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This is the blog of Steve Burkett of Italy, Our Italy

Stay Here: Villa Giona

Oh, what a lovely place to relax…so peaceful, as it is away from the hustle and bustle of a big city, like nearby Verona.

Villa Giona — our room is within the red box

“...the eighteen rooms of the sixteenth-century Villa welcome you with their comfort and their quiet, so as to discover in an original and exclusive way the sense of relaxation and the dimension of pleasantness”

I can’t say it any better than what is touted on their website in this pull-quote. That ‘dimension of pleasantness’ can be measured only in one’s mind…there is no yard-stick for this sort of thing.

Its history? Villa Giona was originally constructed in the square, fortress style in the late 1400s. During the Renaisence it was “opened up” into its present U-shape. Gardens, complete with statues and fountains, were added in the 1600s.

Where is Villa Giona?

Villa Giona is only 7 miles north of Verona’s historic center. In this aerial photo, you can see Villa Giona dead center, surrounded by vineyards. To the left (west) is their associated winery of Tenute SalvaTerra. We toured the winery under the direction of Silvia, who showed us how their Valpolicella and Amarone are produced.

See that blue rectangle in the bottom-left quadrant of the photo? More on that later.

This photo of the very small town of Castelrotto was taken from Villa Giona’s parking lot.

And this view from Castelrotto’s Osteria Castrum reveals the tree-laden Villa Giona compound just to the right of center.

Villa Giona is within the treed compound to the right of center

The Villa’s Rooms

There are 18 rooms in the Villa, and each is uniquely decorated. This trip was taken with in-laws Leslie and Craig Johnson, so we had two rooms at the Villa.

Our room is the one with the red square that you can see in the first photo above. It is known as “Il Pisanello”, and can be seen in the panorama, below. Nice digs, heh?

Panoramic view of our room, Il Pisanello

In these photos, you look from our room to our private balcony, and from our balcony to our private room.

Each room features a colorful Murano Island, hand-blown chandelier, like the one below.

Just a Bit of High-brow Culture

These two adorn the balustrade of our patio. One of the two seems to be trying to seductively entice the other to give up something precious…though one can never be sure with Renaissance art.

From these detail photos, one seems to be a plumber, perhaps?

Just outside the door to our room, there are a few etchings. I’ve never actually been attracted to etchings, but because I was able to get up close and personal, this one caught my eye. The detail that one sees from afar is created by judiciously-carved/etched lines.

Here is the overall etching…

…and here is a bit of detail of the chariot-riding heroine. I have to say that this art form, which consists of scratching lines into a metal plate, looks like a lot of work, folks.

And thus ends the cultural part of this article!

Around the Villa

Below is the east wing of the Villa, which houses a library and a lounge.

I have to admit that we did no reading of these fine books, as we were too busy seeing the surrounding sights. Ok, I admit that they were in Italian and we couldn’t have read them, anyway.

When its time for breakfast, this quiet place is perfect.

On one wall we find a fresco, which seems to be the angel appearing to Mary.

A 1/6400th-of-a-second shutter speed reveals the inverted Villa beyond the water glopps.

There is even a nice veranda on the second floor where we found time to play a bit of Sequence…one of our favorite games. Here Craig studies the board for his first move.

A bit of rain caused us to don our jackets prior to our dinner excursion.

Around the Villa

Here are a few photos of the grounds surrounding the Villa Giona.

Please click on an image for a larger view

If you need to take a dip in a pool during the heat of the summer, Villa Giona has one awaiting you!

The Vineyards of SalvaTerra

Bother-in-Law Craig inspects the SalvaTerra vineyards

As we were at the Villa Giona during the grape harvest, we were able to see some of the machinery that is used to pluck the grapes from SalvaTerra’s vines.

Here is a closer look at the machine that straddles the vines. Gathering from two rows at one time, this machine can be used only with the guyot pruning method. Frankly, even seeing the insides of this contraption, I have no idea how it plucks the grapes from the vine…but I swear that it does!

It’s After 5-o’clock!!!

Before heading to dinner (our second meal at Enoteca della Valpolicella), we were offered a bottle of SalvaTerra’s Valpolicella wine. Offered-and-accepted is exactly how we operate.

My intention was to convince you that Villa Giona is a quiet and lovely place to spend a couple of days if you are in the Verona area. Coupled with the outstanding wine, excellent food and friendly eateries in the area, you can’t go wrong.

And if offered a bottle of SalvaTerra’s Valpolicella, I would suggest that you accept!

Ciao for now,

Steve

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Eat Here: Enoteca Della Valpolicella

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Has there been a time when you’ve had a meal and you think, “Wow, I’d like to come back and eat here again!”. We said that. And, we then went back and ate there again. It was that good. Italy at its best. Here is what you can expect.

We had just completed a mourning tour and tasting of the wines of the Allegrini winery, and it was oh, so good. Now it was time for lunch. Because of a recommendation by Silvia at the Salvaterra winery, we had made a reservation for lunch at Enoteca Della Valpolicella…and we are glad we did, as the locals already know about this gem.

Getting There

On this map, you can see the short drive from Villa Allegrini (red circle) to Enoteca Della Valpolicella (blue circle) in the small village of Fumane, just 9 miles north of Verona. So, it’s possible that Juliette and Romeo had their first date here. Yeah, I know. Right?

Drive through the gate and park in the small lot.

“Whether you dine for lunch or dinner, either experience (or both, as in our case) will please you no end”

Eating There

First of all, don’t expect to be treated like a customer…you are a guest at Enoteca Della Valpolicella, and that’s the way you will feel.

Dining is upstairs, and it is a very pleasant place to eat. Add to that our very pleasant cameriera (waitress), and you have a very pleasant meal, assuming the food is also very pleasant.

Elisa Riolfi took or order, with a bit of a twist. She asked us what sort of things we liked (and didn’t like) and she then suggested that she bring us what one might call a 'chef’s menu’. We handed her our unopened menus and put our trust in Elisa.

We were glad that she approached our meal this way…because it turned out that, along with everything else, the food was very pleasant, indeed!

It turns out that Elisa has a good relationship with the chef, as Chef Ada is her mother.

I mentioned in the introduction that we returned to dine for dinner after having eaten lunch at Enoteca della Valpolicella. One of the reasons we wanted to return? This absolutely heavenly starter of Tomato Sauce alla Veronese.

It is finished with a bit of burrata cheese, basil, and a splash of EVOO.

And, for our dinner, once more we let Elisa and her mom take the reigns, but with one demand —- we wanted this starter with our meal, once again!

In this photo, you can see the texture of this scrumptious delight.

In testament to just how good this simple dish is, Ellen’s action speaks for itself! This gives new meaning to ‘diving in’ to a dish!

Ellen says, “It is remarkable that something so simple should be so flavorful!”.

And it is super simple. There are only three ingredients, and one of them is butter!

We know how to duplicate this dish. Click this thumbnail and you can see for yourself.

Wine with Our Meals

As with virtually every meal we eat in Italy, wine is always appropriate.

For lunch, we opted for a bottle of La Grola from the Allegrini winery which we had just visited that morning.

For dinner, it was a nice Amarone. This wine is the one that is made from grapes that have been raisinated for about 100 days before being pressed, described in the article here.

They have over 800 labels in their cellar. And they know each one…as well as the families that produce them. Just ask, and you will receive a wine that you will enjoy with your meal.

Whatever the meal, there is always a toast to Italy and friends not present — and that includes you, of course!

Ellen and Steve (in photo) along with Leslie and Craig, offer a toast

Here are the chef’s selections for our lunch and dinner. And it is oh, so good to know that bacon is often a part of a meal in Italy! That particular dish is Dandelion Leaves with Monte Veronese Cheese and Crispy Pancetta (which you will find on page 47 of the yet to be mentioned cookbook, below).

See the third dish in the top row? That is Duck Breast with Recioto & Honey Sauce…and it was absolutely fabulous.

Recioto is a sweet, red dessert wine made in the Valpolicella Amarone style. By putting the Recioto together with the honey, a delicious sweet, but not overpowering, accompaniment is created for the duck breast.

Here is the recipe so you can try it at home. Just click on the thumbnail to get a larger view.

Dessert? Yes please. And thank you!

A Visit from Chef Ada Riolfi

During our trip, we had found a cookbook that we really liked, as it had dishes that were the specialty of Italian chefs of the Lake Garda, Verona, and Valpolicella area - the area which we were visiting.

The cookbook is titled, “Polenta & Amarone: The Flavors of Lake Garda, Verona and Valpolicella”. It so happens that Chef Ada is featured in this cookbook with 7 of her recipes. As we happened to have our own copy with us, we had Ada autograph our book. Surely you too have a cookbook with you as you travel. I certainly hope so!

It is interesting that Ada had not seen the cookbook before tonight, as it was not of her creation. And, upon taking a look at some of her recipes therein, she spotted errors in cooking temperature and time.

Here she is as she signs our cookbook, after penciling in changes to the Duck Breast with Honey and Recioto Sauce recipe. She changed the ‘brisk heat’ of the Recioto sauce to ‘low flame’, and the time of ‘15-20 minutes’ to ‘40 minutes’. It’s nice to have a chef handy whilst you’re cooking, so we will try to do that for our future at-home cooking sessions! We’ve already scheduled Keller, Douglas, Flay, Giada, and more!

Four women of whom bother-in-law Craig and I are in awe

The Cookbook

If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the cookbook (without Chef Ada edits…unless you make a personal visit to Enoteca della Valpolicella, of course), click here.

Just be sure to select the Italiano-English version (rather than the Italiano-German version). Each recipe is given in both Italian and English.

By the way, the woman on the cover is Pierina Caprini. Though we know her, you probably don’t…but you will soon when i publish an article featuring her restaurant and cooking. So, stay tuned for that…it was one of the most truly magical evenings of our lives.

That’s it for our back-to-back visits to Enoteca della Valpolicella. Both lunch and dinner were fabulous.

Want to give Enoteca Della Valpolicella a try for yourself, To the right is their contact information.

And here is a direct link to their website, where you can make a reservation…which is a must. Click on the British flag to get an English version and/or let Google translate for you. Click on the word ‘Reserve’ and fill out the form to make your reservation.

Whether you dine for lunch or dinner, either experience (or both, as in our case) will please you no end. If a bottle of un-ordered Amarone shows up at your table, make no fuss…just turn to the table near the window to see Ellen and me giving you a thumbs up of affection…that bottle is on us.

Ciao for now,

Steve

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Allegrini Winery

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Any idea how many different wine-producing companies there are in Italy? I don’t know either, but I know that there are a lot of them.

I now have a favorite in northern Italy (Banfi is my favorite Tuscan winery), and it is Allegrini. Read on and I’ll explain why.

Our Visit to Allegrini Winery

We had a lovely 10am visit to Villa Della Torre headquarters of Allegrini wines. The Allegrini winery, situated in the heart of the Fumane region, is a beautiful and historical villa. Fumane is in the Province of Verona, in the Italian region called the Veneto, which is in the northern part of Italy.

The Allegrini family have been active in Fumane since the 16th century. The 6th and 7th generation of Allegrini are actively producing Allegrini wines today.

Olmo guided us around this lovely property. Here he explains the locations of the various vineyards of the Allegrini winery, as we wait to taste the wines of our tasting.

Sister-in-law Leslie looks about on the grounds of the Villa Della Torre.

The Villa Della Torre, was built in the late 1500s. One of the most mysterious features are the fireplaces, shaped like huge monsters…something to do with the Renaissance idea that man can tame nature, perhaps. Whatever the reasoning, the four different fireplaces are quite a spectacle. They represent, from left to right, the devil, a sea monster, angels holding open the mouth of some un-identified creature, and brother-in-law Craig with the lion fireplace.

Here, Olmo explains the soil layers of the vineyard that produces the grapes for the Palazzo Della Torre wine. Yes, this is a quality soil…very low on organics (i.e. dirt) and high on mineral.

The Wines of Allegrini

Below you can see a sampling of the wines produced by Allegrini. From left to right they are their white wine called Soave, the fabulous Amarone, Valpolicella Classico, Palazzo Della Torre, and their recioto (sweet) Giovani Allegrini.

The Grapes of Allegrini

Five grapes varieties are responsible for the red wines of Allegrini. They are (from left to right, below) Corvina Veronese, Corvinone, Rondinella, Molinara, and Oseleta. And a small bit of the Sangiovese grape is used in some of the wines.

The Palazzo Della Torre Wine

As it is an outstanding wine for the price, I will be focusing on the Palazzo Della Torre wine label.

Giovanni Allegrini began to cultivate the abandoned land of the Palazzo Della Torre. In 1978, the grapes grown there were used to make the first Palazzo Della Torre wine, but it wasn’t until 1990 that Palazzo Della Torre underwent a revolutionary technique known as ‘double fermentation’, and this is what put it on the wines-of-Italy map.

In the Palazzo Della Torre wine production, the grapes (Corvina Veronese 40%, Corvinone 30%, Rondinella 25%, Sangiovese 5%) are harvested by hand, rather than by machine.

About 70% of the grapes are pressed for their juice and then fermented in stainless-steel vats to produce a stage-one wine. While this wine is aging, the other 30% of the grapes are set aside for appassimento, or grape drying. These grapes are dried until January, at which point they are pressed for their raisined juice. This subsequent pressing, called a must, is added to the already produced wine, which regenerates it for a double fermentation — this in oak casks. What results is the absolutely delicious and reasonably priced Palazzo Della Torre wine. As it is usually less than $15, it is a fabulous bargain.

Click on the image to the right to see a nice diagram of the Palazzo Della Torre process

The Amarone Wine

OK, this is THE wine of northern Italy. If you want to splurge a bit with a truly fine wine, go for Amarone. Its richness of flavor is not in any way accidental…it is the appassimento process that makes this wine so fine.

Amarone production has similarities to the just mentioned Palazzo Della Torre in that its grapes (Corvina Veronese 45%, Corvinone 45%, Rondinella 5%, Oseleta 5%) are dried from 100-120 days (depending on the winter weather) before they are pressed for their juice. Where only 30% of the Palazzo Della Torre grapes are raisinated through appassimento, all of the grapes for Amarone are dried before pressing.

The soil for growing the grapes for Amarone is varied, but mostly clayey and chalky soils of volcanic origin. Hand harvesting of only select grape bunches is carried out in late September. The appassimento (drying process) finds the grapes being naturally dried for 3-4 months in the drying facility, where the grapes lose 40-45% of their original weight. They are then de-stemmed and soft-pressed in early January.

Appassimento - The Grape-Drying Process

Wonder what those raisinated grapes look like? The two photos below will give you an idea of the drying results.

The drying grapes are spread in plastic racks that are stacked in a drying warehouse. The odor from these drying grapes is marvelously heady.

Here is what the raisined grapes look like after drying.

So, that’s the story of our visit to the Allegrini winery. The visit was great, and the wines that they produce are of exceptional quality. Their Valpolicella, Palazzo Della Torre, and their Amarone come highly recommended by those of us who have tasted them. And then there is their recioto, or desert wine, known as Recioto Giovanni Allegrini…oh, so yummy.

Though you may not be able to visit the winery, you can visit their wines at your local wine store. And, you will probably find me pulling a few bottles off the rack, too.

Ciao for now,

Steve