Valpantena and the small villages north of Verona possess a charm that can get lost in the shadow of the Alto Adige's striking, often stark beauty. Low mountains topped by ruined castles and still-inhabited centuries old palazzos, verdant farmland, terraces of vines rising lazily from the valley floor. The area is modern (roads, factories, supermarkets, etc.), densely populated, yet the balance is not upset, Valpantena has not tipped into anonymity (is this Cary or Apex? Oh!, we’re in Knightdale. Sorry, cheap shots at Raleighsprawl are far too easy and are a low form of enjoyment, like laughing at and feeling superior to the contestants on reality TV shows. I feel guilty, but it's my blog, and nobody’s perfect, so I’m leaving my cheap shot de jour in). While tasting at the Tezza winery in Valpantena and touring the vineyards with brothers Vannio, Flavio and Federico Tezza, who are slowly converting from traditional pergola vine-training to the more quality-oriented Guyot training system (at least three times the plant density, lower yield), I was filled with anticipation- Vannio really gets it. Mike and Jim (his U.S. importers) say he’s consistently been taking steps in the right direction since they started doing business with the Tezzas, including the important step (to this Italophile) of abandoning purely French varietal bottlings in favor of regional grapes. During my visit he mentioned that starting with the 2005 vintage his aim is to highlight the distinct character of his two great vineyard sites (one on each side of the Valpantena valley) and accentuate the indigenous varietal character of his Valpolicella by no longer drying the grapes for that bottling a la Dal Forno or Quintarelli. It takes a man with a real sense of purpose to chart his own path, away from the revered names of his home region (revered is maybe not emphatic enough, Romano Dal Forno and Giuseppe Quinterelli are gods in there native Veneto, and their wines are made even more mythic by a paucity of sightings thoughout most of the western world beyond Verona’s walls).

Vannio is going to take his own path to success. The barrel sample of his 2005 Valpolicella had a freshness and a delicious red-fruit quality that made it the most enjoyable (and upon its release probably the most food-versatile) wine sample of my trip so far. The only stumbling block: it’s slated to appear on our store’s shelves in 2008, a date so inconceivably far into the distance that I don’t know if I can stand the wait! Maybe I'll just swipe this barrel once Vannio's back is turned. . . .My notes, "Really pure black cherry and raspberry aromas. Hint of vanilla, hint of sweet chocolate. This makes me think that fresh Corvina grapes must taste great. Quite tannic, but no more than many Cali. Cabs. Has been in barrique for two months, will age there for two more years. Really interesting exotic fruit flavors".

His 2003 recioto was an eye-opener as well. Tezza claims it's the best he's ever made, and it certainly ranks as one of the top reciotos I've ever tasted. My notes, "13.5%abv, maybe $27 retail. Dried from September – April. Valpantena has a constant breeze from the mountains through the valley. One kilogram of grapes makes 187ml of recioto. This smells like ripe strawberries. Very amplified aroma, great big & smooth mouthfeel, no awkwardness at all. Some old balsamic on the nose but very fresh on the palate. Corvina, Rondinella, Croatina. Fermentation stops naturally b/c the yeast are destroyed by the quantity of sugar and alcohol. 15% sugar. This wine spends two years in barrique."

Some fact about Tezza. They use 1kg of grapes to produce one bottle of Valpolicella, 2kg of grapes (plus three years ageing) to make one bottle of Amarone, and (as mentioned above) 4kg of grapes per 750ml bottle of recioto. The drying grapes that were waiting to be pressed into service as recioto the following week tasted like the best raisins you could possibly imagine. I see a future importing and selling these fancy fruits at posh American groceries. So few times in America do we get to taste how really delicious grapes can taste. So when you wonder why that bottle of Amarone is so expensive. . . . As I mentioned briefly above, the Valpantena is constantly breezy, as it runs straight south from the Alps towards Verona. This drying breeze makes all those lovely Amarones and reciotos possible, as they air-dry in a humidity and rot-free attic environment.

Next Time: My Best of Summer 2006 List: Recommendations for fun, affordable and thirst-quenching drinking

The beauty of Alto Adige is maybe best described as impressive. Epic, grand. The mountains start abruptly from the valley floor and rise precipitously, improbably steep in their ascent into pure blue alpine sky. Magical, certainly, but in an era when natural beauty seems to be frighteningly ephemeral, inexorably leaving the temporal world for existence solely in the fading memories of previous generations, it's worth noting that Tyroleans have consciously not destroyed this place. Despite appearances this distinct region of northeastern Italy is not fantasy, even if it does possess an elemental richness rare outside its boundaries. People live here, they use nature, marble is quarried, trees are felled, farmland is everywhere, often even in the form of steep vine-covered terraces rising as high as temperature and gravity permits from the Adige river basin. Dairy is important here: ask Sasha in my store's cheese department about the quality of Alto Adige cheeses and you'll get another perspective on the natural richness of this area.
The food throughout Italy is disarmingly good. After months or years away I'm always caught off guard by the often simple but consistent quality of Italian restaurant fare. Dishes made from five quality ingredients, thoughtfully, artfully, perfectly prepared. Studies in flavor balance that should be the preface to cooking school textbooks. To me great Italian food is genuine, the farthest thing from tall-food, completely lacking Michelin-starred pomp and pretense. Two examples: I ate lunch in a house/restaurant high above the precariously situated town of Molten (resident sparkling wine specialist Josef Rieterer boasts the highest elevation cellar in Europe at his Arunda winery in the heart of this village). We ate speck, crucolo and salami as an antipasti, fresh white asparagus (I was lucky to visit in spring, during this delicacy's short season), and deep fried baby goat capretti from animals raised just outside the room where we dined, followed by a perfect apple strudel. Local food, enjoyed while looking out the window of Da Marga's quaint wood-panelled dining room at a snowy expanse of Alps that stretches to Austria. They'd had a cold winter and spring- patches of snow dotted the fields and narrow roads as we wound up the mountain towards our greatly-anticipated lunch. Our ascent was a little harrowing (Rieterer drives a Volvo, which made me feel safer than the rented Alfa Romeo that had taken me to his place) but the food was worth the fear. We encountered few motorists, and they all pulled over or passed politely on the essentially one-lane of asphalt and gravel. That's as close to adventure travel as this professional wine taster and card-carrying risk-avoider gets. You can keep your tickets for five days of base jumping at Yosemite: I'll stay in San Fransisco, and eat sashimi.
The night previous to my journey with mad scientist/bubbly genius Josef, I'd drunk a bottle of Triacca Sasselo (my pick for Valtellina's best Nebbiolo) for 13 euros, ate fresh ravioli covered in Porcini mushrooms for 7 euros, and was served a delicious osso bucco that set us back 9 euros. None of these courses had the 1000+ calorie heft that many American chefs seems to be strangely compelled to send out of their kitchens, but as we were intending to finish three courses along with grappa and espresso, that was a gustatory relief. I haven't been to a restaurant in the U.S. that has the mastery of simple quality and honestly delicious food that we enjoyed at Trattoria San Basilico alla Pergola in Verona, and the three of us, all gluttons, dined for $150. And this restaurant has many peers in its home city, and maybe that’s the key- Italian diners generally haven't abandoned an insistence on real quality, and honest satisfying food that references local culinary traditions. Certainly beats empty pretense or depressingly vacuous excess, which seem to be more common dining options over here. I don't want to eat the half a cow plus fries special for $11.99, nor do I want to spend any more dining time at some small-food, everything fussed over, injected with duck fat and covered in a silly and improbable reduction sauce made from flavors never found on the same continent in nature at a restaurant where they (deservedly-I should know better) rob me blind with cuisine that references everything at once and thus makes untraceable any path home, any link to a culinary heritage.

Next Post: (it's written! I just need to find time to type) A Few Days Tasting Wine and Traveling around Beautiful Verona