Tag Archives: vietti

Piemontegirl makes Pasta Dough

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Piemontegirl loves pasta

Piemontegirl, that’s me! As you probably know, I love italian food. Especially pasta. Over the years I have had the pleasure of cooking with some local italian women, among those the mother of Elena Currado (Vietti) and the mother of Bruno (who runs Corte Gondina).  These women are amazing cooks, and it is so much fun to cook with them. All in italian of course, and sometimes also in piedmontese… The latter is hard for me to comprehend, so hand gestures and visual aids are needed.

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Anyway, to make pasta dough from scratch you need:

  • Eggs
  • Flour
  • Salt

And all you really need to do is pour the flour (and a touch of salt) into a bowl or right onto the counter, make a little valley where you put the egg and then slowly you mix it together until it becomes a solid dough. Then the fun part: You need to knead the dough for 10 minutes! Yes, you heard me. 10 minutes! Man, were my hands tired afterward. Not sure exactly why you have to knead for so long, but I always try to follow the recipe.

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Above you can see me, Piemontegirl, kneading the pasta dough. Once you are done kneading, place the dough in plastic and leave on the counter for about 30 minutes. Then you can make whatever pasta you want. My favorite is ravioli (recipe to come).

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Let me know if you try it! Or if you need help. Enjoy!

Dolcetto – the often forgotten grape in Piemonte

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Vietti Dolcetto Tre Vigne

I love dolcetto. Always have. It’s easy to drink, refreshing, doesn’t need to be accompanied by food and has little to no tannins. Vietti’s is no exception; a world class wine! Not that their other wines are not good either, I mean all their wines are top notch. Vietti even has a soft spot for Barbera. But I digress.

Why Dolcetto is often forgotten, put aside and left behind I will never know. I understand that Barolo is the big gun in Piemonte, and I can see that dolcetto would be “plain” in comparison. But who says wine always have to be big and expensive? There is no need to open a $50 bottle of wine on a regular Tuesday evening. I usually save my Barolo’s for guests or special occasions, and pick the “smaller” wines on “regular” days.

IMG_8914Wine: Tre Vigne

Producer: Vietti

Region/Appellation: Piemonte, Italy

Grape varieties: Dolcetto

Vintage: 2014

Eye: Purple red

Nose: black cherry, raspberry, blueberry, minerals

Mouth: red berries, soft tannins, moderate acidity, well balanced

Price Point: $20

Available at Vinmonopolet: yes

Available at Systembolaget: yes

Vinmonopolet: Wines 255kr and under

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Good selections for a reasonable price

There are quite a few wines available at Vinmonopolet, andyou can find some great wines at reasonable prices. (Although that’s not always the case). Sometimes there are so many options that it’s hard to know what to buy. And if you don’t know the wines or the wine maker it can be difficult to know exactly what you are getting.

In any event, I have listed some wines that I think highly of and that as of now are available. However, bear in mind that most of these wines have to be ordered, as in they are not usually in the stores.

Cavallotto at Vinmonopolet

Here are the wines:

Oddero Barbera d’Alba, 245kr

Burlotto Barbera d’Alba, 255kr

Alessandro Veglio Langhe Nebbiolo, 250kr

Cavallotto Langhe Nebbiolo, 255kr

Vietti Perbacco, 250kr

Looking for a good summer wine?

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In need of good a summer wine?

Wines are good all year, but some work better than others as “summer wine”. Below are a few of my favorites to drink during the summer months (or weeks if you live in Norway!)

Summer wine 2017

Starting from the left, we have Ettore Germano’s Herzu. It is by far one of my favorite whites from Piemonte. I don’t usually enjoy riesling, but this wine is superb, especially on a hot day. Next up is Cavallotto’s Langhe Chardonnay. Always a good choice.

Moving away from white to red, we have Freisa by Bartolo Mascarello. I am not usually very fond of freisa for some reason, but it can be quite enjoyable in the summer time (don’t know why it tastes better than in the winter, but whatever). Now, dolcetto might be my all time favorite wine to drink in the summer. A glass of slightly chilled dolcetto is hard to beat. Mauro Veglio and Elio Altare make excellent dolcetto, so you can’t go wrong there! After dolcetto comes barbera and Vietti’s La Crena might be the best of the best! Although it is a heavier wine and might be best to enjoy with food, barbera is still a very good choice! Last but not least we have Langhe Nebbiolo. The Rinaldi “nebbe” is fresh and not too heavy (although world class and on Barolo level) so if you can get your hands on this, you will not be disappointed!

Notice I did not mention barolo. Not because barolo is bad or because I don’t drink barolo in july, but because when I think of summer wine barolo is not the first thing that comes to mind. On a hot summer day I prefer a light wine, without too many tannins, and the wines mentioned above fit my “criteria”.

Do you have any favorite summer wines?

Most of these you can find at Vinmonopolet (or they should have them) but they may be sold out. I always recommend checking online.

 

 

 

 

Wine of the Week

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Vietti Lazzarito 2008

wow vietti lazzarito

Wine: Lazzarito 2008

Producer: Vietti

Region/Appellation: Piemonte, Italy

Grape varieties: Nebbiolo

Vintage: 2008

 

Eye: deep garnet red

Nose: cherry, figs, ripe fruits, roses,

Mouth: velvety texture, dark fruits, soft tannins,

 

Price Point: $144

Available at Vinmonopolet: No

Available at Systembolaget: No

#tbt Recap

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Looking back at my not too shabby wine adventure. I know I am very lucky, and I appreciate every moment along the way. Here are some of my favorite moments.

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Taking a selfie with Charles Philipponnat

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Working with Luca Currado at the Vietti stand at Tre Bicchieri

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Celebrating 17 Mai with the Veglio’s in NYC

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Picking grapes for Uno Per Uno with the team at Cantina Altare

Wine Events January

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Will you be in the US in January? You have the chance to attend 2 wine events.

First event takes place in New York at La Pizza Fresca. Elisa Scavino will be there to show her wines at a winemaker dinner January 18th at 7pm. You will have the chance to taste Barbera d’Alba 2015, Barolo 2012 (93 JS), Barolo ‘Monvigliero’ 2012 (93 JS), Barolo ‘Bricco Ambrogio’ 2012 (92 JS), Barolo ‘Carobric’ 2012 (95 JS) and Barolo ‘Bric del Fiasc’ 2012 (94 JS).

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Check out the details here.

Another wine event will take place in Texas on January 19th. Luca Currado will be at a pop up restaurant showing his wines. If you have the opportunity, you should definitely go!

Check out the facebook event for more details.

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