to Muro Leccese, in the deepest of Italy’s deep southeast, where I happened to find myself having lunch at Masseria Lacco, which is immersed in olive groves and, as it happens, laurel bushes. Lunch was good, actually excellent, but the takeaway unforgettable culinary highlight actually came in a small shot glass: laurel digestive.

I went home with the recipe as well as many bunches of laurel leaves and berries. It’s rare that a recipe comes out great the first time you try it and this was no exception, first too strong then too sweet. Anyway, here’s the recipe. I suggest you start with maybe 150 grams of sugar and then slowly add more as needed.

• 30 laurel leaves
• 20 laurel berries
• 500 ml pure alcohol
• 500 ml water
• 250 grams sugar

Let the laurel leaves and berries infuse in the alcohol for two-three weeks. Strain away what remains of the berries and leaves then add the water and sugar stirring until it dissolves in the alcohol. Better to wait a month before drinking to let the flavors settle. That’s pretty much it. Let me know if you’ve made or drank any interesting digestives you think I should know about.

Laurel digestive during the infusion with the leaves and berries.

There’s even a conductor.

In Italy’s far north, very far north, as far north as you can go, the village of Predoi has a most unusual attraction. The village,  called Prettau in German and surrounded on three sides by Austria, is home to a spa that sits deep inside a mountain in what remains of a copper mine dating back to the 15^th Century.

Taking a train was never this much fun.

The mine has been closed for 40 years and somebody had the grand idea to convert it into something of a health resort where people can come lie down on lounge chairs while they drink a cup of tea and breathe in the air that is said to cure respiratory woes.

A natural system of filters created by the many tunnels and mine shafts keeps the air clean and at a constant temperature of about 8 degree Celsius. The experience is hard to beat and worth the trip even if you don’t buy into the supposed health benefits (count me in that camp).

Finally, time to relax and breathe it all in.

One musician (and one window) for the first of the month, 19 for today, 20 for tomorrow and so on. It’s a sight to be seen.

The finale will have the 24 musicians playing “Silent Night”, which, I’m told, was first performed Christmas night 1818 at the church in Oberndorf near Salzburg. That connection is not accidental as this event is being sponsored by the Austrian tourism office in Milan.

Since most of you reading this aren’t in Milan (here’s hoping you’re somewhere with better weather) here is a video that gives a good idea of the event.

By the way, and just to clear the air, I didn’t know these calendars were called Advent calendars. As a kid I just opened up the windows and didn’t ask too many questions.

And here is one more cool Advent calendar that is the product of 3D printing.

Guy from Hong Kong: I love this (he’s got his very serious looking camera out and is snapping away with abandon).

Me: Yeah, it’s great, but you must have better fish markets in Hong Kong selling every imaginable fish known to man.

GFHK:  Bigger, yes. Better no. Everybody is yelling here, I love it.

GFHK has a point and here is a video to back up that premise:

In sociology they talk about how those studying people have an effect on how the studied people act. For example, if a sociologist goes into the field to study, say the fishmongers in Catania, those fishmongers will change their way of acting because they know they are being watched. Probably true in most cases, but not here at the Catania fish market. These guys positively ignored me even though I stuck my camera right up into the action.

You have got to have a look at how this guy cleans the squid while completely disregarding my presence (not to be seen if you’re about to eat some fish you have just acquired at an open-air market).

Here’s a link to the site of a guy (online alias Peter Parkoor) who I met in Catania and has some nice photos of the fish market.

Heading up towards Etna's peak, 11 April 2012

Despite the dodgy weather and the occasionally extreme conditions, it was an excellent walk almost entirely through hard-packed snow. Even from my close up view from right under the peak for several hours yesterday, the peak remained obscured the whole time by cloud cover giving the illusion that I was at the top of the mountain. Today, of course, it has been clear with Etna’s peak visible from Catania. In the late afternoon a huge plume of smoke emerged from one of the top craters in what is sixth eruption this year.

Etna, 12 April 2012, compliments of Catania Today

It is with a bit of regret that I read the eruption is not expected to cancel any flights out of Catania today. Guess the volcano tour is really over. I will update with a link when my article is published.

Stromboli...those are not clouds, that's steam and other gasses coming out of the volcano.

I’m here touring Italy’s active volcanoes on assignment so no more details on them for now. That is except to say that after Stromboli I stopped off in Vulcano, yes, an island actually called “Volcano” where I hiked another volcano that though smaller is equally interesting.

Staring down into Vulcano's volcano.

After Vulcano I got another boat to Sicily where today if everything works out I’ll be heading up Etna, the mother of all Italian (and European) volcanoes.

And not just any island as this happens to be Stromboli, a speck in the Mediterranean that is completely dominated by one of the world’s most active volcanoes.

I’ve come to climb the volcano, only allowed if you’re accompanied by a guide, but clouds covered said volcano yesterday causing my guide to cancel with the explanation that going up with cloud cover makes no sense because you won’t be able to see the spewing of lava that happens like clockwork every 15-20 minutes. A storm with strong winds and driving rain is lashing the island as I write washing out  any chance we could go today.

And so it is that I sip very hot tea in a café at Stromboli’s mini-port contemplating life on this Easter Sunday.

Hydrofoil connections to the other Aeolian Islands and the mainland have been cancelled due to the choppy sea so there’s no escaping even if I wanted (maybe I am marooned after all).

I’ve got no intention of going anywhere anyway. I’m not leaving this island until I’ve looked down into Stromboli’s crater and with the weather forecast to improve tomorrow I just might manage…

That was just part of the more than 100 wines being poured at a tasting over the weekend in Verona ahead of the Vinitaly, the city’s annual trade dedicated to Italian wine that is being held through Wednesday. The event is a collaboration between Operawine (a joint venture between Vinitaly and the Verona trade fair) and Wine Spectator, which helped pick the producers. The list is supposed to give a good cross section of what Italian grapes have to offer the world though clearly there was an emphasis on the big names.

But it wasn’t only about Italy’s well-known, full-bodied reds and its increasingly well-respected traditional method (how champagne is made) sparklers. There were also rich and fruity structured whites, not customarily thought of as an Italian strong point, that seemed like something you’d expect to be produced on the other side of the Alps.

I tasted 28 wines, not nearly as many as I had planned, but with only two hours and huge crowds that was the best my tasting companions and I could manage. I was accompanied by English journalist Michael Day, the Milan correspondent for The Independent; Maarten Veeger, a Dutch journalist making a video on the event for the La Stampa website; and Susannah Gold, a wine consultant who writes prolifically on the subject.

We started with the aforementioned sparkling wines with all of us particularly struck by Giulio Ferrari 2001 produced by Ferrari of Trento. Straw color with a rich perlage, it immediately hits you with its aromas of fresh white citrus, specifically grapefruit, followed by that distinctive yeast touch that is present on the best traditional method sparkling wines. On the palate you get long lasting flavors of flowers and almonds with, perhaps, at the end a hint of vanilla.

We followed with Marco Falluga’s Collio Disore 2008 made with tocai Friulano, pinot bianco and sauvignon blanc. A wonderful full-bodied Italian with a dominance both on the nose and the palate of rich white mature fruits. The hint of banana and honey comes later. Don’t miss this one.

There were a few more whites in here, but soon we moved onto the reds. Call us stupid.

We tried three 2007 Barolos and think we were in agreement that though intriguing they need a few more years in the bottle to tone done the aggressive tannins that are so characteristic of the nebbiolo grape. I’m not sure I agree with the decision to come to a tasting like this with such a young Barolo. Almost all the Barolos on offer were from 2007, though I did notice a 2006 and a 2008 that we didn’t manage to try.

The Brunellos were plentiful and we tried several, my favorite was Siro Pacenti 2007. Sad to say we only managed 1 amarone, terrible considering we were in Verona. It was Zenato 2007 very jammy, as the best amarones are.

The Sassicaia 2008 lives up to reputation, if not the shock caused by the very hefty sticker price. Being from California I can’t help being a sucker for a Bordeaux blend that exalts the cabernet sauvignon grape. This is as rich as they come and though ready to drink, you can’t help thinking it’ll be even better in five years. Not surprising for a cabernet-heavy Super Tuscan.

Next up was Ornellaia 2006, rich, structured, but tough to follow Sassicaia. After the Ornellaia we had a few more Super Tuscans, though those made with predominately the sangiovese grape, the same one in Brunello and the main one in Chianti. Big mistake. The sangiovese is a much subtle than cabernet sauvignon (and is really best enjoyed with food). A good Chianti makes you want to eat. I found the same thing with the sangiovese Super Tuscans (could just be that after all those wines, and only some spitting out, I was actually really in need of food). Note to self: next time don’t go from the cabernet sauvignon-dominated Super Tuscans to the sangiovese ones or else make sure you leave enough time for the palate to recover. As mentioned, time was not on our side.

And to those who might think we concentrated a little too much on the obvious choices, I agree, but defend the decision because it is not every day that I find myself with all of these wines at my fingertips.

The 10^th edition of the cheese festival, or Käse Festival in German, the tongue spoken by people up here in what was Austria until 1918, took place this past weekend with more than 10,000 visitors stopping in at the stands of 100 producers presenting almost 1,000 cheeses. Not bad for an event that started a decade ago with three producers and ten visitors. In addition to cheese from Alto Adige, the top half of the Trentino-Alto Adige region, many other regions were represented as were several foreign countries including the Netherlands with Gouda, obviously.

It all started a bit more than a decade ago with a local from the Valle Aurina, the valley where Campo Tures is located, deciding he wanted to find a way to keep formaggio grigio, a native cheese, from being lost to the onslaught of culinary standardization. Formaggio grigio, literally “gray cheese,” can be aged, semi-hard and crumbly (as it is in Valle Aurina) or soft with the consistency of ricotta. My cheese tastes revolve around mozzarella, ricotta, scamorza and other “fresh” cheeses so formaggio grigio is not my thing, but under the tent in Campo Tures (Sand in Taufers in German) I was decidedly in the minority.

At the festival you’ll also find lots of breads, Alto Adige might have the best bread in Italy, as well as sweets and speck (smoked ham). An event in Alto Adige without speck is like summer in San Francisco without fog, an intriguing idea that will never come to pass. There has most probably never been an event of any importance in Alto Adige where speck did not feature prominently. While I haven’t yet warmed up to formaggio grigio, I’m a fan of speck (as well as Frisco in the summer) and have the distinction of having taken third place at a sandwich making competition with a speck and California date panino.

And the end of the day the festival is about trying to get you to pony up for some cheese, and the aforementioned speck, but the event is also about saving local customs. As such there were people walking around in mountain attire stopping to occasionally partake in what could only be called the local version of square dancing. There is nothing like some folk dancing to fire up the crowd and get them in a cheese-buying mood.

For the first eight editions the festival was yearly, now it’s every two years (on the second weekend of March), so you have to wait until 2014 for your next shot at this intimate cheese orgy. In addition to pretty decent skiing, up here you can also burrow more than a kilometer into an old mine to breathe what is claimed to be the best air in Italy…been there, done that, more later.