Lover of Wine – Travel along on our adventures – DAVID & JANEEN

The last couple of days haven’t had much to justify putting words together and posting on the blog – maybe we are getting tired of writing, I don’t know but today was different. Saturday’s goal museum, The Story of Bologna, failed to be worth the effort to find parking and access to Bologna Centro.

Our AgriTurismo is in the area where Balsamic Vinegar is made; well the area around Modena is the “hot spot” for this stuff. I was checking, this morning, about tours or places to visit and found a link to Giuseppe Giusti – the oldest producer in the world! A tour was available at 10:50 and we headed out arriving with plenty of time to sign up.

Giuseppe Giusti is the oldest balsamic vinegar produced by a company in the world having been founded in Modena in 1605 – still in the family after 17 generations!

Now we have all tasted balsamic vinegar – used on salads, soaked bread with olive oil in it and in general, enjoyed the flavor.   Most of the balsamic vinegars we have used are 2 to 3 months old – maybe even up to 2 years old. The stuff produced here starts at 6 years old and just gets older!

The process of making balsamic vinegar is a safely guarded family secret – but basically true balsamic vinegar is made from a reduction of pressed Trebbiano and or Lambrusco grapes. The resulting thick syrup is subsequently aged for a minimum of 12 years in a series of barrels of successively smaller sizes. This is very similar to the process of the making sherry with the cascading solera system of barrels. The barrels are made of different woods like acacia, chestnut, cherry, oak, mulberry, ash and juniper.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

True balsamic vinegar is rich, glossy, and deep chestnut brown in color and has a complex flavor. Just as a side note here, the most expensive balsamic vinegar is made in the attic – where it gets HOT and allows the vinegar to evaporate out water and concentrates the ‘juice’.

The process of moving from a larger barrel to a smaller one is done in stages with each successive batch being introduced into the prior years in small portions. Again very much like the sherry solera system. This long aged balsamic vinegar isn’t anything like the stuff we get and use all the time. That is a similar process but made in very large barrels and aged for only a few months.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After learning about the process, and seeing all the various barrels, we ended up having a tasting. We tasting several different levels included both a 25 year old and a 100-year-old balsamic vinegar. As the balsamic vinegar gets older it gets much thicker – taking longer to even drip out of the bottle, as we tasted it. Needless to say there was also the opportunity to buy anything they produce. I’m so glad we don’t have the ability to use this right now, being on the road for the next several months, so we were able to keep from purchasing anything. However, when we get back and settled into a place where ‘cooking’ seems like we will need to do again I’m confident we will be looking for the older, aged balsamic vinegar for our eating enjoyment.

Modena Centro on a Sunday was a relaxing, stroll through the park, and nurse a glass of wine with focaccia snack, autumn afternoon. The Military School uniforms were a colorful addition to people watching.

 

 

Today we headed out on foot to visit the Scuola della Carita is a real gem hidden in the heart of the city center. Beautiful Roman architecture, grandeur, breathtaking. What’s best about it – free entry. The second floor is a masterpiece of wall murals painted in the sixteenth century. The history reflects those times when many people suffered hard situations where the community helped through charity. It looks rather plain from the outside, but when you go up the stairs and see the murals you will be in awe.

There is a series of 12 fresco’s on the walls painted by Dario Varotan in 1579 with stories from the Life of the Virgin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All of the paintings were well done and looked beautiful – they had a restoration about 10 years ago – and the entire room is quite stunning.  Well worth a visit.

 

 

 

Listed as number 29 on the best restaurants in the world, Le Calandre was a goal to reach while in Italy. Located not far from our hotel, what a surprise, we taxied over for a late lunch. Located in lovely space, Chef Alajmo is presenting wonderful and delicious dishes. Together with brother Raffaele and sister Laura, he is part of the 5^th generation of the family of Chefs. This place was awarded its third Michelin Star in 2002!

After meeting both Chef Alajmo and his brother Raffaele, we had a wonderful glass of Prosecco and looked over the menu. Raffaele came by and asked about our likes and dislikes and said he would plan our menu accordingly. We really didn’t have to decide ANYTHING which is always a treat. There were at least five course and as many wines over the next couple of hours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At one point, one of the waters brought over a copy of Chef Alajmo’s book showing us the recipe for the dish we were having – saffron risotto with licorice, rosemary chanterelles and king oyster mushrooms – which was neat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, we ending up buying the book and having them ship it home for us after getting several signatures and notes from the Chef. It will be interesting to see the book once we get back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The pictures really are food porn – it was a great meal and ranks right up there at the top for all meals we have had over the years.

 

 

Yesterday was just a recoup day – with a nice lunch thrown in for good behavior. Today we packed everything up and headed to Padua – about 40 minutes away from Venice but without all the water worlds apart. The main goal, of stopping in Padua, was to visit the Gardens.

“The botanical garden of Padua is at the origin of all botanical gardens in the world and represents the cradle of science, scientific exchanges and understanding of the relationship between nature and culture. It has largely contributed to the advancement of many modern scientific disciplines , in particular botany, medicine, chemistry, ecology and pharmacy.” UNESCO

Because of Janeen’s [who is writing todays blog] Huntington Herb Garden workshops and Herbals introductions, this garden has been on her radar for at least two years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Moorish” medicinal” which inspired the Italian drawings of Padua students under Francesco Bonafede, were taken from the actual plants grown in the university gardens starting in the 16^th century.

The garden had to be enclosed with walls to keep thieves out as the plants were so highly valued. There is still a Medicinals Quadrant to this day, but the garden expanded in the 18^th and 19^th centuries with the “collectors” of new world plants and flora. Many of these plants were “exchange” botanicals between students of the plant world. Janeen loved recognizing Huntington plants, and was in awe of the 1750 Ginkgo Biloba, a male specimen grafted with a female branch in 1850. The order and design of the garden is much like it was almost 200 years ago, with separate gardens outside the walls, planted around waterfalls, fountains and pools fed from underground springs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On a less academic note, I [Janeen} needed green relief, having had my fill of roundabout directions and diesel fumes (even in watery Venice). David has found new Mercedes to be a friendly steed, even amongst the narrow streets with Italian drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians.

 

 

 

Near the Botanical Gardens was our bonus of the day, Prato Della Valle, an elliptical square, the largest in all of Italy and one of the largest in Europe. A water feature divides its quadrants into green space, and statuary surround I’lsola Memmia. The bridge offers great photo ops.

 

 

On the way out of the garden we watched workers placing stones to make a new roadbed – lots of labor involved.

Today we split up – Jason and Terri went for a guided tour of Saint Mark’s Square and Janeen and I went to the Peggy Guggenheim Museum. Peggy is related to all the other Guggenheims around – but didn’t have all the money they did. Her father didn’t have enough time to score big points in the family as he died on the Titanic leaving the family without the vast sums of money the other Guggenheims received. However, we should not feel sorry for Peggy, she did get over $3 million (about 35 million today) so she did OK. She started out collecting art first in Paris and London then in the US and finally in Venice where she remained for over 20 years.

The Museum holds a portion of her collection in the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni where she lived and died. She had a fondness for collecting living artists and purchased works early on from a number of different artists– and married at least one (Max Ernst) having a couple of kids. When she died, the collection and the Palazzo were turned over to the Guggenheim Trust for management.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In walking around the place you really get a feeling it was a home and the artwork was displayed for her pleasure. One entire room is filled with Jackson Pollock’s works – I don’t recall ever seen so many in one spot. Other works by Salvador Dali, Marc Chagail, Alexander Calder, Max Ernst, Pablo Picasso and others make up the collection.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After we connected with Jason and Terri we had a quick bite to eat, a brief rest and got into a water taxi we had hired for a 2-hour water tour of Venice. Our driver was knowledgeable about all the various neighborhood buildings, the history of the area and how to get around. It was a wonderful tour, viewing at least five of the seven districts, including the Jewish Ghetto, Arsenal (still military), residential, rather than resort, canals, and views of church plazas and historic palaces.

Two recently renovated Palacios are available for an under market eleven million euros, but the resident ghost and bad luck of previous owners, keeps the money away.

 

Our taxi driver was a born in Venice waterman, who had crewed at the America’s Cup in 1991, and liked San Diego a lot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Early Tuesday, David and Janeen walked the Virginia Lees to a neighborhood water taxi pick-up for the rapid ride to Marco Polo Airport, then had a Café in a neighborhood shop, and reverently walked through .

St. Maria Gloriosa, to view the Michelangelo’s and impressive chapels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The church bells were our sound track for our stay at this beautiful VRBO.