Roadtrip with my dad

May 2, 2014 / dolcevitaspinelli / Leave a comment

For years my dad and I make a yearly trip (long weekend) to Italy, usually around April, with wine as the ‘central theme’… or that is the excuse 🙂 . I know I don’t need an excuse to go on a little trip, but for some reason one feels less guilty when he has an excuse 🙂 What we basically do during these trips is eating, drinking, sleeping and enjoying life combined with an occasional vineyard visit. One of the world’s biggest wine fairs “Vinitaly” in Verona has also been the destination for a few times, but I do prefer visiting a few vineyards from friends in a particular area/ region in Italy. Normally it is my dad making all the arrangements, but this year it was my turn to organize the trip which brought us to the always beautiful Tuscany… No matter how many times you visit Tuscany it doesn’t wear off… The only thing that usually bothers me is the enormous amount of tourists!! FYI, I’m not a tourist, from the moment I cross the Italian boarder I’m an Italian (double nationality) 🙂 🙂

The main reason I picked Tuscany was because during 2 wine tastings in Belgium I met 2 guys whose wine I liked and their vineyards happen to be in Tuscany :-). The first guy is Lorenzo Zonin (my blogpost) who have vineyards all over Italy of which 3 (+ 1 personal from Lorenzo) vineyards in Tuscany and the other guy it Matteo Cantoni from Fattoria Fibbiano (my blogpost). What I did not realize when I was planning my trip that during this period Italy celebrated its National holiday during this period… but ok in the end all worked out anyhow (so no damage).

The initial plan was to sleep at the Agriturismo from Fattoria Fibbiano as it is close to lots of “must-visits” in Tuscany like Sangiminiano, Volterra, Siena, Lucca, Pisa, Firenze, San Miniato, Lari, Vinci, Calci… but due to the fact they are so popular and I waited too long to book we stayed at one of Fattoria Fibbiano’s friends (that are only 1 km away)Agriturismo Santo Pietro… so you see one excuse made room for another as I just have to return just to be able to sleep at Fattoria Fibbiano’s agriturismo 🙂 (ooooooh yeah). I have to admit that where I slept didn’t matter as long as I could see the people I wanted to see I’m happy! (in case you didn’t know it yet, I’m a people person) Another option would have been staying at Abbazia Monte Oliveto’s agriturismo (from Zonin)

Stay tuned to read more about our trip and the wonderful hospitality we got!

A real Tuscan treat

December 11, 2013October 14, 2014 / dolcevitaspinelli / 1 Comment

What usually stops me from drinking Tuscan wines is the fact that even though there are lots of good wines in this region, there is also lots of rubbish… What people need to understand is that, it is not that because a wine or product is from a particular place it therefore always is wonderful… as it isn’t!! What makes a wine or product good is the care of a farmer, craftsman or viticulturist of course in combination with good soil, weather, etc… Luckily there are still craftsmen or winemakers left who want to make a good product or in the case of Tuscany winemakers wanting to make a ‘real Tuscany wine’ as Matteo Cantoni from Fattoria Fibbiano calls it.

I probably already mentioned it in previous posts, but more than ever cooks and winemakers are thinking as the French call it ‘terroir’. Meaning that they try to use local and even primitive products as much as possible to make their end product. At some point I’m glad it is turning this way as I’m of the opinion that when you for example go on holiday to Thailand, Spain or where ever, that you can eat, drink and try the local things instead of stuff from other countries (as good as they may be). So I’m a fan of this “new” wind.

That is what Matteo Cantoni meant with making ‘ real Tuscan wine’ as at Fattoria Fibbiano they only use authentic from origin Tuscany grapes. Instead of using Merlot or Carbernet grapes they use Sangiovese, Canaiolo , Colombana, Colorino and Malvasia from vines that are over 100 years old and playing with them to make some very nice combinations. What you should maybe also know is that Matteo together with his family (Brother, Parents, …) only took over the vineyard of Fattoria Fibbiano 20 years ago. Fattoria Fibbiano itself had already been used as vineyard over 100years 🙂 For people only doing this for such a short period of time they have done a really good job in bringing back the real Tuscany!! Fattoria Fibbiano is a rather small vineyard, they annually only produce 120.000 bottles of wines (all types together). So you can imagine getting hold of a bottle isn’t always as easy, but not an impossible mission.

When talking to Matteo Cantoni, he stressed out that his purpose of making wine is making drinkable wine… meaning the wine can drunk immediately with exception of their ‘Ceppatella’ (that can be compared with a good Brunello di Montalcino) that is at its in a few years and can be left in your cellar for easily 15 years (but if wanted it can already be drunk now, but best to first decant that it gets some air). Matteo said his Ceppatella from 2005 is now perfect to drink.

Besides the Ceppatella which is the tip of the iceberg from Fattoria Fibbiano’s gamma, we also got to taste their following wines:

Sofia: a rosé wine (yes rosé from Tuscany) made from 100% Sangiovese grape. Something I think is almost unseen in Tuscany wine making. As they always want to keep the Sangiovese for making strong red wine. A wine that gives rosé another dimension.

Fonte delle Donne: a white wine made with a combination of 50% Vermentino grapes and 50% Colombana. Resulting in a floral smelling wine with a rich taste to it 🙂
Le Pianette : probably the most special grape combination as they use 70% Sangiovese and 30%Colorino that back in the days got used for coloring the wine (because of the thick skin of the grape) and giving it a good smell… I couldn’t tell what the smell was, but it had a sharp and typical sangiovese aroma and taste.
L’Aspetto : a red wine and I think the star of the evening as price-quality this is a very good wine. It was a more complex wine than the previous one with a delicate wooden smell to it (very subtle smell) . About the taste, I know I’ll be cliche, but I tasted strawberries 🙂 and as I like that taste, I liked the wine… it is as simple as that 😉

I think I’l l be having some L’Aspetto and Ceppatella in my wine cellar veeeery soon 🙂

If you also feel like tasting or want to know where to buy the Fattoria Fibianno wines, please contact Rik de Jonghe who imports wines of Fattoria Fibianno on following email address: rik.de.jonghe@skynet.be

OR you can go to Tuscany (Fly to Pisa) and stay in Fattoria Fibbiano’s Agriturismo (a bit like a B&B) and give the wine that little bit extra aka la dolce vita Toscana ( oooooooh yeah)

Zia Livia’s homemade Gnocchi

July 8, 2013August 23, 2013 / dolcevitaspinelli / 1 Comment

I’m sure you have already heard me talking about my beloved zia Livia from Trieste? In case you didn’t she basically is a person that has a very central place in my heart. Next month she’ll become 80, but she has more energy than all of us together (REALLY) and when you see her you’d think she’s around 60 instead of 80. Anyhow for me she is the absolute best cook in the world as she first of all always makes all my favorite dishes and secondly because she makes everything fresh from scratch and gets her ingredients from farmers close to where she lives (so basically the best you’ve ever eaten). Two weeks ago I was visiting her again and man did she spoil me again (food wise that is). Today I want to share with you one of her recipes or better her recipe for making Gnocchi di patate which she serves with a “sugo di carne”, but you guys can serve it with regular tomato sauce or bolognaise or whichever sauce you want. Originally the Umbrian “patata rossa” is used to make gnocchi, but if you don’t find them it is important to use very floury potatoes.

Ingredients (for 4 people):

1 kg potatoes (floury)
250g flour
1 egg
Salt
30 g farm butter

Getting started:

Leave the potatoes unpeeled and cook them like you would normally cook them to make mashed potatoes. You can see when there are almost ready when the ‘skin’ starts to rip.
Peel the potatoes

Puree the potatoes using a food mill

Add a pinch of salt and butter to the potatoes and start kneading, add the egg once the potatoes are a bit cooler (not ice cold of course) and slowly add the flour. Keep kneading until you have a firm dough ball.

Cut off a piece and make a kind of “sausage” out of it (see pic below)

Cut the “sausage” in small equal (keep doing this until dough is done)

My aunt now finish them but rolling them over the backside of a cheese grater, but you can also use a for or just leave them like they are (the difference would just be that the ‘incisions will be able to absorb a little bit more sauce)

Boil salted water and put the ‘gnocchi in the water (one by one) once the water starts boiling.

When the ‘gnocchi’ start floating it means they are ready for serving.

Drain them

Put them in a bowl and add the sauce of your choice. Zia Livia adds her heavenly “sugo di carne”

Buon appetito

Italy, a heaven for food lovers part 2

April 17, 2012July 14, 2015 / dolcevitaspinelli / Leave a comment

No matter which region you visit in Italy, you’ll always be eating some great food and preferably lots of it:-). Obviously it is not only the north of Italy is gastronomically interesting, also the South of Italy has a lot to offer. One of my preferred regions in the South of Italy is Campania

Campania

Who says Campania, says Naples… (and Italians (including me) also say Antonio de Curtis) these two should just be mentioned in one breath. For me his region has f some of the most beautiful spots in Italy besides Naples , just think of the Costiera Amalfitana with cities like Sorrento, Salerno or the island Capri, ….

On a gastronomical level, Campania has an incredible heritage, as a few of the most well-known Italian products like Pasta, pizza, mozzarella and limoncello are originally from this region. I can only confirm that the best pizza I have ever eaten was in Campania! There are of course also other typical dishes from this region that you should just try, but you’ll see that like in the other southern regions in Italy, they use lots of lemons, orange, lam, garlic and cities close to the coast will use lots of fish and shellfish like octopus, sardines, anchovies to make the most yummy dishes you have ever had! There are some you should definitely try if you visit this region:

Spaghetti alle vongole
Neapolitan-style lasagna, (I so love lasagna),
Caprese with buffalo mozzarella and San Marzano tomatoes,
Capri Chocolate Cake,
Babà, a rum-soaked sponge cake
Pizza Margherita (you cannot go to Campania without trying the real thing!

I remember if it were yesterday, me sitting on the terrace on a nice summer evening, overlooking the sea at the Costiera Amalfitana with some spaghetti alle vongole and some local white wine (my fav. Is Greco di tufo from Di meo for example)…. …. I have never felt more relaxed….

Sicily

To me this is the most special region of them all, not only because it is an island. You can really see lots of influences of all the tribes that have concurred it, Ostrogoth’s, Byzantines, Arabs , Normans etc… A good example of a city where you think you’re not in Italy anymore is Cefalù, you really feel like being in Morocco or Tunisia.

Not only do you see it in the cities, but also the food is strongly influenced. Gastronomia della strada, is something you cannot miss in Sicily, these are all small stalls where you can buy traditional Sicilian dishes. Usually it are dishes like Panelle (like an omelet with chickpeas as a base (like Humus)), pane con la milza (like a hambuger), stigghiole (meat roles), quarume, fritola (fried fish) and one of my favorits, arancini (filled rice balls)

The central eating pattern of the Sicilians exists out of pasta, vegatables and they cannot live without bread with sesame seeds (something we have in common). Some great examples of dishes like these are

Pasta con le sarde (pasta with sardines)
Pasta alle Norma (Pasta with eggplant)
Pasta o niuru di siccia (nero di seppia/ squid)

Like I had already said, lam and fish play a central role in their cuisine, or fish.

A few of the must eat dishes with fish are ‘Alici crude al limone’ (little fishes with lemon) or some Agnello al forno… but the list of great dishes goes on and on…

If you have a sweet tooth, Sicily is the place for you as there desserts are really sweet (in every sense of the word. My personal favorite is Cannoli Siciliane!

The Sicilian wines (especially the red ones) are also getting better and better, but because the grapes see a lot of sun, the wines have quit a higher alcohol percentage…. One of my favorites is Don Pietro from Spadafora

When you would go to Sicily, try to visit, Cefalù, Taormina and Agrigento, you won’t regret it!

I could keep going on and on, but I have to stop somewhere… 😦

Italy a heaven for food lovers

April 16, 2012 / dolcevitaspinelli / Leave a comment

You cannot think of Italy and not think of food or gastronomy. If you can, something must be wrong 🙂 as this country just breathes food! What disturbs me sometimes is that people think you can only eat pasta and pizza in Italy, but this country has so much more to offer. Every region in Italy has different specialties. Picking out the best would be impossible, but there are a few that just have to be on your ‘to do’ list:

Emilia Romagna

My mouth is already watering just by thinking of this Region. For the non-food part, this region is famous because of Ferrari, Pavarotti, Giuseppe Verdi and for some of its cities like Modena, Parma or the University City Bologna (Also Rimini, but I’m not really in to that city). But when it comes to food, Emilia Romagna is actually known as the stomach of Italy.

Why? Very simple, this region has so many wonderful gastronomical products! Just think of the balsamic vinegar from Modena, or the Parmigiano Reggiano, or some of the famous meat products like Parma’s culatello or regular Parma ham and let’s not forget the mortadella the list goes on and on. You can maybe visit the museums of the taste (you could also see it is a big factory visit), this way you get to know all the regional products.

Just try to picture yourself sitting outside on a sunny day under a pergola and right in front of you, you have a plate full of Parma ham, Mortadella, salami, some bread and some local table wine … I would be heaven, wouldn’t you? Or maybe some strawberries with some aged balsamic vinegar might tickle your taste buds…

When you come to this region, you should be eating a few of the following dishes:

Lasagna Verdi (Green Lasagna) I love!!!
Cinnamon Flavoured Sweet Strozzapreti
Cappellacci with Ricotta Cheese
Salama da sugo” of Ferrara
Liver of an Adult Lamb with Balsamic Vinegar
Rice Cake
Zabaglione
Etc….

When it comes to wine, this region is less special (for me); the more famous local wines are the sparkling Lambrusco and the Trebbiano, but this region is not really known for its wines…

You can find more info on Emilia Romagna on following website

Piedmont

I don’t think this region needs an introduction, because I’m sure you’ve all read my previous posts about this region. When visiting I’m sure you’ll be taking a wonderful gastronomical trip, with some of the best products available like White Truffles, Barolo wine, etc… Ok, these two might not be the cheapest, but when you are in this region, you just have to try them (if not here, I’m not sure where you should be trying them).

Another very big trademark from this region is chocolate, as one of THE most famous chocolate companies in the world is from this region, Ferrero (I couldn’t live without Nutella!!).

You can see that this region is close to the French boarder, lots of dishes have a French touch…

Which dishes you should really try when visiting this region:

Vitello Tonnato,
Agnolotti,
Tajarin al tartufo,
steak tartare (piemonte style), (aka Carne All Albese)
Insalata Russa
Brassato
Etc….

Wine if definitely one of THE most important products of this region and also one of my favorites (together with the Valpolicella wines from around Verona). I know that Barolo might sometimes be expensive, but this region has lots of alternatives wines that are as majestic as the Barolo. Wines like Barbaresco, Barbera, Dolcetto and for the sparkling wine lovers with a sweet tooth you also have the Moscato d’Asti. One of my preferred vineyards near Alba is without any doubt Batasiolo

For more information I would like to refer you to one of my previous blog posts about Torino or 2 of the other posts: 1 or 2

Tomorrow more of my favorite food regions…

Verona, more than Romeo and Juliet

March 19, 2012May 2, 2014 / dolcevitaspinelli / Leave a comment

First of all, sorry that I haven’t been posting for a while… the reason for that was that I needed to study for an exam related to my job and therefore not too much time was left to write blogs. BUT the good news is, that I passed the exam and that I can now blog again 🙂

This I want to talk to you guys about one of my favorite cities in Italy, Verona. You know, the city of Romeo and Juliet…. Although this city and the region around it has so much more to offer than Shakespeare’s tragic love story. Like lots of Italian cities, Verona is also filled with history. Did you know that Verona has an arena like the Coliseum that is still used today ? An absolute must would be seeing Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Aida , even for people who don’t really have a thing for opera, you cannot believe the magic hanging in this Verona Arena on summer evenings filled with lights. Trust me, this is an experience you DO NOT want to miss.

Like I said before, most people know Verona as the city of Romeo and Juliet, so a visit to the famous balcony won’t hurt anybody J FYI, it is said that it brings luck if you touch Juliet’s boob 🙂 I’m sure you’ll know which one to touch, as that is one shiiiiiiny boob 🙂

Verona is an open-air museum, every street holds hidden treasures, not that I’m somebody who wants to know where every stone of an ancient building was made, but if something is beautiful… it just is 🙂 like piazza delle erbe, piazza dei Signori, etc… Although I have to admit that the charm Piazza delle erbe had before with the open-air market is not there anymore, as they now replaced it with some fixed souvenir stalls… but good things the buildings around it are still breathtaking beautiful

Walking and actually being in this city always makes me happy, and not only because of the thought I’ll be having great food :-). Speaking of which 🙂 🙂 This is another reason to come to Verona (but this I could say for a lot of places in Italy).

Especially the wine, as man do they have great wines with the Amarone as the ‘top’ of the bill . The reason this wine is so special, is that after the grapes are picked they dry the grapes in wooden boxes and with the juice that they catch they make the Amarone, with the grapes left in the box they make the Ripassa or Ripasso (which means re-use). My preferred Valpolicella vineyards (this is the region where Amarone gets made) would be Buglioni , Le Salette and from the bigger producers it would be Masi and Allegrini. Other great wines from this region are Bardolino, Lugana (white) and Soave (white), but I’m sure Bardolino sounds the most familiar (as the town is right at the Garda lake). I would really advise you to visit one of the vineyards!! The vineyard of Masi is quite impressive.

In case you are a true wine lover, I’ve got something even better. Every year around March/April all the Italian (and also a lot of foreign) vineyards set sail to VinItaly. Vinitaly is one of the most important and biggest wine trade fairs around and more the 4000 exhibitors are present for over 50 000 visitors from over the whole world. I’ve already been a lot of times to this trade fair, and it is impressive and I highly recommend to already plan which wine houses you want to visit at the fair. (and to keep eating while you taste, you’ll thank me at the end of the event 😉 )

Who says wine, says food 🙂 they just have to go together (for me anyway). Did you know that Verona is also the town where Giovanni Rana (from the ravioli you in supermarkets) comes from and you can find a restaurant from Rana right across the Arena, where you can see how they freshly make the pasta …. I’ve not been here yet though …

When I go to Verona, there are only 2 restaurants/osteria’s I want to go to. There are probably a lot of great restaurants, but these who are just tooooooo good and NOT touristy and that is what is all about when you’re somewhere!

The first one is the ‘Taverna di via Stella’, this is also my dad’s favorite restaurant in Verona, every year we were at VinItaly we had to have at least 1 meal here 🙂 . It might look a simple place, but the food is wonderful (local cuisine) and a very good choice of wines local and non-local ,but I always go for local wines. Look at the picture below, if you don’t feel like going when seeing that picture or open the website… I don’t know what will convince you? (just picture that ham on a plate with a glass of Amarone, mmmm)

My other place of sins I love going is actually the Osteria del bugiardo from vineyard Buglioni. .Fresh made food with great Buglioni wines, the best combination. Like Taverna di via stella, this is also a place where only local Italians come … and you can also buy their wine here in case you want to take some home (I like the Ripasso and Valpolicella superiore) . For even more refined dining you could also go to their Locanda in the evening .

Go to these two and you’ll have the best of Verona without any doubt!

For those who would want to sleep in or around Verona, I would suggest to maybe try an agriturismo.

One that I want to a few times was ‘El Pendola’ where Anna Maria tries to make you feel at home. And she really succeeds in this, as I really feel at home every time I stay there. Buglioni also has a very nice agriturismo .

Or what we mostly do with my dad is stay at the Garda Lake, than you’ll have a room with a view 🙂 and a lot of nice places to visit. We already stayed at Hotel Excelsior which has an incredible view over the lake and is only 15 min. drive (or less depending on traffic) from Verona.

You can maybe do the Strade del vino (Bardolino), but I’ll be posting about the Garda lake really soon.

Hope you feel like going to Verona.

Enjoy

My dad and I part 2

January 24, 2012May 2, 2014 / dolcevitaspinelli / Leave a comment

So far, so good … the lunch at Sassella was just incredible (as always). We didn’t only come for food … (does that sound convincible?) We also came here to visit family, or better, to visit my grandmother aka ‘La nonna’ 🙂 . On the picture below, La nonna is at the left (with the white sweater), the lady in black is her best friend… They are both so tiny

After that we decided to visit my niece (Francesca) who has a hotel/restaurant at Bormio 2000 (and since Christmas also a pizza kiosk). FYI, the hotel is called Cedrone . I always like coming here, because the view you have from up here, is just wonderful. Especially on a sunny day like this day …

I’m not really in to skiing, but this is one of the few times I really wanted to do some skiing… but my sickness decided otherwise.

I can really recommend it to everybody!! Go Bormio Go!

In case you might decide to come to Bormio, you should also visit the town of Bormio, which is a nice picturesque little town.

A must when you’re in town is to stop a the brewery/ distillery of Braulio, a local Amaro filled with herbs from the mountains. In case you’re not too keen on Amaro, they also have a beer brewery 🙂 (or you might wanna try one of their grappa’s when it is cold 😉

And unfortunately this was my last evening of good health L after this the rest of my holiday I was sick. And instead of gastronomical dishes, I ate white rice, light soups, etc… WHY ME??? But I have to thank my family for their good care (especially my dad)

Anyway, I really hope you guys get to explore Valtellina one day as you get the Italian flair, food and hospitality at its best!! In Summer and winter

My dad and I

January 23, 2012May 2, 2014 / dolcevitaspinelli / Leave a comment

Ok, we’re back in business… Not that I’ve ever been out of business :-),but just a matter of speak

I’m sure all of you guys have read that I actually went on a trip to visit my family or my grandmother to be more précised .What actually was supposed to be a wonderful trip and time with my dad and family

Turned out as a week inside my grandmother’s apartment. Why because as of day 2 day I was sick and this up to today :-(. But let me focus on the 1 day I was still perfectly ok 🙂

So me and my dad decided to visit my grandmother who lives near Bormio a well-known for skiing and is located in the Valtellina valley in the north of Lombardy . This time it had been 4years since the last time I was here…. But every time I come here it is more beautiful and for the week we were there, the sun kept shining… it couldn’t be more perfect. Getting here is usually the tricky part… as we didn’t want to drive the whole way from Belgium up to Bormio, we booked a flight to Verona (we paid 24 EUR per person, YES 24), were we rented a car to drive via Lago d’iseo towards to Val camonica to than take the passo del tonale or Edolo/Aprica…. To make a long story short, this takes you through nature’s most beautiful sites, even after 28 years I’m still as stung by its beauty like the first time I saw it.

As we arrived in the evening we went to my aunt’s house to have dinner… She prepared my favorite dish (from the region), Pizzoccheri … They were really nice, but not just yet like the once from “La nonna”.

Up to day 2 and to a trip filled with food, food and family :-).

Now that I’m in Italy with my dad, the theme food is evening more present than when I’m alone 🙂

Our first lunch just had to be at my and my dad’s favorite hotel/ restaurant ‘Sassella da Jim’

Where they combine the best of the mountains with the right know how and a sauce of friendliness. Coming here even just for a quick lunch is a must!! We took the “Menu del giorno” that today was: veduri ai ferri (grilled vegetables), Crespelle al bitto e bresaolo, (I LOVE), bocconcini di manzo ai funghi and a dolce della casa (I took the apple pie, I soooooo love apple pie). You look at these pictures and tell me you wouldn’t want to taste this???

YUMMY. We drunk a Mazer from Nino Negri with this

To be continued….

Feel like Tomba La Bomba! part 2

November 24, 2011May 2, 2014 / dolcevitaspinelli / Leave a comment

And so the story continues

As you might expect my trips wouldn’t be perfect without Gastronomy :-), especially when I’m with my family. And Valtellina (this is the region Bormio and Livigno are in) has a lot to offer.

When you have a little walk through the ‘city’ center of Bormio, it is not big, but reaaaaaally nice and you might wanna stop at the original shop of Braulio, this is THE local Amaro or bitter beverage based on aromatic mountain herbs (my brother’s preferred amaro).

Some local dishes/products you should REALLY try are

– Pizzoccheri (my favorite)

a type of short tagliatelle, a flat ribbon pasta, made with buckwheat flour and wheat flour. They are cooked along with green Savoy cabbage, potatoes and layered with pieces of Valtellina Casera cheese and ground Grana Padano or Parmigiano Reggiano, and dressed with butter and sage. The ones my grandmother makes are really the best!! Mmm, just thinking of them makes me want them NOW

– Sciatt: these are small balls (like cheese crockets) made with buckwheat and stuffed with Casera cheese (or another local cheese like bito or Scimudin)

– Bresaola is dried salted beef meat aged for two years. I used to be from horse meat, but nowadays it is just beef

– There are still lots of other dishes to explore in this region (fyi if you are on a diet, you’re screwed 🙂 )

Ofcourse all this heavy food needs can’t stand on its own, it needs to wine to go with it 🙂

The 2 biggest vineyards are Nino Negri & Nera. Both of superb quality. Something that you must know about the wines from this region, is that they are also made of Nebiollo grapes (like in Piemonte for Barolo) in combination with the local Chiavernasca grape. White wines are rather exceptional in this region as most of the vineyards make red wine. A White wine from this region that I like a lot is the Ca’brione from Nino Negri. The red wines you’ll have to try are Inferno, Grumello, Sassella and Sforzato. Sforzato is the top of the bill!! Really!! Very Yummy. You should also try Fruit grappa with Mertilli for example from Schenatti. (FYI, you also visit this vineyards if you want)

Some suggestions of restaurants and hotels:

Hotel Posta Bormio

Via Roma, 66

Bormio (SO)

Tel +39 0342 904753

Hotel Cedrone

Bormio 2000 (SO)

23030 Italia

Tel +39 0342 902510

Hotel Sassella (very good food)

Via Roma 2

23033 Grosio (SO)

Tel: +39 0342 84 72 72

Challet Ristorante Mattias (1 Michelin star)

Via Canton 124

23030 Livigno

Tel: +39 0342 997 794

This are just a few, there are many more nice places to discover

Get inspired by this wonderful region! Also in Summertime it is beautiful to make walkingtrips in the mountains, to Valle di Rezzalo.

Feel like Tomba La Bomba!

November 23, 2011May 2, 2014 / dolcevitaspinelli / 1 Comment

With the winter and snow coming, I’m sure lots of you guys will be looking forward to go on their winter holidays and start skiing (or snowboarding) again?

If this is indeed the case, I would advise you to go to Bormio or Livigno. Not only because my dad was born in Bormio and that most of my family lives here, but also a world renowned ski places! Bormio for example has already hosted the World Ski Championships a few times and is also one of the preferred World Ski Circuit stops. So if you like the challenge, you can feel like Alberto Tomba or Debora Compagnioni (who you can even bump into, as they often come here to ski). Livigno on the otherhad would be most famous as being a tax free-ski village right next to the Swiss border. Livigno has 115 km of slopes at a height of 1815m until 2797m.

I’ve really been looooooooooots of times to this region, mainly to visit my family ofcourse. Not so much for skiing strange enough… I just don’t like doing it. The only thing I do like is the “après-ski” 😉

BUT both Bormio and Livigno have options for the people who just like the white mountains and don’t like skiing. In Bormio I highly recommend to go to the Bagni Vecchi , warm water source. You can either go to the natural source (you used to be able to swim in them), you can go to the public pool (but believe me, you won’t be swimming too long in that hot water) or you could go to the Bagni Nuovo Spa

The most beautiful view over Bormio is without when you are at Bormio 2000, a view over the whole valley. You should really stop at hotel Gallo Cedrone, which happens to be my cousin Francesca’s hotel 🙂 they are right next to the ski lift to go to 3000m and they have a really big terrace where you can enjoy a hot coco or grappa to warm up in winter (or just a glass of wine to enjoy the view in summer). Most of the food they prepare comes from their own farm.