Taberna La Manzanilla, was founded back in the 1930s as the Cádiz outpost of a manzanilla sherry bodega (winery) from Sanlúcar de Barrameda. It really is the perfect place to enjoy a glass of manzanilla, amontillado, or even oloroso and is something akin to a library of sherry.
Travel
While just a speck on the far north-west corner of Spain right on the border with France, San Sebastian is a coastal beauty, an old city with a roaring river, beaches and some of the best food in the world.
“We can only bottle a vintage if the IVDP [Institutos dos Vinhos do Douro e Porto] says it is good enough. The last time we tried was 2006; the last time we succeeded was 2003.”
Being hosted at Pourpier was memorable. Raw vegetables with sulphur-free and drastically clean local white wines from Takeda Winery, wild boar spaghetti with affordable vintage Cru Beaujolais, passionate staff and condensation on the windows as it gently snowed outside.
Rome is an ancient city, that is rich in art, architecture, culture and cuisine. It was the centre of the world for centuries and has been both revered and destroyed over time. The modern Rome of today is a bustling city; people warned us about the crowds and the traffic but it was nothing worse than Sydney in peak hour.
Another highlight of our trip was heading to Cocconato in Asti to the Bava Distillery which houses one of our favourite Italian brands, Cocchi. A family-run company to this day, we were given a guided tour by Francesca Bava and were joined by her uncle (and Master Distiller) Paolo Bava for the tasting section of the tour.
Florence, the capital of Tuscany, is the home of the Renaissance, with the Duomo, the Ponte Vecchio, Michelangelo’s Statue of David and Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus all found here. For those of us in the hospo world it’s also known as the birthplace of the Negroni cocktail.
In a small tasting room in the middle of the factory floor, we are treated to a tasting of the range, everything from the full range of Vecchia Romagna (including the relatively Riserva Anniversario – a unique blend of old and new brandies the youngest of which had spent 23 years in oak) but with a big focus on the Amaro Montenegro.
The old city of Bologna is very small and is packed with people, especially on the weekends when the roads are closed to cars. Both locals and tourists flock here to enjoy cheese and wine and pasta in the cobbled streets which are so full of history.
Cinzano Classico was born in the late 1700’s at the bottega of Carlo Stefano and Giovanni Giacomo Cinzano. They were constantly experimenting with new recipes and techniques, that would appeal to the newly refined palates of the people of Torino.
Between 1840 and 1888 Carpano’s reputation grew and a glass of Carpano became the aperitif par excellence and Turin’s favourite drink. In 2001, the Branca family acquired Carpano.
The home of vermouth is a spectacular city. And it is genuinely a city that is dedicated to the tradition of aperitivo. From 4pm, bars and caffes are full of people sharing a quick drink with friends before they head home for dinner. Aperitivo snacks are also mostly free here (expect anything from olives to a full platter), which is something that has started to fade away in other places in Italy.