Back in spring the trees were trimmed and cleared so that they’d send all their nutrients to the best growth areas and ensure a good tasty crop.

Up early one morning I took this photograph and it made me imagine that in the early morning light, if you don’t disturb the olives and are very, very quiet, you can see the trees stretching their limbs and getting ready for a good days growth.

Some of the trees in this photograph look as though they are dancing, ballet perhaps or maybe some form of tribal sun worship.

I’m not talking about the trees to the front. They obviously knew I was there and were wary. But if you look closely at the trees in the background, those still basking in the early morning silvery light, you can see ballet poses, yoga positions and even one slightly tardy tree just thinking about touching its toes.

There’s more to Abruzzo Olive Oil than meets the eye, I think.

Post from: About Abruzzo

The Secret Life Of Trees

Share/Save

Related posts:

1. New Olive Oil (Olio Nuovo) I thought I was going to miss the olive harvest,...
2. Abruzzo Radio From previous posts you’ll realise that I’ve a keen interest...
3. Plenty of Rain, Food and Conversation in Abruzzo; But Here Comes The Sun! We arrived back in Abruzzo last Friday evening having flown...

Those that live in the towns and villages often have a plot of land nearby as gardens in the centro storico are hard to come by.

Yesterday morning at about 07:30 we walked out of the town following directions that brought us to a small plot of land that friends of ours use to grow their vegetables. When we got there we were a bit later than intended and most of the work had already been done.

It was a fantastic morning. The sun was still low in the sky casting long shadows and fortunately the temperature hadn’t become too hot for a bit of manual labour.

I grew up in a city and I’ve only in the last few years have started to try and grow fruit and vegetables. I’ve had a little success with tomatoes and potatoes but without the sun (our garden is in a lot of shade) you can’t get very far.

Things are different in Abruzzo. I bet even I could grow big juicy, bursting with flavour tomatoes without trying to hard. There are so many tomatoes and so many different varieties that I bet  if you dig deep enough you’ll find a tomato stratum forming the base foundation of Abruzzo.

In a relatively small plot of land our friends were growing beans, courgettes, carrots, onions, aubergines, peppers, chillies and of course tomatoes.

They let me wander around taking photographs (you can avoid a lot of work if you hold a camera) as they gathered up their tools and bounty. After I’d stuck my head through every row of vegetables I could find I helped carry crates of tomatoes back to their car.

We were warned to wear long trousers and long sleave shirts and the reason quickly be came clear. I’ve been fighting a losing battle against mosquitoes and if ever there was a place they were going to get the upper hand it was la campagna.

I’ve tried a few methods of discouraging them from biting me. None are 100% effective and many are completely useless. Yesterday morning I used my trump card. I spayed every exposed piece of flesh with DEET 50 and walked confidently into their den. The DEET spray seemed to work quite well initially, but Italian mosquitoes seem to like Irish blood and after a while they found the spots that I hadn’t covered well enough. Once these pests find an opening they’re happy to bite the same spot over and over again. I lost the battle. But it was worth it, it was a fantastic way to start the day.

I was surprised how mucky the ground was considering there wasn’t much rain. I had to use a knife to scrape off enough soil to grow a healthy bunch of carrots when we were leaving.

Later we all got together again and enjoyed a wonderful lunch of various vegetable dishes, all sourced from that small plot of land. Homemade ice cream and limoncello followed – it was the best limoncello I’ve ever tasted. “Don’t buy it from a shop” I was warned. “It’s too sweet and the lemons aren’t fresh”. Well this limoncello was fantastic.

Food doesn’t come any fresher than this!

Post from: About Abruzzo

Fresh food from the Abruzzo Countryside

Share/Save

Related posts:

1. Simple Ingredients, Great Food What type of food will you find in Abruzzo? Well...
2. Plenty of Rain, Food and Conversation in Abruzzo; But Here Comes The Sun! We arrived back in Abruzzo last Friday evening having flown...
3. To B&B or not to B&B – that is the question… One of the best meals I’ve had recently was a...

Although they are in Italian I find the use of a dictionary can help me discover new places to visit.

D’Abruzzo: Turismo Cultura Ambiente possibly has the advantage over tesori d’Abruzzo for English speakers as it often has an article summary in English in the sidebars.

To give you an idea of what they cover here is what I discovered in the editions I picked up in May.

In the Primavera 2010 edition of D’Abruzzo: Turismo Cultura Ambiente

• The Trabocchi Coast
• The Protection of the Environment
• Walks in the Abruzzo Countryside
• The restoration  of the cathedral of San Panfilo in Sulmona
• Civita d’Antonio: its association with art school of Kristian Zahrtmann and the formation of Central and Southern Italy’s first tourist board
• Breeding of traditional sheep dogs of Abruzzo

In the aprile-giugno 2010 edition of tesori d’Abruzzo

• Benedictine craftsmanship
• Examples of Romanesque Architecture
• Creativity in Stone
• Festa dei Banderesi at Bucchianico
• The mosaics of Tornareccio

They cost about €5 and I think they are great value considering the amount of material they cover.

Being able to read Italian would allow you to get the most out of these publications. But since each article is accompanied by wonderful photos you can easily get a feel for what they’re writing about.

My only criticism, and it’s a selfish one, is that they are only published every quarter.

I should add that I’ve no association with D’Abruzzo: Turismo Cultura Ambiente or tesori d’Abruzzo; I just think they’re great magazines.

I was going to finish this post with that last sentence. I’d have completed what I set out to do by bringing these magazines to your attention for the second time. (I first wrote about them back in February 2009.)

But then I thought I can’t finish so abruptly.

So I had a quick look through my back catalogue of photos and I’ve selected six street scenes that I’m fairly certain I haven’t published before. Although they were taken in Abruzzo they are so typical they probably could have been taken anywhere in Italy.

I hope you like them.

Post from: About Abruzzo

A Little Bit Of Repetition: Scenes from a Magazine Revisited

Share/Save

Related posts:

1. Scenes From A Magazine. Tesori D’Abruzzo and D’Abruzzo are two tourism magazines which highlight...
2. 2010 Wishlist and some Random Photos of Abruzzo I can’t believe it’s almost a month since I last...
3. Oil In Three Parts This is a post of three parts, all related by...

You’re right. I don’t do it often but I make no apology for it. I do like the vino della casa and find Abruzzo has no shortage of great tasting and very drinkable wine for little more than €1 a bottle. But sometimes you just want to splash out.

It might be because wine is so much more expensive in Ireland as shipping costs, marketing costs, the wholesale cut, the retail cut, excise duty and VAT can turn a €1 bottle of wine into €7 in less time than it takes you say in vino veritas.

If Ireland had a wine industry things would be different. But it doesn’t and although I think it is a fantastic country, I do grumble a little when I spend €14 on a  Tralcetto Montepulciano d’Abruzzo from Zaccagnini that I can get for less than €7 in supermarket in Pescara.

But somehow my mindset flips when I’m in Abruzzo. I’ll find reasons to spend more on wine than I would in Dublin. It might be because I feel that most of what I spend actually goes to the production of the wine and not to middle-men or government coffers.  Whatever the reason three times during my last visit to Abruzzo I had a special bottle of wine. Twice it was in a restaurant and once it was at dinner in a friend’s house. The wines were from different cantine, and were all very good, so I’ve listed them below in case you come across them and want to try them.

They ranged in price from €16 to €22, but I bet they can be got for less than that if you look around as two of them were bought in restaurants.

The first was a Don Bosco Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.

I’d been to the Azienda Vinicola Bosco Nestore & C. s.n.c. in Nocciano (PE) back in 2008, when I visited it as part of the Cantine Aperte weekend. On that occasion I helped myself to a couple of generous glasses from their Pan range. My nephew, who prefers beer to wine, brought a bottle home to his parents and they loved it. Mega brownie points were awarded.

But this time we were enjoying lunch in La Bilancia, a restaurant and hotel just outside Loreto Aprutino, and we felt the boat needed to be pushed out a bit further than normal; we had a bottle of the Don Bosco (approx. €20 in the restaurant).

It was wonderful, full of flavour and well structured. The official tasting notes say it has the following characteristics:

• Colour: dark ruby red with light orange nuances.
• Bouquet: intense smells of ripened red fruit and secondary spicy smells.
• Taste: full and soft, rightly tannic, fruity and spicy in mouth.

I think it was my favourite of the three wines I tried. It just seemed to be perfectly balanced and worked well with the Abruzzo lamb we ordered. That afternoon it was as if all the key ingredients, the restaurant, the food, the company and of course the wine, matched our mood perfectly.

Another excellent wine I had was the Contesa Montepulciano d’Abruzzo from the Contesa winery in Collecorvino (PE). We had this wine in a restaurant called Florano overlooking Loreto Aprutino. It wasn’t as expensive as the Don Bosco, about €16 in the restaurant and although it was very good, it didn’t quite have the same impact.

Here are the official tasting notes from the Contesa website

• Tasting: Deep ruby red colour with grenadine tints, very limpid and full-bodied. At the olfactory evaluation it appears intense, persistent, of fine quality. It has a fragrance of ripe red fruits especially of wood and jam fruits, with tones of toast cocoa and chocolate. The taste is full, round, warm, just tannic. The wine is well structured and mature.
• Food link: The wine links well with first succulent dishes succulent, with roast meat, grilled meat, and also with cheese and processed pork meat. This Montepulciano could be appreciated within 3 or more years. Serving temperature: 16/18°C

The restaurant Florano deserves a post on its own as the quality of the food is always excellent and the view of the old town of Loreto Aprutino below is beautiful. It really is a romantic spot for a special meal after sunset and as it was our anniversary we could think of no place we’d rather be.

It’s actually one of the few places I know where you can get Valentini wine. On one very, very special occasion 2 years ago we had a bottle of the Valentini Trebbiano and afterwards we were in no doubt that it was worth every cent. If you read around you pretty soon get the feeling that no other Trebbiano comes close to the quality of Valentini. The driving force of this Azienda was Eduardo Valentini and it is now guided by the hand of his son Francesco.

Here are three articles I read recently that sing the praises of Valentini:

• The Lord of the Vines By Ed McCarthy Jun 22, 2010 from Wine Review Online
• The Secretive Man Behind Italy’s Best Wine by John Mariani January 26 2010 from Bloomberg
• The Epicurean Traveler in Abruzzo part of Italy’s Adriatic Wine Road by Scott W Clemens

The third wine was from Valle Reale. I’d read that their wines were excellent so on previous visits to Abruzzo I’d looked out for them in various wine shops, but no shop I tried had any in stock. They’re based in Popoli (PE) and I thought that I might drop by as I passed on my way to or from Rome. But that didn’t work out.

But while I was in Pineto (TE) for stage 12 of the Giro d’Italia and I spotted a wine shop called Atre e Sapori d’Abruzzo at Via G. D’annunzio 64. I was delighted to discover they had one bottle of Valle Reale left. It was a riserva and it cost about €20. Taking into account the usual restaurant mark up this wine was probably the most expensive of the three.

Four of us sat down to enjoy the wine a few days later after it had been brought to its optimum temperature, decanted and left to breath for a few hours. I wouldn’t normally go to all this trouble but I was in the company of a friend who believes it is rare to get a really good bottle of wine from Abruzzo. Well it may be rare but we found another one that evening in the Montepulciano d’Abruzzo from Valle Reale.  Structure, a nice edge and a bucket load of cherries – it all came together very nicely.

At this point you might think I know something about wine.

Well guess again, this is where I prove I’m just an amateur wine critic and a dedicated wine drinker – I don’t have a note of the name of the bottle, I can’t even remember its year, I just know it was from Valle Reale!

Sorry about that. But all is not lost. It was a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo and I’m pretty sure it wasn’t from their San Calisto range. I searched on their website but I wan’t able to find a label I recognised from their lists.

I guess I’ll just have to do more research. Hey-ho!

Post from: About Abruzzo

Looking for that Special Bottle of Wine in Abruzzo

Share/Save

Related posts:

1. Cantine Aperte 2009 – Wine Producers Open Their Doors On 30th and 31st May 2009 (Saturday and Sunday) many...
2. You like red wine, it’s official! As with all bloggers I like my posts to be...
3. A wine pilgrimage of sorts to Bolognano (PE) I was best man at the wedding of two very...

A year later, to celebrate their first anniversary they had a party in their house, put up a marquee in their back garden, and invited us all back to help celebrate with them.

It was a great night. Once again it was overflowing with fun, chat, dancing, singing and bucket loads of laughter.

It was 2007.

I’d spent a few weeks in Abruzzo that year and had fallen in love with the region. Back in Ireland I had my antennae out looking for signs that Abruzzo was recognised. It wasn’t. Nobody had heard of the region and the only way to help people place it was to say “the other side of Italy from Rome”. But whereas people didn’t have knowledge of Abruzzo itself they had become aware of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.

At that fantastic anniversary party G & F severed a red wine often referred to as “Twiggy”. It was wonderful. Perfect for the party, certainly easy to drink but also with lots of flavour and some complexity. But we were at a party so the fact that it tasted great was all that was needed. It was a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.

“Twiggy” is a nickname used in Ireland to refer to the Tralcetto range of wines produced by the Zaccagnini winery located at Bolognano (PE). These wines have a small twig attached to the bottle and hence the nickname. If you go to the Zaccagnini website you’ll see that “Twiggy” or Tralcetto is described as “intense ruby red colour with violet nuances; intense, characteristic bouquet of the primary grape aromas; fruity component, full-bodied and robust, well balanced with tannin and oak features”.

Well on the night of the party there was no way I was going to pick up on all those details. This is what I was able to tell about it – it went down very easily (perhaps too easily), it isn’t expensive (about €6.50 in Abruzzo, €14 in Ireland!), and everybody at the party liked it a lot.

Back to 2010.

We were back in Abruzzo having a great time as always and we realised we were around for the Cantine Aperte weekend, where 40 Abruzzo winemakers open their doors to the public. We looked through the list of wineries, spotting ones we had visited in 2008, the last time we were able to go along:

• Azienda Agricola Contesa Collecorvino (PE)
• Tenuta Torre Raone Loreto Aprutino (PE)
• Azienda Vinicola Talamonti Loreto Aprutino (PE)
• Azienda Vinicola Bosco Nestore & C Nocciano (PE)

But this time we decided to go a little further afield. We asked our local advisors and they suggested a few we hadn’t been to before: Azienda Agricola Filomusi Guelfi at Tocco Da Casauria (PE) – “you have to try their whites”, Tenuta Arabona at Manoppello Scalo (PE) – “eco friendly, small but good”, and lastly we were told to visit Azienda Agricola Ciccio Zaccagnini at Bolognano (PE).

“Zaccagnini? Isn’t that were “twiggy” comes from?” It certainly is. We felt it was fated that we should visit and see what else they had to offer. One of our many local advisors, who more often than not tend to steer us right, said if we get to Zaccagnini be sure to try or buy a bottle of San Clemente.

Weighing up the time we had available we decided to visit Tenuta Arabona and Zaccagnini and leave it at that. We hadn’t a full free day and when we go exploring or to someplace new we don’t like to be under time pressure. You never know what you’ll find or who you’ll meet that will make the day take a different and positive turn.

Tenuta Arabona was first on the long list of two and it was wonderful and welcoming. I’ll tell you about it in a later post.

But this was all about Zaccagnini and the connection between it and one of the best parties I’ve ever been to.

The first thing that struck me about Zaccagnini was its size. The second thing was that it was getting bus loads of visitors. This winery was in a different league to the other smaller cantine I had visited.  It was busy, with plenty of staff helping out.

I got a glass of their Montepulciano d’Abruzzo and walked around. Apart from the main reason I was there, the wine, I soon discovered that Zaccagnini supports art and music events during the year. Uvarte, “an event rich in famous artists”, is held each November. Emerging musical artists are supported by Marcello Zaccagnini and during the weekend of the Cantine Aperte bands are given the chance to perform as part of the Wine Will Rock You concert.

If you explore the Zaccagnini website you’ll find a music section where you can download two excellent CD collections. I’m listening to CD1 right now.

We wandered around the grounds, drinking a little Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, admiring the various pieces of art on display and feeling a little envious of those who could stay for the concert later in the day.

We followed the good advice we were given and bought a bottle of San Clemente for €16. I’m really looking forward to tasting it. It is described as “deep ruby red colour, limpid and intense; strong liquorice and forest fruits scents; full-bodied and robust, with a tannin component embraced by the grape’s aromatic weave”. Wow! If I get some of that when I try it I’m going to love it.

We brought it back with us to Dublin and when the right opportunity comes (and we’re not really very fussy at what constitutes a “right opportunity”) we’ll open it, treat it with respect, and savour every sip.

After all, it’s a chance to enjoy a little piece of Abruzzo in Ireland.

Post from: About Abruzzo

A wine pilgrimage of sorts to Bolognano (PE)

Share/Save

Related posts:

1. Cantine Aperte 2009 – Wine Producers Open Their Doors On 30th and 31st May 2009 (Saturday and Sunday) many...
2. Looking for that Special Bottle of Wine in Abruzzo Every now and then I’m willing to spend €20 or...
3. You like red wine, it’s official! As with all bloggers I like my posts to be...

San Vincenzo isn’t very big. But it is on the edge of Parco Nazionale del Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga and is a great springboard for exploring the wilder side of Abruzzo.

They suggested we make for Civitella Casanova where A would meet us and we could then follow on to their house. I’m glad he made that suggestion as although getting to San Vincenzo would have been easy enough, their house is tucked away and would have been a little tricky to find.

“Oh you’d have been alright,” they said. “They all know us around here and you’d have got directions easy enough.”

Later that day as we sat outside enjoying one of the hottest May days so far I realised how much a part of the community they’d become. Anyone who passed, and most passed on a tractor, waved and said “Ciao” and wanted a chat. That was usually followed by a tale of how their neighbour helped them clear a field, or find the right materials for some restoration or just dropped by and shared some bread and wine. I love that sense of community.

Sitting outside watching the buzzards circle and the lizards scurry we had a fantastic lunch made from the produce of their vegetable plot. There are plenty of beans in season and that suits me as I really love them straight from the pod with bread and oil. It sounds simple but it tastes fantastic. A mixed salad with juicy tomatoes was followed by one of the best frittatas I’ve ever tasted, well done S!

After an initial celebratory glass of prosecco we moved on to beer from the Almond 22 brewery in Spoltore. We went for their Irie which is a very refreshing wheat beer and when that ran out we compared it with Peroni. Sometimes life is hard.

They’ve done a superb job restoring their house and have managed to modernise it and retain its character beautifully.

As we were outside watching the world go by at an even slower pace than usual they told us that they’d toyed with the idea of running a B&B.

I thought it was a great idea.

I think their house is in a fantastic location and looks great. They have a potential guest area that is part of the main building yet naturally separate from their living space. And the views are stunning.

I could see the more adventurous Abruzzo explorer using it as a perfect base to enjoy the Gran Sasso and Majella. I could also see those looking for a quieter more secluded break being able to use it to rejuvenate a weary spirit.

They haven’t made their mind up yet. They’re not sure if running a B&B is what they want to do. Sometimes when you’re relaxed in good company you start looking at the next positive thing you want to do with your life. Starting a B&B may not be earth shattering, but it is a big step. They’d be sharing something that they’ve worked very hard to create  over the last three years.

I think it’s a great idea, but I suppose I’m not going to be doing the work so I can be romantic about it.

I’ll let you know what they decide. You never know, it could be your perfect getaway.

Post from: About Abruzzo

To B&B or not to B&B – that is the question…

Share/Save

Related posts:

1. Spoltore: Wonderful Views And A Microbrewery Too For quite a while now I’ve been looking forward to...
2. Plenty of Rain, Food and Conversation in Abruzzo; But Here Comes The Sun! We arrived back in Abruzzo last Friday evening having flown...
3. Spoltore (PE) Abruzzo: Saint Patrick’s Day (afternoon) Still in Spoltore and feeling a bit peckish we looked...

We, like many travellers these days, weren’t sure if the volcanic ash cloud would allow us to get away but everything worked out fine and our flight left almost on time.

We’ve had a busy few days so far. For the most part it’s been raining cats, dogs and elephants but today we saw sun come out though the clouds and spread a golden glow over the snow capped Majella and Gran Sasso ranges.

Bad weather didn’t stop us making the most of our stay here. It’s always nice to sit outside taking the sun’s rays while having an aperitivo or enjoying il pranzo but they still taste just as good when you’re inside comfortably hearing the falling rain.

So what did we get up to while it’s been a bit wet? Well maybe not so much that warrants a blog post but we’ve enjoyed ourselves all the same.

Almost every morning, raining or not, we’ve headed out for an 8 km walk in the country around Loreto Aprutino. Mostly it’s been raining, and we have gotten odd looks from some of the locals as we squelched our way back to our base.

But the walks have been both great and necessary. The trees are full of birds singing their hearts out, the fields are full of flowers in bloom and around every bend vegetables and fruit trees are showing future promise.

If there is one sound that I’ll take away with me as a memory of these walks it’s got to be the sound of frogs. We pass two tiny lakes on our route and the echo of frogs from them is amazing. It seems to get amplified and directed out of the hollow so that you suddenly hear it as you approach and then, no more than 50 metres later, it’s gone.

Getting out for a walk early in the morning is necessary because otherwise I think I’d return looking like the Michelin Man. Even someone with strong willpower would struggle not to over-indulge as the food on offer here is just wonderful. Add to that the fact that we’ve had three invitations to lunch or dinner since we got here and I think you’ll probably understand why some morning exercise is crucial.

So that leads me on to conversation and food, a perfect match! Since we arrived we’ve eaten out three times; twice in restaurants and once in a friend’s house. Each time the chance to catch-up and talk about what’s been happening has been great. Conversation, food, and a little wine – you don’t need good weather to enjoy time spent that way.

A few trips to shops stock-up, a visit to the local TIM shop to organise internet access and the not-so-local but not too far computer shop to get printer cartridges and we were pretty much sorted for our stay here.

We noticed our wine supply was low so we headed out to the Azienda Marramiero, Rosciano (PE) and bought some red, white and rose. Well what’s life without vino?!

But now that it appears the weather has turned for the better I’m looking forward to some of the highlights of the next couple of weeks.

The Giro d’Italia passes though Abruzzo over the next two days and I hope to see the peloton in full swing somewhere along the coast between Silvi Marina and Pineto on Thursday.

May is full of festivals in Abruzzo and I’m expecting to enjoy every moment of the festival of San Zopito this coming weekend (22, 23, 24 May). The old ox started to find the ceremony a bit too tiring and after many good years of service has been retired. A younger ox will be at the centre of the celebrations this weekend and I expect to see the entire town of Loreto Aprutino out in force cheering him on.

Then the weekend of the 29 and 30 May we have the Cantine Aperte. Forty different wine producers are opening their doors to the public, giving them a chance to see how they make their wines and also giving them a chance to taste some of their best products. Some of these cantine will have food and music organised to help add to the carnival atmosphere.

It’s going to be a fun couple of weeks I think.

Post from: About Abruzzo

Plenty of Rain, Food and Conversation in Abruzzo; But Here Comes The Sun!

Share/Save

Related posts:

1. Fresh food from the Abruzzo Countryside Most people we know living in Abruzzo grow their own...
2. Cantine Aperte 2009 – Wine Producers Open Their Doors On 30th and 31st May 2009 (Saturday and Sunday) many...
3. Villa Gemma, Pasetti and that elusive red Ape I’ve been “off the air” for a little while as...

I’ve a weakness for ice cream. Whenever there’s a chance of tasting some I’m like a kid that hasn’t grown up. If I’m in a restaurant and I think I’ve room for dessert I go for something with ice cream – and ask for an extra scoop.

Italy is known the world over for its ice cream and rightly so. Every town has a gelateria and the ice cream they sell is fantastic. On one of my first visits to Italy I saw two policemen ambling along smiling, laughing and chatting with the locals while clearly enjoying some gelati.

I’m not a total ice cream addict, but I have sought out the best ice cream in practically every town I’ve visited in Italy. The hunt for the perfect ice cream and flavour combinations has brought me to Rome, Bologna, Florence, Siena, Venice, Genoa, Verona and Trento. I’ve tasted ice cream from Gelateria Di Piazza in San Gimignano (Si) which is considered by many to be the finest in Italy. And I’ve tasted ice cream throughout Abruzzo in many of the larger towns and smaller villages.

But my favourite place to buy ice cream in all of Italy is at Rychot’s in Loreto Aprutino (PE). I’m happy to admit a huge bias here. When I visit Abruzzo these days I stay in Loreto Aprutino and Rychot’s is only a stone’s throw away. That makes it much too easy for me to get my gelato fix!

My favourite flavour is pistacchio, just pistacchio. My wife prefers yogurt e limone. I like that too but for me the mark of a great gelateria is the quality of its pistacchio. If it doesn’t sell pistacchio I can hardly contain my disappointment. I will try other flavours and I’ll love them, but as I said pistacchio is the yard stick I use to measure all gelaterie.

The driving force behind Rychot’s is the very helpful and friendly Lorenzo Rossi.  He runs an excellent bar at Via V. Veneto 67. Sitting outside Rychot’s watching the comings and goings of the town is treat I look forward to. (It’s worth noting that they do damn fine glass of prosecco too.)

If you head across Piazza Garibaldi and head down to Via Dei Normanni, 61 you’ll see Pizzeria Novecento owned by Paride Di Coletta. If ever a man was an pizza artist it’s definitely Paride.

The last time I was in Pizzeria Novecento it was like a meeting of a United Nations sub-committee. Under its beautiful vaulted ceilings there were Russians, English, Welsh, Irish, Swiss and of course, Italians. The pizzas there are so popular that people travel a surprising distance for them. Most Italian towns have a pizzeria and in many cases they have more pizzarie than churches. So I think it really says something if people decide not to eat locally and get in their cars and drive to another town for the pizza they prefer.

I may be happy to try any flavour of ice cream but I’m fairly consistent when it comes to pizzas. I tend to go for a something a little spicy. Usually it’s a tomato sauce based pizza with salame piccante (spiced salami), onions, mushrooms and cheese. This combination isn’t on the menu at Novecento. In fact I don’t think it’s a very Italian combination as I rarely see it on menus in pizzerie in general. But I’ve never had a problem getting it as creating your own pizza is never an issue.

On those days when I feel particularly brave I ask for some jalapenos or pepperoncino – and a very, very cold beer!

Post from: About Abruzzo

Pizza and Ice Cream

Share/Save

Related posts:

1. New Olive Oil (Olio Nuovo) I thought I was going to miss the olive harvest,...
2. Traditional Meal In A Farmhouse Restaurant I’d passed by Il Casolare (the farmhouse) many times before...
3. Oil In Three Parts This is a post of three parts, all related by...

I had a Sat Nav; but a Sat Nav without an address is about as useful as…well you get the picture.

We were heading to the Almond 22 artisan brewery and I wanted to combine that visit with a wander around Spoltore itself. Having passed through Spoltore many times on the way to and from Pescara airport and knowing there are great views from the top of the castle it seemed like a great plan.

There was one problem. I had forgotten to write down the address of the brewery and I’d no access to the internet. For some reason my TIM mobile connection had been dodgy for a few days and now I had no access at all.

Spoltore isn’t big, but the brewery could have been in the town itself or somewhere out in the country.

P saved the day by suggesting I pop into the tourist office and see if I could do a quick search. The ever helpful Mauro in our local tourist office was happy to oblige.

Sat Navs are great inventions but sometimes they’ll send you the wrong way. But armed with the address Via Dietro le mura 36/38, and after asking the locals for confirmation, we found Almond 22.

When we arrived, there was a group of people standing outside the brewery discussing something of great importance.  They stopped talking and eyed us curiously.

Did I forget to mention we were wearing Ireland rugby shirts and had flashing shamrocks?!

It was St. Patrick’s Day (17 March) and although San Patrizio isn’t a big name in Abruzzo, we were determined to introduce him. It was just a coincidence that we were visiting a brewery, honest!

So there we were in Spoltore on the feast day of our patron saint, a little travelling festival, wearing a bit more green than usual – and this is what the people outside Almond 22 laid eyes on.

“Can we buy Almond 22 beer here?” I asked in Italian. One member of the group said “certo” and followed up with “of course”. He spoke excellent English. That was Jurij (pronounced like “Yuri”, I hope I got the spelling right) who proceeded to tell us all about Almond ’22 and the range of beers they produce.

He was enthusiastic about all of them and allowed us to taste before we bought. He did a great job of guiding us to beers that might interest us based on what we were used to.

We went away with a Nigra, an Irie, a few Grand Cru (gifts!), a Blanche de Valerie and a Torbata. Of them all the Torbata was the greatest surprise as it was clear on tasting it that it would be great with cheese or cantucci.

Jurij’s passion became more obvious when we realised that he was discussing bottle shapes with bottle suppliers when we arrived. They were weighing up the merits of a using a brandy type bottle for one of their lines instead of what they normally use, a prosecco bottle shape.

It was fantastic to be sampling beers that had wonderful flavours in the company of a master beer maker who treated his creations in way that you’d only expect from someone who loves what they do.

I think the beer produced by Almond 22 is excellent. I’ve since used it as an alternative gift to bring to someone’s home when invited for lunch or dinner. I think my hosts have been a bit surprised to receive beer, instead wine or a pastry selection plate but they soon realised it’s something special.

We were lucky to have met Jurij and considering Almond 22 usually only sell to the public on a Saturday, we were doubly lucky. Perhaps it was the flashing shamrocks.

Post from: About Abruzzo

Almond 22, Spoltore (PE) Abruzzo: Saint Patrick’s Day (morning)

Share/Save

Related posts:

1. Spoltore: Wonderful Views And A Microbrewery Too For quite a while now I’ve been looking forward to...
2. Spoltore (PE) Abruzzo: Saint Patrick’s Day (afternoon) Still in Spoltore and feeling a bit peckish we looked...
3. To B&B or not to B&B – that is the question… One of the best meals I’ve had recently was a...

The last time I was there I broke one of my rules of travel; never go anywhere without a camera.

I’d passed through Spoltore quite a few times. Whenever I’ve been based in Loreto Aprutino and had to make a trip to Pescara airport the best route is via Capelle Sul Tavo and Spoltore. On the occasion of the great rule breaking we were giving a friend a lift to the airport to get the flight to Stansted. We hadn’t planned to go or stop anywhere on our way back, but we fancied a coffee and something sweet and Spoltore was the answer.

Since we were there it made sense to explore and once we climbed up we were stunned by the views of the mountains and sea. But I can’t show you what we saw because I didn’t bring my camera!

I’m not going to describe Spoltore in this post. I’ll wait couple of weeks when I hope to be able to show some pictures as well. But if you are passing through and have the time, find a place to park and follow the streets up as high as you can go, the views are well worth it.

But there is a second reason for going back, one that isn’t normally associated with Abruzzo or Italy.

It’s beer!

Spoltore has a microbrewery.

I’ve tried a few different main stream Italian beers. The usual suspects are Moretti and Peroni. I really like La Rossa by Moretti and I have to admit that although Montepulciano d’Abruzzo would be my typical tipple in Abruzzo sometimes a glass of beer is the perfect drink.

Today I discovered Almond ‘22, a micro-brewery in Spoltore. “Discovered” may be a bit strong, as I haven’t had a chance to visit the brewery or sample its produce yet. But I will. And there are lots to choose from; take a look at their beer list.

I’m not sure I’m going to be able for their Torbata which has a barley wine style and I’ve seen described as a bottle-conditioned ‘smoked ale’ that’s … flavoured with chestnut honey. But maybe I should give it a go purely for research purposes.

Right now I don’t know if the public can visit the brewery and buy directly from them, but the idea of exploring Spoltore, taking photographs of the town and its views and then rounding it off with a Blanche de Valerie or an Irie really appeals.

If it turns out I can’t buy directly, Almond ‘22 have kindly provided a list of places where I buy their beer so it looks like I have a viable Plan B.

I’ll let you know how I get on.

Post from: About Abruzzo

Spoltore: Wonderful Views And A Microbrewery Too

Share/Save

Related posts:

1. Almond 22, Spoltore (PE) Abruzzo: Saint Patrick’s Day (morning) I knew it was in Spoltore. I’d seen it on...
2. Spoltore (PE) Abruzzo: Saint Patrick’s Day (afternoon) Still in Spoltore and feeling a bit peckish we looked...
3. To B&B or not to B&B – that is the question… One of the best meals I’ve had recently was a...