Marche and Abruzzo – Adventures for the Wine Club

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MacrheandAburzoAdvenuterhotsferWnieCulb In An
American in Rome, Articles by Lindsay Gabbard /
27/05/2018 / Leave a Comment
For those of you who love travel and appreciate
the more off the beaten path and non-touristy
experiences, I have decided to chronicle my
cultural and culinary adventures around Italy as
we search for all the special selections for our
wine club members. The blog posts will feature
wineries visited, short restaurant reviews,
places and sights worth visiting and local
traditions. Our most recent trip in April found
us in Abruzzo and the Marche, for a quiet and
relaxing stay, with beaches nearly all to
ourselves. m13 Work first, play later
whatever, its all the same. It might be the
mastery of life when work becomes play and play
expands your knowledge at work. Traveling around
to vineyards and discovering new wines is
certainly a joyful part of this job. And drinking
expensive and important wines to celebrate or to
enjoy on a holiday aids to increase our
understanding and knowledge of these wines for
the high end tastings we do with collectors who
like to discuss big names in wine serves as a
nice excuse to splurge from time to time. (Ill
spare you the stresses of the job, but assure you
they do exist). First up were m9 two winery
visits De Fermo in Abruzzo and Valter Mattoni
in the Marche. Wine club
members will be getting a more detailed story
about these producers but in short I can tell you
that the wines of De Fermo were some of the most
unique wines of the territory, with an
reverberating undertone of Valentini in them.
Anyone who knows the revered and distinct wines
of Valentini can appreciate how this wine can
stand proud on its own when up against even Grand
Cru white Burgundies. Biodynamic, non filtered,
non clarified, no temperature control, all
indigenous yeasts (aka as natural as it gets),
all the wines we tasted Launegild, Le Cince, De
Fermo and Prologo were pure, provoking and
persistent and excellent expressions of their
natural philosophy. Over to Valter Mattoni,
nicknamed la Roccia or the Rock, and you can
m12
immediately feel the raw integrity, passion and
grit in this motorcycle-loving, antique-
collecting, charismatic and comical farmer in the
Marche. Often wines tend to resemble their
owners, and these wines Trebbien, Cose Cose,
Rossobordò and Arshura capture all the essence
of Valters spirit. Even if they dont fall into
a category of biodynamic or organic, these
wines are made as naturally as possible with
spontaneous fermentations, without temperature
control, and minimal intervention. Its an honor
to put both of these producers into our curated
wine selections for the Summer quarters
shipment. Moscioli dont dare call them cozze!
Off to the Marche, Sirolo specifically, to
indulge in the m11 pink sands and delicacies of
the seas. Here the local, non-breeding,
spontaneously reproducing moscioli locals may
get offended if you call them cozze or simply
mussels are the protected specialty of the sea,
growing on reefs in small quantities and only in
the area of Pietralacorce (Ancona) and Sirolo.
Locals typically will just savor them steamed
with a dash of parsley and garlic, or for the
true connoisseur, like Alessandro, literally
hand-picked fresh out of the sea (possibly
illegal), opened meanwhile I was paddling our
kayak against the current, after an hour at the
quaint, nestled away beach of Le Due Sorrelle
a quaint beach worth paddleboarding or kayaking
to. So what makes them different? They are firmer
and taste stronger, sea-like, and persistent on
the palate. A highly localized treat available in
only a couple of villages or the local fish
market in Ancona. Another dining experience that
didnt disappoint was Il Clandestino in
Portonovo. Owning up to its name, this
clandestine location is tucked away on the
beach, reminiscent of Moodshadows in Mailbu, CA,
just instead on the quiet Mediterranean. Ask for
a sample of their infused olive oils which
feature flavors like bbq, mint and lemon the
bbq oil couldnt be a more perfect synthesis of
Italian and American cuisine. Fine dining and
worth it For those seeking something more formal
than a hand-picked lunch on a kayak, a 2-star
Michelin dining experience in Senigallia, Uliassi
will have your taste buds swimming in a sea of
heaven. We opted for the Uliassi Lab tasting
menu featuring the specialties of the
Mediterranean and struggled to select which
Champagne to drink between a Cristal 2009 and a
Fleury Sonate N.9. We splurged on the Cristal,
but as it began to feel heavy, Alessandro had the
idea to share the remaining bit
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with our neighbors and play a game with the
Sonate to see which one our palate preferred as
they palate doesnt lie. Returning the favor,
our neighbors offered some of their Jacques
Selosse, and in 3 Little Bears style, we had
Cristal with a round opulence out of the gates
but slightly too heavy and fatiguing over time,
Fleury Sonate N.9 much more pure in its fruit,
but possibly lacking something for me in
grandness (still a well-crafted Champagne) and
Selosse that somehow won that night for me
personally with its purity, elegance and
balance. It was a really fun experiment to see
which one your palate keeps returning to try it
with your California Cabernet against an Etna or
Barolo. The culinary creations will fascinate for
their freshness,
m2
authenticity and creativity. The welcome dish a
fois gras hazelnut wafer, olive with raw
meat with an almond inside, and crunchy toast
with salted anchovy and truffle, accompanied by a
Kirr Royal shot a play on well known snack
foods, gets the evening going. From there you
will be dazzled by everything from the sweet red
shrimp, homemade bread selections with oyster
butter, to carpaccio of langoustine and amberjack
done alla puttanesca and more. For the brave,
Benvenuti al mare offers guests the chance to
lap up a bowl of broth synthesizing all the
flavors of the sea salt, iodine, kelp, oysters,
clams. An elegant culinary experience not to be
missed if you want to understand what the creme
de la creme of the Mediterranean Sea can be.
Some Champagnes are worlds apart. Others, distant
universes. Lifes not so bad when youre the
lucky beneficiary of a birthday gift that
Alessandro decided to splurge on a 1998 Krug
Clos du Mesnil. Three days passed as we waited
for this liability in our mini-fridge to call
our names, but nothing we just didnt want to
drink it, waste it. Finally on the last night,
there was no way we were not going back to Rome
with that bottle and we would essentially force
ourselves to drink it. In a perfect
unsophisticated manner, we grab picnic goodies
and head to the beach for a moonlit, relaxed and
romantic evening sipping under the stars. We
found the only salumeria open in the village,
grabbed whatever we could which amounted to
truffle potato chips, some provolone, salami,
bread and headed with the Bose speaker to the
beach, found a table cloth to cover a plastic
beach table and set up shop directly in front of
a sea all for us. m8 Upon the first inhale, you
knew this was going to be different from the
complexity on the nose. Then a sip of this
ethereal delight found me speechless inside I
was vibrating, outside I showed goosebumps. No
description I can give you will give you even a a
sliver of this magical, ineffable experience.
Ironically, with zero desire to drink, we
shamefully finished it too fast. And 98 isnt
even considered the best vintage in Champagne.
This Champagne really is another universe when
compared to the others we drank that weekend, and
for true wine collectors or enthusiasts, I would
strongly recommend pairing this bottle with a
special loved one or moment to be remembered.
Savor this gift of the Gods slowly the best sip
by far was the last. For me, the joy in wine has
been experiencing the unexpected and being
provoked, which often leave me in a moment of
sheer wonder and even reverence. And these
moments that leave you in awe stay with you
forever, and help make this bizarre and sometimes
non-sense life seem worth the wild ride.
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