All posts tagged: wine

Blue Skies in Barolo and Barbaresco

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Soaking up some rays. Looking out at some vineyards. Trying to figure out where France is. My parents are in town! This means lots of adventures and that I have access to an automobile. Most of the time, cruising around by foot and by bicycle does the trick, but with four wheels you can unlock the secrets of the Langhe, the world-famous wine region right next door to my school ,but a little bit out of reach otherwise. Yesterday I skipped out on a Wine Technology class (how ironic is that?) to go roam around Barolo and Barbaresco. Practical knowledge trumps theory in this case, I would say. We began with a lovely lunch at Osteria La Cantinella in Barolo. It is a little bit difficult to find, but just look for a large parking lot and be patient, because the wild boar and raspberry paparadelle is worth it. It sounds like a crazy combination, but somehow it works. Sadly no photos to convince you of its deliciousness, but take my word for it. While …

It’s for School, I Swear

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Out in the school’s didactic garden as part of our Biodynamic Agriculture class learning what to look for in healthy soil. Not pictured: when an earthworm (a positive thing in this context) wriggled around and caused one of my classmates to shriek. Yes, I have been traveling oodles lately. But I have also been in school. Though, by the looks of these pictures, it may seem more like I’m just frolicking around eating stuff and meeting cool people. Well, that’s kind of how I would describe the University of Gastronomic Sciences anyways. It’s only 10 years old (and remember, it’s in Italy) so it doesn’t really have the traditions or structure that an older, wiser institution would have. But if you think of it, as I do, as a physical place where experts come to share little tidbits for a few days at a time with a crazy group of 23 Masters students, then you’re golden. For an Editing Techniques class a few weeks ago, we had to make a short movie promoting “fresh and …

43 Hours in Healdsburg

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My inaugural pilgrimage to the SHED was every bit as amazing as I anticipated. Don’t you love it when that happens? The NYT has their 36 Hours travel columns, there was that movie where James Franco cut his arm off after 127…but I am neither of those things so here I am to relay my quick trip up to H-burg (I’ve decided to call it that, just roll with it) with my mom for a few days before I pop back over the Atlantic to Italy. Note: this place is only one hour from San Francisco. On a road trip, obviously the job of the DJ/ navigation system manager stokes hunger, so I requested/demanded a stop at Farmstead Restaurant in St. Helena on the drive up. Last December, I took a “Full Circle Tour” with my parents of Long Meadow Ranch’s organic farm and vineyards before sitting down for a delicious lunch filled with persimmons and olive oil inside the tasting room, but this time I wanted to go peek into their restaurant. Sufficiently farm-chic decor, don’t you think? We …

A Weekend in Torino

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The two main themes of my Torino adventures: food and tea. Anyone surprised? It feels a bit silly to put a post about Torino (1 hour away on the train) under the Travel section, but I actually felt like I was gone from Bra for about 2 weeks even though it wasn’t even 48 hours. I know I’m not good with numbers, but take not bringing warm enough sweaters + walking about 9 miles per day (thanks Fitbit) and that adds up to perceived travel hours quickly. First of all, major shoutout to my classmate Giulia who acted as an absolutely lovely hostess/tour guide/knower of all places hip/resident Italian speaker. Anyhoo, Torino. As you may or may not (if you have been living under a rock maybe) know, the Winter Olympics were there in 2006. It was the first capital of Italy in 1861 and the home of the ruling Savoy family. Impressed by my historical knowledge? Ok, maybe not. Moving on. One of the many reasons we wanted to escape from the little hamlet of Bra for a …

The Universe in a Glass of Wine

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Above: the remnants of fraternizing with FC17 (secret code for the Master’s program that began in September). Say the word “Physics” and it brings back some very scary moments of my first year of high school thinking I would legitimately fail a test on waves or motion or similarly vague concepts that I never quite understood. But of course, here I am in graduate school in Italy, and in a lecture today on the “Interdisciplinarity of Gastronomy,” the professor brings up theoretical physics. WTF. Somewhere in the midst of a three hour ramble (with a 15 minute espresso break) that touched on various yet somehow related topics such as food waste, divestment and European laws regarding chocolate labeling, I perked up when I heard something about a guy named Richard Feynman, a Caltech professor who casually won a Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965 but also looks like he could have been a movie star. Am I right? The text below, excerpted from one of his Introductory Physics lectures, might be the most beautiful and accessible description of the sciences I have ever read. A poet …

The Week’s End

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What does one do in Bra on the weekends? Well, for starters, on Thursday night, go to a wine tasting with 3 local producers from Roero at the most wonderful/creative/bumpin’ place in town started by 2 graduates of UNISG: L’Alfieri. The synopsis: funky décor, innovative food, a coffee table full of intriguing magazines in languages I do not speak, guys with cool eyewear, solid jams (we’re talking a record player), cocktails. Check out their super cool video over on Vimeo. Speaking of wine, I have a lot to learn on that front. Like, for example, eat dinner and not just 2124 breadsticks before going to an “aperitivo” (7 PM snack and wine time) and then a wine tasting or else (serious) pain will follow the next day. My (extremely basic) knowledge of California wines and my go-to catchphrase, “Mmm, that’s nice” isn’t quite cutting it here. So, I am now a member of a wine bar. Yes, with my 2 euro contribution, I bought myself the right to order a glass of wine at La Carbonaia and have lovely, lengthy conversations with …