Cantina Nino Negri

This year we decided to visit the Nino Negri winery during the Cantine Aperte or 'open cellar' event that falls on the last Sunday of May every year.



Nino Negri makes one of our favorite wines from Valtellina - the Le Tense.

The winery is housed in a 15th century castle and we were able to visit the cellars which are up to 13 meters underground.

















It was a nice way to spend Sunday morning before lunch. Most wineries in Italy do not cater for visitors so this event is a good opportunity to visit one of the many excellent winemakers in the country. We'll definitely mark it on our calendar for next year.




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Perfect Party Cake

by Dorie Greenspan





Decided to try out this recipe last weekend. The layers are a lemon flavored white cake, with a raspberry jam filling and iced with a meringue lemon buttercream. The final touch - a dusting of shredded coconut all over, perfect for covering any imperfections on the icing job. Dorie's recipes may seem a little involved but so far I have yet to be disappointed.



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Birthday weekend

We celebrated the occasion with a fun weekend full of good food and wine. The highlight was definitely lunch at our favorite restaurant in Piemonte followed by a lazy afternoon enjoying the views of rolling vineyards and medieval hilltop towns.





The birthday boy was happy.



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Pizza

This was my pizza at dinner with friends last night.




It was at Tarantella, our new favorite pizzeria for Napoletano-style pizza. Have I mentioned that Italians don't share pizzas? Everyone orders a pie and it's all yours baby! In the early days, finishing one on my own was a near impossible feat. These days, with lots of practice, it's still a struggle but most of the time I can clean my plate (ok, I cheat a little by leaving some of the crusty edges behind).


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At the Tailors

Followed the guys to the tailors on a Saturday afternoon. D was getting a couple old suits refitted while S was getting new shirts made to measure. The tailor, Tuglio, and his wife were real characters - friendly and of great humor. Almost made me wish I was getting something tailored as well. This was definitely a business that ran by word-of-mouth. The storefront has no windows, no indication of the type of business, just the name: Arcadia.