Roadtripping through Portugal: The Douro Valley

July 23, 2014July 23, 2014 / dolcevitaspinelli / Leave a comment

The most memorable panoramic views we’ve seen during our trip were without any doubt those of the vineyards in the Douro valley. I might even say that it were some of the most beautiful vineyards I have ever seen. It had something mystical to it… also your respect for the winegrowers or better for the grape pickers grows enormously as all of the grapes are handpicked!!! I’m sure the harvest here takes a bit longer than in other parts of the world 🙂

Do try to take a little cruise on the Douro River (if the weather permits it, unfortunately for us it didn’t), it normally takes 2,5hours (you can also take one for a whole day if you really like it) and brings you to some very beautiful place and gives you a totally different perspective and will bring to some very beautiful little towns aboard the Douro river like Pinhão with a very picturesque little train station and São João da Pesqueira with the beautiful Praça da República.

What many people actually don’t know it the importance of the Douro River for the Port wine? Did you know that the Port wine is actually made in the Douro valley, as it is here were all the vineyards are (there non in Porto itself) and until the 1960’s all the Port wines got transported over water (aka the Douro River) in barrels to Vila Nova de Gaia where the Port wine would be aging, bottled and exported all over the world with Porto as starting shipping point (which is right at the opposite site of the over the river from Vila Nova de Gaia). Nowadays they obviously use more modern ways to transport the wines to Vila Nova de Gaia. This is why you will also be finding all the Port estates here in the Douro valley represented by a Quinta.

During our stay we slept at the Douro Folgosa Hotel, which is right t the waterfront. If you prefer a bit more luxury and a massage from time to time I’d recommend you to go to the Aquapura Duoro Valley hotel. If you have a bit of time and like refined gastronomical food, do try to stop at restaurant DOC, one of the 3 restaurants from Chef Riu Paula located right on the Douro river across the Douro Folgosa Hotel. I don’t think they are Michelin star awarded, but they definitely are at that level on both service and food!! The cuisine they serve is one I like a lot, as it is simpel with a twist… I mean you still know what you’re eating and they still were able to add that bit of special to it 🙂

Please feast your eyes on our lunch menu they served us at DOC all paired with Niepoort wines (I’ll be talking more about Niepoort). I loved every single dish and wine, it is true the hamburgers might seem small, but that were full of taste :-). We finished our meal with a glass filled with a heavenly drink aka a 1998 Niepoort Colhieta

If you would drive towards Porto, take the old road for a while before going on the highway. We did this while heading to Porto and I can say that even though there are quite a few turns it was a very relaxing drive through the hills of the Douro valley

BUT the mean reason to come to the Douro valley is for its wines… more about my visit to the wine crazy Dirk Niepoort and the beautiful Quinta do Popa vineyard in my next blog posts

Luis Pato

July 22, 2014October 14, 2014 / dolcevitaspinelli / Leave a comment

Before I continue talking about the rest of our Portugal trip I do want to say a few words about Luis Pato. Luis Pato is the 4^th generation of wine making Pato family, who took over the family business from his father around the 1980’s. Luis Pato is a true legend in Portugal as he has had a very big impact on Barraida wines (or Beiras wines as he prefers calling them) or maybe even wines from all over Portugal… I think an addition of the words modernizer and innovator might be at its place here, as that is what he was/is for Portuguese wines. One of the biggest breaks with tradition was the changing from chestnut barrels to French oak and the usage of modern techniques like working with stainless steel vats. This innovation is a big step forward to be able to control the temperatures at which you want to do the fermentation and therefore also have a better control of the quality of your finished-product.

The words you are looking for are “cool” or “Wow, I didn’t know that “ 🙂 no just kidding, I know this might seem like a minor change, but I can guaranty you it wasn’t! I love talking to people like Luis Pato who have passion for what they do! The signs of knowing if people are doing their job with passion is for example the sparkle in their eyes when they are talking about it and when they are able to transmit this sparkle to you.. Also their drive on always wanting to make something new, to learn and experiment and trying to do “better” than the last time…

FYI the reason Luis is holding a duck, is because Pato means duck in Portuguese 🙂

At one side Luis broke with tradition by using new ‘more modern’ ways of making wine, but on the other hand he did embrace the “tradition” of only using only local and sometimes even forgotten grape varieties. A big surprise at that time was Luis putting a big focus on the “Baga” grape that until than had a reputation of producing harsh red wines that are not drinkable at young age and therefore need to age to mellow and lighten their flavors. This was before our dear friend Luis came along (for some reason I hearing the Superman tune in my head right now 😉 ). Luis Pato showed everybody Baga deserved more respect! I FYI Baga has similarities with the Italian Nebbiolo grape, and it can even approach the elegance of riper Pinot Noir vintages. To make long story shorter, it all went well and now thanks to Luis Pato (who influenced lots of winemakers on to also start doing this, now known as Baga friends) Baga wines are now know over the whole world and finally gets the recognition it always deserved! I had one sip of the 2001 Vinhas Velhas and was sold 🙂 (all the wines that followed just confirmed my first thought and feeling)

What I think is the biggest reward for somebody like Luis, is the recognition and the fact that winemakers from other regions in Portugal started to ask Luis’ help on improving their wine making and in that way also contributing in showing the world that Portugal is not just that country right next to Spain! Something I do hope to be part of one day is to one of Luis Pato’s famous signature lunches, where famous national and international chefs try to find the perfect dishes to serve with the Pato wines… 😉

Luis Pato’s future is also being covert, as not only Filipa, but also his other 2 daughters Luisa (who is also doing a very good job in making very nice olive oil) and Maria João help a hand in the wine making. And who knows maybe Fernao or Kiko (Filipa’s children)will be covering the 6th generation and get bitten by the same wine loving bugs as his all their ancestors… I do hope so! Luis did already make a wine to celebrate the birth of his grandson Ferñao 🙂

Find the whole Luis Pato wine assortment of wines on the following link

Authentic wines without make-up: Filipa Pato

July 15, 2014October 14, 2014 / dolcevitaspinelli / 1 Comment

Time to talk vineyard 🙂 finally getting to my part of the deal 😉 (She got her beach time). As I mentioned before, Barraida has another thing it is famous for (not as famous yet as they should be, but they’re getting there) and that’s for their wines… Baga wines to be more precise. Just like for tourism Portugal is often forgotten as a wine country (besides may be for its Porto and Mateus wine) sad enough… but thanks to my blogpost this will change 🙂 🙂

My love for Portuguese wines and interest to travel Portgual all started with the Filipa Pato wines (and William Wouters). NO, I’m not saying this to suck up, it’s just a fact!! I’m sure you all also read my old blogpost about my diner with Filipa Pato wines? I’m not sure when I first tried Filipa’s wines, but of 1 thing I’m sure and that is that I tried at the Pazzo winebar.

FYI it must also be said that if it weren’t for Filipa and William (her husband) our Portugal trip would have had worse food 😉

What I admire about Filipa Pato aka daughter of legendary Portugese winemarker Luis Pato (I’ll talk more about him in a next blogpost)is that even though she could have easily just joined her father’s wine estate, she chose to first go and find her own way (with obviously from time to time some valuable advice from her father)… which after around 13 years results in that people are not referring to Filipa as “daughter from”, but to Luis as “father from” 🙂 :-). As you can find her wines from Belgium, to Brazil, to Japan and to god knows where… (here a list of the global distributors 🙂 )

Making wine runs through Filipa’s veins , wine making in the Pato family already goes back for 5 generations (both at her mother’s side as her father’s side) which I think gave Filipa a solid background to build upon. A background she gets reminded of every day as her vineyard is right next to her father’s vineyard and grandmother’s house (a feisty 90 years old lady). A golden rule Filipa takes into account is respecting her Portuguese heritage. She does this by only using autochthon Portuguese/Barraida grapes with the goal making quality products (wine without make-up) showing the world Portugal’s greatness and know-how. A very important influencing factor was Filipa’s marriage to my dear friend Belgian top sommelier William Wouters (that’s right, from restaurant Pazzo). To say it in her own words “He introduced me to many different wines from regions I only knew from the books. He helped me opening up my horizons again to more wine and gastronomy.” But this influence works in both ways as I think William learned more about winemaking itself… he added the practical knowledge to the theoretic knowledge. Not only did this marriage lead to 2 adorable children, it also resulted in some great wines like Nossa :-).

The Barraida wine region is mostly known for its deep colored tannic full flavoured red wines (FYI they also make some nasty (positive sense of the word) white wines 🙂 ) that has got the highest wine labelling in Portugal aka DOC (Denominação de Origem Controlada) which means these wines can only be produced in this area/region. The wines in this region get mostly made with one (or a mix of) the following grape varieties: Baga, Borrado das Moscas, Castelao Frances, Fernao Pires, Rabo de Ovelha and Tinta Pinheira. With for me Baga as one of my favourites. A great added value to the region is the Barraida viticultural museum . Here you’ll learn all about the wine region’s history and winemaking and also find a huuuuuge collection of corkscrews. A very interesting museum that is worth a visit.

The baga grape is also the red wire through the Filipa Pato wines. Besides the Nossa, the aim of Filipa is to make wine to drink and without make-up. With this I mean wine that you can immediately drink when buying the bottle and that doesn’t have to age to be at its best. For the Nossa this is a different story which is the vineyard’s TOP wine and is best to drink after aging a few more years. (I’m still trying not to open my Nossa’s I have at home, not easy). The fun part about making wine is the fact that besides making your ‘principal’ selection of wine, you also get to experiment trying to find a new wine. Choosing to either use old casks, new casks, Eastern Europe oak, Canadian oak, French oak, which grapes variety mixes, etc… an endless choice of varieties to be tested. For Filipa the last experiment lead to the creation of Espírito de Baga . Well Filipa, all the hard work was definitely worth it as it is a very nice and elegant wine and as I discovered a very good match with the roasted chicken we had and I talked to you about in my previous blogpost. And if she gets bored of making regular wines, she still has a line of Espumante that she can “play” with. I was surprised to see that in this region all wine estates have a very wide range of products, some white wine, red wine, espumante and sometimes also a sweeter wine… this way everybody will find something of his liking.

I’d better stop talking as I getting carried away again by my enthusiasm. The last thing I’ll add is my curiosity for all the future wines Filipa and William will be making now that William decided to dedicate 100% ( of 99%) to winemaking and his family… but I’m sure it’ll be great. You guys rock my world!!

In case you guys also want to try Filipa Pato’s wines, check the list of distributors all over the world that will be able to tell you where you can find their wines. OOOOR if you are ever in Belgium you can always stop at the Pazzo winebar or restaurant where you’ll be able to taste all the Filipa Pato wines 🙂

Roadtripping through Portugal: Curia

July 9, 2014 / dolcevitaspinelli / 2 Comments

What I find a pity is when people decide to travel to Portugal they just stick to either the Algarve region or Lisbon, but Portugal is so much more than only those 2 and that are as beautiful if not more beautiful. A good example of this would be Beira region aka know as the centre of Portugal which is half way between Lisbon and Porto. In and around this region you’ll be finding cities like Coimbra, Curia, Aveiro, etc…and this region is also known for its SPA’s 🙂 just FYI

If you would ever be traveling to Portugal and want to stay in special hotels, you might want to consider the hotels of Alexander de Almeida’s group which are all historical hotels that were renovated just like they were when they opened. I can say for a fact that they one by one very spectacular. During our 5 day stay in the Curia area in the enormous Curia Palace a Bell époque hotel that first opened its doors in 1926 (created by Alexandre de Almeida, the current owner’s grandfather) and had Portugal’s first outdoor Olympic swimming pool (I gave it a test drive 😉 ). I know I’ll be repeating these words a lot during all my posts, but this was one of the beautiful hotels I have ever seen!! You feel like dressing up like in the 1920’s… everything is exactly how it was when the hotel first opened its doors (but with of course a few modern aspects like mini bars in the room)… just wonderful (obviously if you only like trendy modern hotels, this won’t be your piece of cake).

The deal between me and my fiancee is always that I get my vineyards if she gets her beach time… so a promise is a promise…ok not that I don’t like going to the beach, but I wouldn’t be able to stay still and lay on the beach 14days in a row. The part I love about sitting at the beach is staring at the sea which always seems so endless!! When it comes to beaches Portugal has a very big choice of beaches, so just like for restaurants, hotels, etc… I ask advice to somebody who knows the area very well (thanks Filipa!!) and the beautiful beach we were advised to go was Costa Nova , a small town just outside of Aveiro. Wide/large spread beaches where even when it is busy it feels like there is nobody on the beach. That is the kind of beach I like and is exactly what Costa Nova’s beach is like. Costa nova is a small beach town filled with very colorful houses with from most parts of town a water view.

As if faith wanted it, there also happened to be a very nice fish restaurant called Dori right above the local Costa Nova fish market (the deal was regarding vineyards, there was nothing said about restaurants 😉 ). Simple fish dishes, but again the simplicity makes it so njammy (we went back 2 times, so I guess we liked it) and a very nice price…

If one would have told me I would be eating the best chicken I have ever eaten in a local Curia restaurant, I would have told him/ her they were crazy… but I got proven otherwise. Our friend Filipa took us to restaurante Pompeu dos Frangos to taste this famous chicken. WOW, really WOW… not sure how they did it (I’m sure it is the type of seasoning), but that was one tasty chicken :-). I was also told that this restaurant used to be a stop for the postal office/ stop to sleep and eat form back in the days when everybody was still riding horse and carriage (so also the horses got to eat and sleep here)… so kid of an old school highway gas station. The restaurant also tried to keep as many original elements as possible.

The bigger city that is worth visiting while you are in the area is University city Coimbra (take good shoes, as you have to climb a bit to get to the university). With an obligated visit to the university’s old library and you get the marvellous view over the city as a bonus

For the non vegetarians (or better the meat lover) when you are in the Curia area you must try the Leitao or Barraida style roasted pork. The best place to do this, is at the king of Leitao aka restaurant Mugasa. The pig they prepare here is every chef’s dream, so you won’t be surprised if I tell you lots of Michelin starred chefs from all over the world came to Mugasa for their Leitoa. Again here simplicity is the rule… but that’s what we like right?

The main reason to visit Barraida are their Baga wines. But more about that in my next blogpost!!

Roadtripping through Portugal: Lisbon

July 7, 2014July 7, 2014 / dolcevitaspinelli / 1 Comment

When you do a Portugal roadtrip Lisbon is an inevitable stop or destination. Obviously already because of it is Portugal’s capital city, but also because of its heritage!! There is so much to see and to discover in this city. Lisbon was much larger than I had imagined it, not that I thought it would be a teeny tiny village, but that it was so spread out, no… not even in my wildest dreams ;-). I need to confess that the first day in Lisbon we were very lazy (Yes woman of mine! If you are reading this, you know we were) and the idea of having to do some climbing wasn’t helping! (as you might know Lisbon isn’t a flat city, it has quit the few hills…) so the best idea seemed to start our holiday in a very touristy way by taking the Hop-on hop-off bus tour (Yellow Bus) this way you get a very good overview of the whole city and decide what you would want to see in more detail the following days (when feeling less lazy). Good thing for us, the bus stopped right in front of the hotel 🙂 🙂 (Yes, it was that level of laziness)

That first impression of the city was a slightly overwhelming one, because ever corner you turn and street you cross you see things reminding you the important role in discovering the world as we know it today Lisbon has played. Something that colors up the city is the beautiful tilings you see, it really brightens up the city. A square I enjoyed maybe most was Praça do Comércio , first of all as it reminded me of one of my favorite squares ever Piazza unita d’Italia in Trieste. Just like in Trieste this square is the gate to the town. On Praça do Comércio the entrance to the city is a very beautiful one through the Arco da rua Augusta which is as majestic as the square. I’m sure it is the waterfront that makes me happy on squares like this… I love the sea/ocean/ water smell. I can still see us sitting at the waterfront , feeling the sun on our skin, seeing old trams passing buy and thinking what we wanted to see next… (and ok the square is also a very good people watching spot 😉 ) Oh and if you look at your left (or right depending which way you’re looking) you get a very good view of Lisbon’s Golden Gate bridge or the 25 de Abril bridge which is its correct name.

There are sooooo many things to see and try in Lisbon: Belém, Pasteis de Belém, taking the Santa Justa lift to have a great overview of the city, do some shopping Avenida da Liberdade or around Rua Garrett, go to Sintra, Cascais, … I really would know which one I would need to say you to visit first?? Just explore the whole city that makes it easier for me 😉 no no, just kidding… try to get to the Mercado da Reibera if you’re a foodlover and even architechtural lover, this is a large indoor market (like the Boqueria in Barcelona). For the most beautiful view over the cities you could either go up the Santa Justa Lift or or when you up at the Jardim Amalia Rodrigues. I won’t even start talking about all the palaces there are because I’d be going on and on about it :-). And one more thing don’t be afraid to take a taxi, their price is very reasonable!Also try to get to the new part of town (Parque das Nações.)

Something I find my duty to share with you is where you should be eating 🙂 (sure you didn’t see this one coming) as like in lots of other capitals or cities there are a lot of tourist traps and I really HATE the restaurants where they try to drag you in when you pass them!!! This said I first need to thank my friend William as he was the one advising me all these spots I’ll be sharing with you (he lived in Lisbon for a few years and like good food as much or maybe even more than me 😉 ) Something I learned during my trip through Portugal is that the Portuguese have a soft spot for sweets and desserts. Every town and even every small village has its own pastry or dessert (mostly existing of egg yolks 🙂 ). If you have the same soft spot (guilty as charged) there are 2 places you must visit. First there is the Confeitaria de Belém to eat the world famous ‘pasteis de Belém’. Secondly there is the Confeitaria Nacional which is an institute when it comes to pastry in Lisbon (Good luck with only sticking to 1 piece of sweetness ;-), I know I didn’t) where they also make the pasties de belèm… maybe do a little own test to see which one you prefer.

If on the other had you are a shellfish fan Cervejaria Ramiro will be your Walhalla. The difficult part is definitely deciding what kind you feel like eating as they have all nominations of (local) crabs, lobsters, clams, etc… which you will also be seeing in fish tanks all around you (even just outside the bathroom) so they are FRESH that is sure!! So if the menu doesn’t help to decide you just point to which shellfish you want to eat. Everything is served in a very simple way with some buttered toast and lemon, heavenly that’s all I want to say (simple is the best). We shared a lobster, although the rock lobster or crab or langoustine that we saw passing by looked great as well. Oh and you’re not able to book a table at this restaurant so you might need to queue up for a while, but if worth it I promise you! BTW don’t expect a fancy restaurant as it isn’t, so entering in shorts isn’t a problem 🙂

Foodies and winelovers who are also big soccer fans will like Solar dos Presuntos (but I’m sure all other people will like it as well) as the walls on all 3 floors of the restaurant are filled with pictures and signed jersey’s from famous soccer players that ate at this restaurant… sometimes “big” restaurant like this scare me as you’re never sure what the quality of the food and service will be, but in this case I can say for a fact that it was impeccable, but I didn’t expect otherwise under the coordination of Augustinho. I was advised by my friend William that I absolutely had to try the sea bass cooked in a salt crust, but as it was a 2 person dish and my fiancée didn’t feel like taking it I took the Grilled stone bass with roasted potatoes “a murro” and spinach puree… again the simplicity itself, but ooooh so good. Also try the Pata negra ham!! It is freshly cut. I know you’ll probably be thinking that I’m saying this because I’m an Italian… but until now I was never impressed with the Pata negra hams I ate, not until the one they served at Solar dos Presuntos was one very very tasty Pata Negra that did change my idea and shows again that is all comes down to the quality of product you buy. They also a very nice wine selection!! Just have them advice you and I’m sure you’ll get the prefect wine. I finished with this meal with a slice of almond tart (still dreaming about it).

For a great selection of old madeira’s a stop at Gambrinus is a must!! They have an incredible selection…. Gambrinus is in the same street as Solar dos Presuntos. In contrast with what lots of people think, Portugal also has some very nice meats (mostly Pork) not only fish. There are 2 places in Lisbon (that I know) where you’ll taste the best/tastiest pieces of Porco Preto (a local Porc kind). The first one is O Mattos, where we got very well explained the level of greasiness of every piece of pork J. If you are a meatlover like me I’m sure you’ll appreciate the Secretos or the Pluma cut (I’m sure you know which cut I took). But I’m sure if these are too fat there are enough cuts of meat that are less ‘fat’ or even fat free. The grill all their meat and is served with some kind of spinach puree and baked potatoes. Again here a very nice wine selection (I’m sure Antonio will advice you well). FYI I didn’t just get the piece you see on the picture below, there was a whole tray of meat next to us 🙂

The second must-do place for Porco Preto is restaurante Carvoaria Jacto. Unfortunately didn’t make it here as our days in Lisbon were numbered, but form all I’ve heard it is for pork meat what Ramiro is for shellfish 🙂 I could still give you many more restaurant tips, but I’ll keep them for another time.

Even though Lisbon was great and very beautiful, but what was about to come was even greater !! Stay tuned for more about beautiful Portugal…

Roadtripping though Portugal

July 1, 2014July 1, 2014 / dolcevitaspinelli / 1 Comment

It that time of year again… everybody starts packing their bags and starts traveling. My fiancée and I prefer traveling outside of the busy travel periods July and August which usually results in us coming back when others are ready for leaving. This year it finally seemed like the perfect time to travel to Portugal, a trip I’ve already wanted to make for years… what pulled the trigger to travel to Portugal was my fiancee’s enthusiasm after her surf trip last year to Portugal (her blogpost). Portugal is a destination that gets underestimated, most people travel to Spain but for some reason never seem to make it across the Portuguese border… so with all my coming blogposts I’ll try to convince all those people to travel those few extra miles as it is really worth it!!

The thing that I feared the most was the language barrier, I speak Italian, French, Spanish and I do understand a bit of Portuguese… but talking it is a different story. So I was very curious on how the Portuguese people’s language skills would be?! A very big surprise I must say!!! That some would speak English I expected, but the amount of people speaking a very good level of French was definitely unexpected for me… also to see that most movies or tv-series weren’t dubbed, but subtitled (big step ahead in comparison to Spain or Italy and even France) . So I was very convinced that Portugal would have many more surprises for us during this trip…

One thing I was sure of when I started planning our Portugal trip (around December/January) is that I wanted to see the ‘real’ Portugal and not only the Algarve beaches (how beautiful they might be). A good combination of city tripping and time at the beach was the ideal scenario… I think I managed it well (or at least I didn’t hear my fiancée complain 😉 ). We started our trip in Lisboa, continued towards Curia where besides visiting the vineyard from friends we were able to have some beach time (Costa Nova) and we stayed at one most beautiful hotels ever!! We continued to Portugal’s “Bordeaux” region, aka the Douro valley which is one of the most beautiful landscapes I have ever seen!!! (Visiting vineyards was just mandatory… no choice) We eventually finished our trip in Porto which was much bigger than I had imagined it to be… and how else by visiting a Porto winemaker (some things you just can’t get around…)

Please stay tuned for my stories about how Portugal got a special place in my heart and became one of my favorite countries to travel to..

One year older

June 13, 2014 / dolcevitaspinelli / Leave a comment

The fun part about celebrating your birthday is getting gifts (no doubt about that!). When my fiancée asks me what I want for my birthday, my answer is usually the same… having a nice meal 🙂 FYI having a nice meal doesn’t mean it has to be a fancy restaurant, if it is that’s a bonus. For me the most important is that I get to eat/drink well and this in her company! And ok, she spoils me a lot as she always gives me some extra presents on top of the meal. What did differ from last year was that this time I gave no tips on where I wanted to go, I just gave her the names of a few friends who could advice her where to take me (in case she didn’t know it herself that is), this way it stays a bigger surprise than when I give her a list of places…. It got proven once again that I’m a very lucky guy, she took me to “La Table de Maxime” in a little town near the Luxembourg border called ‘Our’. Even though it was ‘only’ for 1 day and night we were gone, it felt like much longer. La Table de Maxime is located in a green relaxing oasis… talking about the full experience: good food, nice drinks, great company and the outdoor silence. Some people might find it hard to believe I like complete silence, because I have the tendency to talk A LOT (I hate awkward silences)… but believe it or not I do love the sound of silence from time to time and I enjoyed every minute of it! I find it unbelievable that there are still places in Belgium where you hear NOTHING!! Like most restaurants in places like this, La Table de Maxime also has a few rooms to spend the night. Either you stay in one of the few rooms attached to the restaurant itself in the “La fabrique du pré maho” or alternatively in one of the rooms in a house they have 1km from the restaurant (that’s where we were) also known as “Les Jardins de Maxime” as this is where he also has a little vegetable and herb garden.

I can strongly suggest a nice walk, bike ride or visit to some of the little towns in the area like Rochefort, Bouillon (some nice cheese and beer makers in this area) or maybe a kayak sail on the “Lesse” is more something for you? ( I have already done it twice, the sunny day had my preference).

As if the fact that we were in such a relaxing place wasn’t enough, drinking a glass of a grand cru Blanc de blanc from Pierre Moncuit and getting our appetizers served in La Table de Maxime’s garden (or terrace, depending on how you see it 🙂 ) gave us an even bigger “on holiday” feeling as this was beautiful sunny day… I was also soooo glad my hay fever/allergy didn’t ruin the moment!!

La Table de Maxime either serves a tasting menu (3 – 5 course menu) or either you can choose ‘à la carte ‘ (with also other dishes than on the tasting menu)… Although I did feel like going the whole way, I decided not to as I’m trying to eat less (Not on a diet, but just watching out with my quantities 🙂 )… so we took the 4 course menu with wine pairing. There were a few Jean-Luc Colombo wines on the wine list that did catch my interest, but I always like to see and taste the wines the sommelier pairs with the dishes. We were served the following menu:

Trout fillet from the Ardennes with zucchini parfait, cucumber flower, a fennel gazpacho and puffed Beluga lentils. Served with a 2011 white Bordeaux (Chateau Penin)

Birch syrup lacquered cod, poached Rhubarb with hibiscus, barigoule style artichoke, minted peas and dried ham. Served with a 2012 Riesling (Dirstelberg)

Local veal with a wild garlic crust, green asparagus, morille mushrooms, capers, parmesan and fried Gnocchi . Served with a 2012 Sancerre (François Crochet)

Wépion strawberries, lemon sorbet and emulsion, almond cream and Japanese pearls (FYI, no real pearls that is 😉 ). Served white an everybody’s friend a glass of Cremant dAalsace (Jean-Marc Bernhart)

Overall a very refined meal with local products playing the main role in all dishes with lots of them grown in his own garden (I like, compliments to Maxime Collard). It is very satisfying when chefs are proud of their local/own products, especially when they have so many good ones!! BTW, I’m not sure what the sommelier’s name was, but for what I could tell he really seemed like a perfect “Best Belgian sommelier contest” candidate! (You could just feel his passion for wine when he was talking about them) He reminded me of some of the candidates from previous years and I think he would make a chance… nothing ventured, nothing gained I’d say…

I finished my meal with a nice tea to set the mood for a good night sleep…to eventually wake up with that same nice sound of silence (not taking the birds into account that is, I love the sound of birds in the morning)

People who have already met my fiancée will know that what I’m about to tell is true… I always look forward to my breakfast when I go to sleep, even more when I’m in a hotel!! Maxime’s breakfast met to ALL my expectations (I even didn’t want to take the time to take pictures). Something I must absolutely add is that La Table de Maxime has very hospitable people working for them that make on top of the good food and location this weekend get-away even more harmonious and worth a going/coming back place 🙂 (too bad I only have 1 birthday a year).

Thank you woman of mine for yet again a perfect birthday gift (on top of having you in my life every day that is….)

La Table de Maxime

Website: http://www.tabledemaxime.be/

Address: Our 23, 6852 Paliseul – Belgium

Phone n°: +32 (0) 61 23 95 10

My visit to a culinary institute

June 4, 2014June 4, 2014 / dolcevitaspinelli / 2 Comments

Celebrating a birthday is always a good reason to go to a restaurant. When it is my birthday the restaurant can be a bit better than usually 🙂 🙂 There is no restaurant that speaks more to my imagination than the restaurant I treated myself to for my birthday, the one and only “Comme chez soi”. Comme chez soi, just like Le Cinq, La Tour D’argent, Bocuse’s auberge du Pont de Collonges, are restaurants that are part of culinary history! If it weren’t for these restaurants or the chefs of these restaurants, the gastronomical world today would be totally different… Some people may say that these restaurants didn’t meet up with their expectations when they visited, obviously this depends on what your expectations were before you went?? If you expected a Noma-like restaurant (aka a lab) you indeed wouldn’t have found it at these restaurants… For me it met my expectations 100% or maybe 99% as meeting Pierre Wynants would have made it 100% 😉 You immediately feel this restaurant has a soul when walking in… you could compare it with the ‘Mona Lisa’ it is so much more than just your average portrait of a woman… but that’s my opinion of course :-). If I would have continued chef school and the restaurant business for sure Comme chez soi would have been one of the places where I would have wanted to work as to me still up to today it is one of the culinary highnesses in Belgium. (Admitted the way they work also reminded me a bit of chef school)

If you would ask 10 Belgians what “Comme chez soi” is or represents, they will all say it is absolute top of gastronomy… and everybody and I mean everybody knows “Comme chez soi” generation over generation. Just for those few who don’t know if yet let me tell you more about this piece of Belgian patrimony! The reason why Comme chez soi (or Chez Georges how it was called from 1926 – 1936) became an institute thanks to 1 man Pierre Wynants who took over the restaurant from his father in 1973 (he already worked there from 1961) already having 2 Michelin stars and getting awarded in 1979 with their 3^rd Michelin star that they kept until 2006 . The Michelin guide took away 1 Michelin when Pierre retired in 2006 and his son in law Lionel Rigolet (and his wife aka daughter from Pierre Wynants) took over the restaurant. Pierre Wynants was also given the title Dr. Honoris Causa by the “Université François-Rabelais de Tours”… yet another proof of mr. Wynants/ Comme chez soi’s greatness.

Some people say things changed when Lionel Rigolet (Pierre’s son in law) took over the restaurant from Pierre Wynants, but I’m not able to compare and I also believe it should not be done as Lionel is Lionel and Pierre was Pierre 🙂 and both have their own way of cooking and for me “Comme chez soi” will always stay the institute I imagined it would be (Although I must admit I would have loved meeting Pierre Wynants and I missed him by a hair as he just left a few minutes before I entered…).

Besides serving great food, Comme chez soi is also well known for its fabulous wine collection… people fly in from all over the world because of the beauties they have in their cellar. A Wine Walhalla!! (Believe you me 🙂 ) On their wine list they have 1600 different wines that results in 24000 bottles in the cellar (it used to be 50000). Entering in their cellar is like a candy store if you are into wines as they have wines in it that you can only find in a hand full of places… naturally the big names like Petrus, Latour, Margaux, but also from vineyards that as a non-connoisseur won’t say a thing, but for winelovers and sommeliers they are even more special than all the big names 🙂 Like the wines from Henri Jayer from before his dead or their collection of Côte Rôtie or the Chartreuse something a lot of people prefer over a glass of cognac (is comparable to Elixir )… To find you way through all these wines Comme chez soi has had a special app created to easily find back the wines you want.

An eye-catcher for me was the collection of Château d’ Yquem (one of the most famous vineyard for sweet white wine) from 1831 -> 1980 or better what is left from it after an historical tasting they did from these wines around 1980…

BUT, I was here to eat 🙂 , we took the lunch menu… why? Well we were there for lunch. After a refined appetizer we were served the following menu

Hake clear soup with star anise, sautéed black tiger shrimps with small onions and mint (FYI, they pass another time to fill your plate )

Pork fillet with carbides, mixed vegetables with mustard seeds

Macerated peaches with a reduction of old balsamic vinegar, pineapple sorbet with kirsch

Not only a treat for the eyes, also for the taste buds, all prepared how it should and topped with some of the tastiest sauces you have ever tried. You might have already noticed that I’m a big Sherry fan? So to make my visit to Comme chez soi an even better one, Cèsar (Comme Chez soi’s sommelier) had paired sherry with my menu instead of ‘regular’ wines… something I appreciated and enjoyed a lot as Sherry is so refined and yet complex… I love it. FYI, this is something every can experience if you want (and ask Cèsar)

I know it might sound to enthusiastic, but I’m a very enthusiastic person that wants to share how happy experiences like this make me :-)… My goal in life is see and make people smile and basically make them happy, but first of all keeping myself happy… living your life with a smile is so much nicer!!

Anyhow this was definitely not my last visit to Comme chez soi as Lionel and his team have giving me the taste for more… with as aim to sit at their famous kitchen table where some amazing people have enjoyed a meal before with the best view (besides if my fiancée sits across of me) over the kitchen!

Comme Chez soi

Website: http://www.commechezsoi.be

Address: Rouppeplein 23, 1000 Brussels – Belgium

Phone n°: +32 (0)2 / 512 29 21

Roadtrip with my dad: the non- vineyard part

May 20, 2014 / dolcevitaspinelli / Leave a comment

Finally you might say 🙂 I think or no I’m actually sure Tuscany is the most talked and written about region in Italy… writing something new would therefore indeed be difficult, but this doesn’t mean we cannot share our experience! Does it? This trip to Tuscany wasn’t the first trip, I’ve already crossed it quite a few times. The thing I don’t like about traveling to Tuscany is the amount of tourists (just double the amount of people you’re imagining). That’s why I prefer traveling to the regions around Tuscany that are more or less the same when it comes to landscapes. BUT there for some cities you just have to go to Tuscany to see… you can’t get around it!! Like Siena, Firenze, etc… Most of the cities we went to this time I already visited in the past, but when the occasion presents itself are to be revisited…This time our trip guided us to Firenze, Lucca, Pisa, Volterra and San Gimignano. I’ve never been a Firenze fan though (I have the same feeling about Paris). I know it has beautiful buildings and all, but for some reason the city doesn’t float my boat :-). Or maybe it is because it is soooo busy?? I remember being there once with school and everybody was telling me about how long they had to wait in line to see “Davide” (can be found in Accademia di Belle Arti Firenze)… the thing that I’ve been wondering ever since is how I managed to get in and out in just a few minutes??? (I think walked in via the backdoor… I can’t find an other explanation .) For people who want to see Davide and don’t want to wait in line, outside there is a replica. (Not sure what Ignace was trying to grab on the picture below 😉 )

SAMSUNG CSC

What does float my boat is visiting small picturesque towns like Volterra, Lucca and San Gimignano (or in southern Tuscany Pitigliano, Saturnia,…) that even-though they aren’t as big or well known as for example Firenze, to my opinion are as magnificent! First of all they are less touristy, feel very cozy and mostly have amazing panorama’s as they are 9/10 located on top of a hill. The only “disadvantage” about them being on top of a hill is that there are not “flat” streets… but hey, this means we’ll have to spend less time at the gym ;-).

Pisa is maybe the city in Tuscany where I have to most mixed feelings as besides the square where you have the leaning tower and the Duomo it stops… unless I overlooked things the few times I was there? Again the buildings are beautiful and you always wonder how they managed to build it??!! OK, it official now you guys think I’m a barbarian 😦 Of course when you are in the neighborhood a quick visit won’t hurt 😉 because although there nothing else to see (to my opinion) you have to have seen the real leaning tower…

I like seeing old buildings, get thrown back in history and walk around, and I don’t want to seem like a barbarian, but a good trip isn’t a good trip without some good food and wine…I do realize that I said I wouldn’t be talking about wine anymore, but hey that’s the way the cookie crumbles 😉 My preference always goes to asking local people where I should be eating/drinking… the more typical we can eat the better (I mean I’m not travelling to Tuscany to eat Pesto Genovese or Mexican food…) AND the nr 1 thing to avoid is the so called “tourist traps”!!! In this case it was Guiseppe Cantoni (from Fattoria Fibbiano) who was the source of gastronomical information in the area.

This lead us to some wonderful eateries that were exactly what greedy me and my partners in crime needed :-). Already from the moment we left home Carlos was “whining” about his quest to eatthe famous “bistecca alla fiorentina” (like a T-bone steak) during this trip… His request was my demand…so we went for a search of a good Fiorentina… Result of the search Osteria La Gattaiola. When you see an Italian “mama” in the kitchen you just know the food will be great… what I found out in this restaurant is that there are more people like my dad… I mean with the same extreme energy and always joking around (comparable with Roberto Benigni in La vita e bella)… that was a loooooot of energy in 1 room 🙂 🙂 As if the 1,2kg Bistecca fiorentina wasn’t enough food for one night, we also needed to have a “small” antipasto just to get the appetite going… (FYI, I ate something lighter O:) )

Another restaurant I definitely would like to mention is ristorante La vallata… where besides there very nice typical Tuscany dishes prepared only with local ingredients (mostly from their own yard including the meat as they grow most animals themselves) and in a refined way .They also serve pizza’s… but not your average pizza… pizza normally isn’t really to call special and yet at La vallata they manage to make it something special to also only using local ingredients to top the pizza’s like with dried duck ham, or Pecorino, pears, honey and Gorgonzola… or ‘Carpaccio di Chianina Rucola e Spolverata di Cacio di Pienza’ (all pizza’s)… I think we liked the restaurant as we went there twice in 5 days :-). They also have a very nice wine list also here only local producers (they also have Andrea Boccelli’s wine on the list) or own production with a very nice Nero Puro.

A few other places to try:

Enoteca Del Duca in Volterra: very good for refined Italian/Tuscan food

Il latini in Firenze : just fun to eat here… no fancy or special food, hams hanging around and eventhough there is a menu you’ll have to eat what they tell you to 😉 Also they do have a nice wine selection, but standard they open a Fiasco of wine…(unless you specify you don’t want it)

L’osteria di Gianni Brunelli in Siena: good food with a great wine selection.

I really had a great trip and I would like to thank everybody who helped making it so wonderful!!! Traveling with the right people is always great 🙂 After trips like this I really wonder why I’m still living in Belgium and working with SAP:-) ???

Roadtrip with my dad: Abbazia Monte Oliveto

May 15, 2014October 14, 2014 / dolcevitaspinelli / Leave a comment

The last vineyard we did on our trip was Abbazia Monte Oliveto, which is just like Castello d’albola a vineyard of the Zonin group. Unlike most of the other vineyard the Zonin Family has, this is a much smaller estate where only produce 3 types of wine, 2 white ones and 1 red. I know I said Castello d’albola was beautiful, but although Abbazia monte Oliveto is much smaller it sure is a hidden treasure. At the front you have a view on the only a stone throw away charming mediaeval town San Gimignano (where I once met Danny Devitto 🙂 ) . And on the other side a spectacular view on beautiful typical Tuscany hills… I wouldn’t mind waking up with a view like this every morning (which would even be possible as they have 7 rooms )

When I mention San Gimignano and wine in one sentence a few bells should start to ring. San Gimignano is famous (besides from being a charming but unfortunately very touristy little town right up a hill) for its white wines also known as Vernaccia di San Gimignano. What is typical about the Vernaccia di San Gimignano is its slightly more acidity than in usual white wines and maybe a bit of bitter aftertaste … this makes that it is not always an everyman’s friend. A Vernaccia di San Gimignano should also be drunk fairly young. Like for many wines also for the Vernaccia di San Gimignano there are also rules for making this type of wine. It must contain 90% Vernaccia grapes, with up to 10% other non aromatic approved white varieties. In addition for a “Riserva” the rules say it must have a minimum of twelve months of aging. BTW the reason I always stress out it is a “Vernaccia di San Gimignao” is because there are also other varieties of Vernaccia but that are a totally different thing: Vernaccia di Oristano (from Sardinia – sherry-like) and Vernaccia di Serrapetrona (from Le Marche – sparkeling red wine)….

Back to the “Abbey” which would be the English word for Abbazia. Abbazia Monte Oliveto is as I mentioned a rather small estate, with “only” 18hectares of land of which not all of it being covered by vines. Small is maybe not the right word as I’ve been told there are around 170 winemakers in San Gimignano and I’m sure the San Gimignano premises isn’t infinite 🙂 :-). I personally couldn’t have imagined a more relaxing afternoon than at Abbazia Monte Oliveto! Not that I was stressed or uncomfortable at the other ones, but not sure what made me (and my partners in crime) even more relaxed here?? Maybe it was the view over the hills in combination with tasting the nice wine and good company? Who knows… Abbazia Monte Oliveto only has 3 wines of which 2 are Vernaccia, Gentilesca and the Vernaccia di San Gimignano both made from 100% Vernaccia grapes with the biggest difference in the winemaking the Gentilesca being made from grapes from older vines… Their 3^rd wine is a ‘Sangiovese in purezza’, so a red wine called Fusaia. From the 2 Vernaccia’s I’m not sure which one I preferred, but to me the Gentilesca seemed to be the “pure” one and the Vernaccia di San Gimignano the “fruitier” one.

The longer we were sitting there the better the wine became… I didn’t feel like standing up to go “home” (Hotel that is) anymore… I’m sure you know that feeling that you’re so comfortable that moving is out of the question?? Well that’s the feeling we had. I think Carlos was even in trance 🙂 (Although I definitely think it was the wine, hahaha) But can you blame him with such a view??

2 wines that I was also happy to taste on top of the Abbazia Monte Oliveto, were the wines from Podere San Cristoforo (no, no because it has my name in it) or as I call it “Lorenzo Zonin’s babies”… But I’ll talk about them more in detail another time, because I’ve been talking quit a lot about wines the last few posts). Ok, maybe just this, normally I don’t talk about the etiquette (I normally only focus what is on the inside), but for this one I just have to make an exception as it was entirely covered with Braille “writing” besides normal words… very special ! Obviously the bottle content was also of my liking…

Moral of my Abbazia Monte Oliveto story, definitely a place to visit and wines to try.

To be continued… (I promise no more wine talk 😉 )

Spinelli's Dolce Vita

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