Wine – Jon Is A Geek

The newly launched North Canterbury Wine Region, a merger of the Waipara and Canterbury wine growers associations, held a tasting event in Christchurch on a rainy October Thursday evening. Amongst the winery stalls were some local makers of sheep milk cheeses and free range pancetta and salami. There was a lot to taste!

It is sad to see that Tresillian has closed; snap any up if you see them, they made very good wines. Bell Hill and Pyramid Valley were two makers whose stalls had large queues all evening. I don’t know what it is about all that loony biodynamics codswallop but it sure attracts good reviews from wine writers, and plenty of customers clamouring for the new releases. I think apart from a few notable exceptions (anything from Millton’s Clos de Sainte Anne vineyard, for example), biodynamics seems to be an excuse to overcharge for overrated wine, and the breathless, credulous enthusiasm some reviewers have for it is the same that we find in audiophile magazines about gold-plated HDMI cables and wooden volume knobs. But I digress.

Present at the event but not reviewed here (since we visited them on previous days) were wines from Lone Goat, Black Estate and Pegasus Bay.

Pegasus Bay Maestro, one of the only Bordeaux style red wines made in the South Island.

New Zealand’s only Ehrenfelser, and it’s smashing.

Great Canterbury Riesling, from Lone Goat.

Pegasus Bay established the first vineyards in Canterbury in the 1970s and are one of the few wineries to make Bordeaux style reds in the South Island (the Maestro is excellent), although they initially established their reputation from very good Rieslings. Lone Goat make fantastic Riesling from 30 year-old vines, amongst the oldest in Canterbury and originally planted by Giesen, who have since moved to Marlborough. They also make the country’s only Ehrenfelser, and an excellent one too. Black Estate make wine that I wouldn’t write home about, and are proof that fluffing about with lunar calendars, Zodiac signs and homœopathic preparations (congratulations, you watered your vines!) does not always result in better wine. Sorry to go on about it, but what a load of cobblers, I mean really.

The limestone escarpments around the Waipara region lend themselves to Pinot Noir.

Fabulous wine.

One of the only Syrahs in the South Island.

Another fabulous Canterbury Pinot Noir.

Pleasantly surprising amongst the excellent Rieslings and Chardonnays were several very promising, tropical fruit-forward examples of Albariño. In the reds, for what it’s worth, my favourite Pinot Noir wines were from Fancrest Estate and Mon Cheval (Pearson Estate), and whilst the Pyramid Valley Earth Smoke Pinot Noir was very nice too, it was more than double the price. Two makers presented very good Syrah, in a cooler-climate, northern Rhône style with an emphasis on complex floral aromas, and even a good Tempranillo from Mount Brown. Continue reading “Taste North Canterbury 2018”

28 September 201826 May 2020

Sagrantino from Italy and Australia

A rare and exciting opportunity to taste a wide selection of Sagrantino wines was held recently at Wellington wine bar and restaurant, Noble Rot. A privilege, not just to be able to taste several Sagrantino wines together, but to do so in a setting of five courses of beautiful food, and presided over by Noble Rot founder and one of New Zealand’s most awarded sommeliers, Maciej Zimny.

It was possibly the first of its kind in New Zealand. Several Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG wines from Umbria over several vintages were included from our collection, and each representing a different approach to making Sagrantino wine, and one of them a passito, a sweet red dessert wine. Two wines from Australia were also included, representing contrasting styles and climates from King Valley and McLaren Vale.

12 April 201713 April 2017

Australian Syrah then and now: current line-up

Tonight was the second part of a two-part tasting of Australian Shiraz with Geoff Kelly at Regional Wines & Spirits, the first being the 1996 library tasting (see previous post). This time we blind-tasted eleven new 2013-14 Australian Shiraz wines, including the Penfold Grange which is north of $850 per bottle, and with an Elephant Hill Hawke’s Bay 2013 Syrah thrown in to keep us honest.

Eleven new Australian 2013-14 Shiraz, with a NZ Syrah from Elephant Hill

This was about when my palate conked out, with the last three still to go.

Each wine was very well-built, young and purple, peppery and bold. Each wine had something to say, but unfortunately this time I exhausted my palate by the ninth, and couldn’t make head or tail of the last three. Shame, because although I liked them the Lloyd Reserve which I admired in the library tasting was hiding among them.

As we poured the blind wines into glasses, the colours of all the wines were good healthy young Syrah deep purple-red, although I could tell there would be something special about No. 6 and No. 9 just from the density of colour; No. 6 looked like you could stand a spoon up in it.

For me the remarkable wines were Nos. 3, 6, and 9.

No. 3 reminded me of a big, older-style blackcurrant jam Australian Shiraz, with lots of berry, ripe toffee and a long oaky finish. The minty, freshly-crushed basil leaf on the nose typical of South Australian Shiraz goes well; Geoff says if he likes it he calls it “mint”, or “eucalypt” otherwise. Someone else remarked this wine might be like Kylie crashing a Holden ute full of Foster’s into a blackberry patch. Enjoyable perhaps, but not especially subtle. No. 6 was the most beautifully dark rich purple-red, with an intoxicating, highly concentrated nose of mostly blackcurrant, but also warm florals and a whiff of rough-sawn timber. The wine itself was complex, initially spicy but with savoury meaty flavours and berries competing for space, with a longer finish. No. 9 for me was also a dense colour, with a peppery lavender on the nose and an interesting hint of baked dates or figs, not over-sweet but nicely integrated into the plum fruit flavours for a lingering complexity.

Once again we gathered some “wisdom of the crowd” data to see if as a group we could pick our wines, and this time we did a bit better; results are below.

Blind rating totals from the new 2013-14 Australian Syrah tasting.

The Penfolds Grange hiding at No. 6 was correctly identified by about half the group. I was overthinking things too much and was trying to re-taste the last three wines at this point, to find the rich, complex wine that would be a likely Grange candidate. I had assumed that, having never tasted it before, something as ludicrously expensive as the Grange might surely be less up in one’s grill with its big bold Aussie blackcurrants, so although No. 6 was beautifully dense and concentrated, I had assumed the Grange was busy being all sophisticated elsewhere. Once everyone’s hands shot up, however, it became clear the cat was out of the bag! The No. 9 I liked was the Elephant Hill 2014 Syrah Reserve, which surprised me, and the Lloyd Reserve from Coriole in McLaren Valley was hiding at No. 10, which was interesting to re-taste after The Grange. It has that torn basil leaf mint and lavender on the nose, with savory and plum, liquorice and a good long finish.

Coriole 2013 Lloyd Reserve Shiraz

Penfolds 2012 Grange Shiraz

Of futher note was No. 11, the Cape Mentelle 2013 Shiraz from Margaret River in Western Australia. This was a more delicate wine than the others, with interesting and complex boquet of jasmine, perhaps roses, with a good plum fruit body and a nice mild spiciness like a hint of Christmas cake, with a good long-ish finish. It was certainly different enough from the others that three of us thought it was the Hawke’s Bay Syrah.

Herewith the full list of wines:

1. 2015 Wirra Wirra Shiraz Catapult, McLaren Vale, South Australia
2. 2013 Domaine Chandon Shiraz, Yarra Valley, Victoria
3. 2014 Burge Shiraz Filsell, Barossa Valley, SA
4. 2014 Two Hands Shiraz Gnarly Dudes, Barossa Valley, SA
5. 2014 John Duval Shiraz Entity, Barossa & Eden Valley, SA
6. 2012 Penfolds Shiraz Grange, Barossa Valley, SA
7. 2012 Wirra Wirra Shiraz RSW, McLaren Vale, SA
8. 2012 Elderton Shiraz Command, Barossa Valley, SA
9. 2014 Elephant Hill Syrah Reserve, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand
10. 2013 Coriole Shiraz Lloyd Reserve, McLaren Vale, SA
11. 2013 Cape Mentelle Shiraz, Margaret River, West Australia
12. 2013 Seppelt Shiraz St Peters, Grampians, Victoria

31 March 201731 March 2017

Australian Syrah then and now: 1996 library tasting

Tonight we went to one of Geoff Kelly‘s illuminating wine tastings, held as ever at Regional Wines & Spirits next to the Basin Reserve in Wellington. This was part one of a two part tasting – a library tasting of 20 year-old Australian Shiraz wines, with a 1996 Hermitage thrown in as a yardstick; Next month part two will be a tasting of eleven new vintage Australian Shiraz with a good Hawke’s Bay Syrah to compare. Tonight was a blind tasting, in order to gather some interesting data from participants before revealing which wines were which.

Eleven 1996 Australian shiraz wines, plus a 1996 Hermitage for a yardstick

Twelve blind shiraz wines, 20 years old

It really is quite intimidating to try twelve magnificent 20 year-old red wines, and try to remain objective about comparing their colour and weight, nose (aroma), taste, complexity, and so on. As humans we’re notoriously bad at taste and smell compared to our other senses, so even just trying to identify the different flavours is a constant challenge. They are sometimes elusive or fleeting; there at the start, but then gone with the vapours a few minutes later. Sometimes they are maddeningly familiar, but the right word, recollection or label for it is just out of reach. Geoff, a true national treasure, runs a good show; reminding us not to speak too much aloud and cloud each others’ judgements, but dropping a few helpful hints and starting points to look for in aged reds, and Australian Syrah in particular, drawing on his 40 years of wine cellaring, judging, and writing.

Most of them were just as you’d imagine beautiful aged 20 year-old Syrah to be: plum or berry dominant, interesting florals, smooth, and tannins tamed by oak and time. That is, apart from No. 5 which to my nose was of fresh cowpat and sweaty horse. No. 7 to me had an unpleasant butyric bile odour, but it had weird almost salty savoury taste, like Parmigiano. My favourites were No. 3 for its sheer number and complexity of different and intriguing flavours, and its beautiful long velvety finish, and No. 8, which was a standout for me. It was the most purple-red of the set like it was only three years old, while all the others had aged to a fairly uniform red-ruby, near garnet colour. It had a bold nose of cognac, almond and cherry, with a slight floral element of jasmine and violets. Strong dark plum fruit but with a savoury hint of truffle, and its long-lingering tannins, whilst softened with the oak, were still unwinding even after all this time, and could probably go for another ten years.

1995 Coriole Shiraz Lloyd Reserve

1996 d’Arenberg Shiraz Dead-Arm

1996 Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle

Before revealing the wines, Geoff asked us to rate a first and second favourite, a least favourite, and which we thought was the French wine hiding in the glasses. This data set is tabulated below.

Blind rating totals from the Australian Syrah 1996 library tasting.

No. 5 was the 1996 Cape Mentelle from Margaret River, Western Australia, which might have had either a dose of brett or it was corked. No. 3 was the 1996 d’Arenberg Dead Arm from McLaren Vale, South Australia, and No. 8, my favourite, was the 1995 Coriole Lloyd Reserve, also from McLaren Vale. The No. 7 was the ludicrously expensive Hermitage (AOC Syrah from Rhône, France), the Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle; Jancis Robinson writes about this wine, here. Luckily for me, Regional Wines had a couple of the 2011 Lloyd Reserves in stock!

The full list of wines are detailed on Geoff’s library tasting page, and reproduced here:

1. 1996 Seppelt Shiraz Mount Ida, Heathcote, Victoria
2. 1996 Barossa Valley Estates E&E Shiraz Black Pepper, Barossa Valley
3. 1996 d’Arenberg Shiraz Dead-Arm, McLaren Vale, South Australia
4. 1996 Jim Barry Shiraz McRae Wood, Clare Valley, SA
5. 1996 Cape Mentelle Shiraz, Margaret River, West Australia
6. 1996 Burge Shiraz Meschach, Barossa Valley, SA
7. 1996 Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle, Northern Rhone Valley, France
8. 1995 Coriole Shiraz Lloyd’s Reserve, McLaren Vale, SA
9. 1996 Bannockburn Shiraz, Geelong, Victoria
10. 1997 Mount Langi Ghiran Shiraz Langi, Grampians, Victoria
11. 1996 Henschke Shiraz Mount Edelstone, Eden Valley, SA
12. 1996 McWilliams Shiraz Maurice O’Shea, Hunter Valley, NSW

29 January 201719 October 2022

Bologna

After a lovely day wandering around Verona, we caught the 5.30 pm fast Italotreno to Bologna, and had tea at a Chinese-run canteen near the hotel. Rather good fresh pasta and what-do-you-know, Bolognese sauce? And only €5. Lovely. Collapsed into the hotel room for an early night.

The following day, we went for a wander, but nothing much was open. It’s right in the middle of the year, and Bologna being a (the?!) university town, in summer everyone’s away at the beach, and a lot of places are shut for two weeks. But mainly, it was also Ferragosto, a national holiday. We had a look around an old brick church, with an attached apothecary and herb garden (closed), and the famous leaning towers. We failed to walk past the Venchi chocolate shop, and accidentally bought some. We also found some stars in the pavement, for Thelonius Monk, Miles Davis and Ella Fitzgerald.

The next day, we went on a booked food tour around Bologna and Modena. Up early sparrowfart for a look around a Parmesan cheese factory, followed by a look at a prosciutto factory, full of pig’s legs. But most remarkable was the balsamic vinegar producer we visited, where they boil grape must and stick it in six barrels with the holes covered with linen to let it evaporate. Each barrel is smaller than the previous, and made from different woods; first oak, then mulberry, cherry, juniper, chestnut and plum. Each year the barrels are topped up from the larger one before it, and the largest is topped up with new boiled grape must. This goes on for 25 years.

Then we had a four course lunch, with the local sparkling red, a lovely Lambrusco. The tour guide was a slightly odd Italian guy with small pudgy hands, with which he’d try to do a high five whenever he made another of his slightly off-key jokes, but sort-of grasped your hand afterwards which just added to the creepiness.

We got stuck sitting next to a loud American guy skiting about how much money he makes as a consultant helping casinos figure out how to make more money with their poker machines. Well, when he wasn’t complaining about how air travel in Europe isn’t as nice as the US. I asked him why on earth he wasn’t travelling by high-speed train, and what the casinos do about addicted and problem gamblers, which shut him up pretty fast. Then I told him I think all casinos should be evacuated and then burned to the ground with the owners locked inside, and they left me alone after that, which was nice because Bek’s table companion was much more interesting.

The next day after eggs and bacon for breakfast, we went for a stroll into town, via the shaded arches of Bologna’s famous arcades, and found the Music Museum. It had displays about Rossini and Respighi, who was the student of Martucci (I must try to get hold of some Martucci, apparently there’s a bunch recorded by Ricardo Muti for Naxos). They also had some cool early instruments and a Heckelphone.

Another day, another eggs & bacon breakfast and a coffee at the hotel, just before they closed up shop at 10 am. Packed up, checked out, and went over the road to the train station. Bought a high-speed rail ticket each to Florence from the billetteria (automatic ticket machine), which was €25 for a 35 minute trip. Bologna’s train station is very large, with 19 platforms all over the place. We jumped on the train to Florence, which was fairly space-age, even compared to the other fast trains we were on before.

15 August 201628 January 2017

Verona

Ah… fair Verona, such a lovely town. We arrived by train, after a vaporetto ride to the Venice Santa Lucia train station.

Verona Arena, built 60 A.D.

One highlight of the trip we had both been looking forward to was the opportunity to see Turandot, the magnificent opera by Puccini, performed at the Verona Arena. In preparation for the evening ahead, in the afternoon we went to the Maria Callas exhibition, which was truly extraordinary. Her costumes, posters, photographs, props, newspaper clippings and so on, all about her life and career at La Scala in Milan, and elsewhere, with an excellent audio guide which interspersed commentary with recordings of her performing opera arias. In the context of the tragic events in her life, hearing her voice and her incredible performances was exquisitely poignant and moving.

The Zeffirelli set of Puccini’s Turandot. Verona Arena, Italy.

The audience fills the Verona Arena, as the sun goes down.

Puccini’s Turandot, in full flight. Verona Arena, Italy.

Puccini’s Turandot was amazing. It was a Zeffirelli production, so the sets and costumes were fantastic. The chorus we estimated to be at least 150 singers, which is far larger than typical New Zealand opera performances I’ve played in or been to. The sound of the full chorus at fortissimo was simply astonishing, and it also meant that the conductor, rather than giving the orchestra the hand in order to plead restraint, was instead egging the brass on, simply in order to be heard. The result was an absolutely thrilling, intense and unforgettable sound. Went for a pizza and a cheeky prosecco afterwards!

The next day, we went on a wine tour of the local Valpolicella region, organised with Pagus Tours. We visited three wineries in the region, the first was a fairly large producer, the second a smaller family business with a beautiful cellar door building, where we had lunch. The only other people on the tour was a couple Rob and Angela from Florida, who were excellent company.

Valpolicella wine region, Italy.

Valpoicella wine region, Italy.

Corvina grapes in Valpolicella, Italy.

There are four notable DOC and DOCG wines of the Valpolicella region, made from predominantly the corvina grape, but with varying amounts of corvinone, rondinella, molinara, and other local grape varieties.

Valpolicella (sometimes Valpolicella Rosso) is a DOC red wine made in a light style without oak, for day time summer drinking, rather like a rosé. There is also Valpolicella Classico, a historical denomination indicating just that it comes from one of five townships to the west of the region. Valpolicella Superiore is fermented for longer for a heavier style red wine, and aged in oak for at least a year.

The DOCG wine that has been made traditionally in the Valpolicella region since Roman times is Recioto, a sweet red wine. The grapes are harvested very late and dried on racks for up to three months in order to concentrate the juice and flavour. They will have lost nearly half their weight in water, and the juice is then fermented and cut short to produce a very sweet wine. Until the mid-20th Century, this was by far the predominant wine made in the region. We tried a couple of very good recioto wines, and they are very crisp and fruit driven, without the raisin or prune overtones of port.

In the 1970s a method of winemaking emerged called Ripasso, meaning “re-passed”. Now a DOC wine in itself, it is a Valpolicella wine with the pomace from a Recioto or Amarone added back in, for a second round of maceration and further fermentation. This produces a more robust, darker and beautifully complex wine, which must be aged in oak for a minimum of two years.

Amarone barrels, Valpolicella, Italy.

Finally, a wine called Amarone emerged in the mid 20th Century. Now a DOCG wine, a good story is that it resulted from barrels of recioto abandoned during World War Two that were left to fully ferment. Although this story may be somewhat fanciful, such wine having probably been produced in the past, modern Amarone began to be deliberately produced only since the 1950s. Amarone is a very strong, highly alcoholic, strongly oaked, full and complex wine, made from dried late harvest red grapes as per a Recioto. For the DOCG it must be aged for three years in oak, and many makers age it for longer still.

After lunch we visited the tour guide’s family business, Damoli, which makes a stunning 2006 “Checo” amarone. We were forced to buy six bottles to bring back in the luggage.

Damoli “Checo” 2006 Amarone della Valpolicella, Italy.

Zenato 2012 Valpolicella Ripasso, Italy.

Speri 2011 Amarone della Valpolicella, Italy.

After all that hard work, and a nap at the hotel, we met up with Rob and Angela again at an excellent restaurant, Trattoria Tre Marchetti, for a four course degustation. It was entirely decadent and well-deserved; ham with an apricot and cherry marinaded in mustard and amarone, which gave them a horseradish kick. A porcini and black truffle fettucine, then braised veal cheek in jus, with buttered potatoes and a little pressed spoon of suviche zucchini and carrot. And a plate of miniature dessert pastries. With a great Superiore, a Zenato Ripasso, and finally a Recioto, which we dared to try with the red meat; it was surprising and fantastic. The wine was offered in an array of wineglasses including Murano glass, and one for the Ripasso that was seriously the size of my face. And as anyone who knows me knows, I have a big face.

The wineglasses included Murano glass, and one as big as my face. Verona, Italy.

The following day it was hot, and we felt a little tired and lazy, so we had pizza with soppressata, olives, capers and big white anchoves from a good outdoor pizzeria for lunch, and read our books for a while. We had a look around the fortress museum, lots of devotional art, frescoes and statues of the Virgin Mary.

Interesting different things about Italy #49: bathroom taps are often operated by a foot pedal.

At 5.30 we jumped on the train again. Next up, Bologna, less than an hour away, where we just had great fresh pasta with Bolognese ragù for dinner at a Chinese-run canteen for only €5, since almost nothing else was open. But that’s another story for another post!

11 August 201631 January 2017

Venice

Traveling in style on Italotreno at 300 km/h.

On Monday, we checked out of our hotel in Rome, and jumped on a train to Venice. This Italotreno train zoomed along at up to 300 km/h in places, in a comfortable quiet cabin with free WiFi. On arrival, we find the main island of Venice rammed with tourists, not helped by an illusion of density; the “streets” are very narrow. There are no roads, only canals and pedestrian footpaths; no vehicles, save for hand-pulled carts for delivering goods, and of course the famous Venetian gondolas.

Our hotel room was teeny-tiny but manageable, in a Venetian house that had been converted into a hotel. We were to later learn this to be common; the only “locals” we saw were the business owners, tour guides, restaurant staff and the like. One guide told us that not many locals can afford to live on the main island any more due to the increasing costs of maintenance and insurance as the island subsides (and the sea level rises), and the sky-high rents, driven in part by highly lucrative tourism. Most apart from the mega-rich now live on the mainland, and if they still own property on the island, let it out through Airbnb; much of the housing in Venice is now hotels, or even empty.

Canal Grande, Venice.

Canal, Venice.

The gondolas, Venice.

A metre of subsidence, Venice.

The mosaics in San Marco, Venice.

San Marco, Venice.

The Doge Palace interior courtyard, Venice.

The gilded ceilings in the Doge Palace, Venice.

After settling in we found what turned out to be an awful place for tea, Aciugheta. The service was terrible and they served tired, microwaved frozen seafood on chewy packet pasta.

The next day we found Magna Bevi Tasi, a lovely place to start the day with coffee and a panini in the morning, on the square next to the hotel. From there we embarked on a walking tour around San Marco, and a visit to St. Mark’s and the Doge’s Palace. In the afternoon we went on the Vaporetto (water bus) out to the island of Murano, with its glass factories that produce the famous and beautiful Venetian glass, and Burano, famous for its lace. By this point the relentless crowds of tourists everywhere drove me to escape down a quiet alleyway, where I found, only a hundred yards away, an oasis of quiet and colourful residential Venice, and managed a few idiot-free photographs.

The famous coloured houses of Burano, Venice.

The main canal of Burano, Venice.

A quiet part of Burano, Venice.

Houses in Burano, Venice.

That night we found Antica Osteria ai Tre Leone for tea, a lovely place right next to the Bridge Hotel with good pasta and wine list.

On Wednesday it was Bek’s birthday, and so we ventured out into the local countryside on a Prosecco tour. What better way to spend a birthday than drinking nice sparkling wine in the sun?

Prosecco vineyards near Valdobbiadene, Italy.

We went to three different Prosecco wineries, all producing Prosecco Superiore DOCG, which is sparkling wine made in a region around the towns of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, from the Prosecco grape. The first was Toffoli, near Conegliano. They make a really good millesimato, extra dry. We mailed six magnums home to make use of the good NZ shipping rate. Happy birthday! These will come in handy for special occasions. We also got chatting to one of the staff who came to New Zealand for a couple of years and worked in Marlborough vineyards, and he very kindly gave us a couple of bottles of their sparkling rosé, made from the Marzemino grape.

A prosecco vending machine, in the middle of a vineyard.

On the way to the next vineyard in Valdobbiadene, where we had lunch, we stopped by a prosecco vending machine, out in the middle of the vineyard on a hill, with chairs and tables nearby. The whole thing runs as some sort of local honesty system. Just amazing!

Prosecco Superiore DOCG from Villa Sandi.

The third vineyard was Villa Sandi, which also had a lovely extra dry Prosecco Superiore.

After a hard day of drinking sparkling wine and being chauffeured around the Italian countryside, we went to the Tre Leone again for dinner. It’s a good restaurant, and it was very crowded and tiresome to try to find another good one.

The next day we decided to take it easy. The main island of Venice was relentlessly busy with tourists, so we emerged about midday and decided to bob along Canal Grande on the Vaporetto for about an hour and a half, until we ended up at the Lido.

Doge Palace and wonky tower, Venice.

A church, Venice.

Houses along Canal Grande, Venice.

Venice at night.

Here we reclined on the beach for a while with Prosecco and spritz. Dear reader, if you want to visit Venice in the height of summer, go to the island of Lido – it is refreshingly free of tourist crowds and has good local cafés and restaurants. We went to a nice outdoor place for dinner on Gran Viale San Maria Elisabetta with good food and service.

Tomorrow we catch the train to Verona!

3 August 20164 January 2020

Arriving in Rome

We arrived from the airport by cab and checked in to the Hearth Hotel, on Via Santamaura, right next to the Vatican museum gate. A good spot and very handy by foot and Metro to the rest of the city.

A walk about took us to Saint Peter’s Square, and then up to the nearby Jainiculum (Gianicolo) in order to unlock the first of many Respighi achievements, Pini di Roma: III. I pini del Gianicolo. It is one of several hills around Rome, and mostly a public park, with many sculptures and busts of historical Italian figures dotted about.

Later in the afternoon we wandered into Trastevere district, which has lots of art shops and restaurants on either side of old cobbled Roman streets. Along the way we entered Santa Maria in Trastevere, a Roman basilica dating back to the fourth century A.D. Its beautiful gilded ceilings and Cavallini mosaics are a stunning sight.

Gilded ceiling of Santa Maria in Trastevere.

Mosaics by Cavallini in the Santa Maria in Trastevere.

The next day we went on a guided tour around the Colosseum and Roman Forum, and another around the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain (Respighi achievement unlocked, Fontane di Roma: III. La fontana di Trevi al meriggio) and the Pantheon. A big full day, but thoroughly worth it.

The ancient Romans had figured out how to make strong concrete (opus cæmenticium) using volcanic ash. Unlike the modern technique of using gravel aggregate and pouring it into place, they used it more like a mortar, to lay bigger bits of baked clay bricks or rubble together. The Colosseum was built using brick and concrete around 110 A.D. and must have been a beautiful spectacle in brilliant white travertine, and festooned with many marble sculptures and reliefs.

Whilst it did fall into disuse after the fall of the Roman Empire, its current dilapidated state is mostly due to its deliberate dismantling over the following thousand years by builders, who raided its marble statues and outer cladding blocks in order to build other Roman buildings, including much of what is now Vatican City.

The Pantheon is the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world, built in 120 A.D. with a diameter of 43 metres. It was built using pumice as the aggregate towards the top, to reduce the load on the lower structure.

Trevi Fountain, Rome.

The Colosseum, Rome.

Inside the Colosseum.

The Pantheon dome from inside.

It is truly remarkable that, despite the Italian peninsula being prone to large earthquakes similar to New Zealand, these buildings are still standing after two thousand years.

Lombardi “Propileo” Cesanese, a good Lazio red.

Along the way we observed that in Rome at least, road rules are mostly optional, and most cars seem to be fitted with broken indicator bulbs. Drivers do stop for pedestrians though, which was a relief. Just around the corner from the hotel was a great restaurant where we could use our colourful Euro beer vouchers to buy great Italian food and local wine, including an IGT red wine from the Lazio region, a Cesanese called Propileo, which has been somewhat hard to track down since. Inevitably, I tried a local dish called Cacio e pepe.

Cacio e pepe

Like many Italian dishes, cacio e pepe (literally “cheese and pepper”) is a fantastic yet deceptively simple dish: pasta served hot straight from the pot with a generous handful of finely grated cheese and black pepper. This restaurant added a squeeze of lemon juice, which makes it exquisite.

Ingredients:

450 g (1 lb) of fresh pasta (spaghetti, tagliatelle)
180 g (6 oz) Pecorino Romano*
40 g (1½ oz) butter
about 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper, to taste
lemon juice to taste (optional)

Bring plenty of salted water to a boil in a big pot and cook the pasta for 2-3 minutes until just tender. Grate the cheese with a fine grater. Melt the butter in a frying pan and fry the pepper for a minute or so. Using tongs drop the cooked pasta into the frying pan with about 100 ml (½ cup) of the hot pasta water, stir to coat well, then dump the cheese on top, and stir until melted. Serve immediately in bowls, garnish with a squeeze of lemon juice and a little more ground black pepper. Match with a good red wine with a food-friendly acidity.

Note: Pecorino Romano is a local Italian cheese made from sheep milk. If required, substitute any good hard salty cheese instead, e.g. Parmesan or a good aged cheddar.