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Food and Wine in Venice and the Surrounding Area

CICCHETTI: A VENICE SNACK Cicchetti are Venetian tapas—finger foods such as calamari rings, speared fried olives, potato croquettes, and grilled polenta squares, traditionally washed down with an ombra (shadow), a small glass of wine. Pronounced “chee-KET-eeh,” cicchetti are Venice’s answer to Milan’s aperitivo and to Spain’s tapas. They’re small plates of food, usually nibbled over glasses of wine and among friends in the evening or at lunchtime. Served at bàcari (“BAH-car-eeh”), small, local bars hidden all over Venice, they’re also cheap, ranging from about €1 to €3. What’s on offer depends on the place; some bàcari lean toward fried offerings, while others specialize in fresh fish, meats, cheeses… the list goes on. Try it as a pre-dinner snack, or make a whole meal out of it by ordering several plates. We like the idea of a cicchetti “crawl” ourselves. Especially because your meal of cicchetti probably comes cheaper, better, and in a more local atmosphere than food in most restaurants in Venice! Some tips on your Cicchetti Search: First, for an evening cicchetti crawl, make sure you start early (at about 6pm), since many bàcari close at 8pm or 9pm. Of course, if you’re just getting used to the Italian tradition of eating at 8 or 9pm, then the early closing will not be bad, you will still have time to sit down for a meal later. Second, if you’re someone who can’t stand crowds or the possibility of having to wait in line and/or stand while eating, then be prepared to sacrifice or at least seek out bàcari that are off the beaten path. Bàcari are where Venetians come to socialize and relax, and some of the more popular places, including those listed below, can get quite packed; which adds to your people-watching potential, but can be a little frustrating if you were hoping for a quiet, tranquil dinner! Just to get you started, here are some of Venice’s most-loved places to find delicious cicchetti: Ca’ d’Oro/Alla Vedova - Calle del Pistor, Cannaregio 3912. One of the most famous bàcari in Venice, this one’s both away from the city’s crowds and on the cheap (€1) end of things, ideal if you’re on a budget. Don’t miss the polpette, meatballs made of pork. La Cantina - Calle San Felice, 3689. A stone’s throw from Alla Vedova, La Cantina features inventive dishes, using fresh ingredients like beef tongue or fresh ricotta. A local favorite.  This isn't just a popular area for tourists... it has some of the best bàcari in town! All’Arco - Calle Arco, San Polo 436. Another one of Venice’s most-loved spots, All’Arco, near the Ponte Rialto, is packed at lunchtime with shoppers from the local fish market. Everything from calamari to liver to shrimp is on offer, and if it’s available, don’t miss the hot sandwich of boiled beef sausage and mustard. Do Mori - Sestiere San Polo 429, Calle dei Do Mori. Myth has it that Casanova frequented this bàcaro, also near the Rialto Bridge. Even if he didn’t, it’s still thought to be the oldest in Venice, dating back to 1462. Ask for the “francobollo” (postage stamp)—a tiny sandwich with various fillings, it’s the house specialty. Do Spade - Calle delle Do Spade, 19 S. Polo 860. Another bàcaro dating back to the 15th century, Do Spade has lots of seafood on offer, as well as a variety of vegetable and cheese spreads. Cantinone–già Schiavi - Ponte San Trovaso, Dorsoduro 992. This family-run bàcaro, located across from a gondola workshop, boasts raw fish, meats, more than 30 wines available by the glass, and much more. Crowded with Venetians in the evening! Al Ponte - Calle Larga Giacinto Gallina. One of the cheapest bàcari—and, therefore, places to eat—in all of Venice, Al Ponte has pasta and fish plates and a welcoming atmosphere. Banco Giro - Campo San Giacometto, San Polo 122. A Grand Canal view, a variety of cheeses, fish, and wine, and a lively atmosphere. What’s not to like? Hope you enjoy one of these great treats in Venice along with a 'umbra of wine'.

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GORGONZOLA CHEESE | LOMBARDY

Gorgonzola is a veined Italian blue cheese, made from unskimmed cow's milk. It can be buttery or firm, crumbly and quite salty, with a "bite" from its blue veining.

Gorgonzola has been produced for centuries in Gorgonzola, Milan, acquiring its greenish-blue marbling in the eleventh century. However, the town's claim of geographical origin is disputed by other localities. Today, it is mainly produced in the northern Italian regions of Piedmont and Lombardy. Whole cow's milk is used, to which starter bacteria is added, along with spores of the mold Penicillium glaucum. Penicillium roqueforti, used in Roquefort cheese, may also be used. The whey is then removed during curdling, and the result aged at low temperatures. During the aging process metal rods are quickly inserted and removed, creating air channels that allow the mold spores to grow into hyphae and cause the cheese's characteristic veining. Gorgonzola is typically aged for three to four months. The length of the aging process determines the consistency of the cheese, which gets firmer as it ripens. There are two varieties of Gorgonzola, which differ mainly in their age: Gorgonzola Dolce (also called Sweet Gorgonzola) and Gorgonzola Piccante (also called Gorgonzola Naturale, Gorgonzola Montagna, or Mountain Gorgonzola). Under Italian law, Gorgonzola enjoys Protected Geographical Status. Termed DOP in Italy, this means that it can only be produced in the provinces of Novara, Bergamo, Brescia, Como, Cremona, Cuneo, Lecco, Lodi, Milan, Pavia, Varese, Verbano-Cusio-Ossola and Vercelli, as well as a number of comuni in the area of Casale Monferrato ( province of Alessandria).

Gorgonzola may be eaten in many ways. It may be melted into a risotto in the final stage of cooking, or served alongside polenta. Pasta with gorgonzola is a dish appreciated almost everywhere in Italy by gorgonzola lovers; usually gorgonzola goes on short pasta, such as penne, rigatoni, mezze maniche, or sedani, not with spaghetti or linguine. It is frequently offered as pizza topping. Combined with other soft cheeses it is an ingredient of pizza ai quattro formaggi (four-cheeses pizza).

GRANA PADANO CHEESE | LOMBARDY

Grana Padano is one of the most popular cheeses of Italy. The name comes from the noun grana (‘grain’), which refers to the distinctively grainy texture of the cheese, and the adjective Padano, which refers to the valley Pianura Padana. It is called "Grana Padano" and not "Grana Padana" because the Italian word grana is the masculine noun, il grana, describing this specific cheese, and not the feminine noun la grana, which means "grain". Grana Padano has protected designation of origin status since 1996.

Grana Padano is one of the world's first hard cheeses, created nearly 900 years ago by the Cistercian monks of Chiaravalle Abbey, founded in 1135 near Milan, who used ripened cheese as a way of preserving surplus milk. By the year 1477, it was regarded as one of the most famous cheeses of Italy. It can last a long time without spoiling, sometimes aging up to two years. It is made in a similar way to the Parmigiano Reggiano of Emilia-Romagna but over a much wider area and with different regulations and controls. Other grana cheeses are also made in Lombardy, Piedmont, Trentino, and Veneto.

Like Parmigiano Reggiano, Grana Padano is a semifat hard cheese which is cooked and ripened slowly (for at least 9 months, then, if it passes the quality tests, it will be fire-branded with the Grana Padano trademark). The cows are milked twice a day, the milk is left to stand, and then partially skimmed. Milk produced in the evening is skimmed to remove the surface layer of cream and mixed with fresh milk produced in the morning. The partly skimmed milk is transferred into copper kettles and coagulated; the resulting curd is cut to produce granules with the size of rice grains, which gives the cheese its characteristic texture, and then cooked to . It is produced year-round and the quality can vary seasonally as well as by year. Though similar to Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, the younger Grana Padano cheeses are less crumbly, milder and less complex in flavor than their more famous, longer-aged relative.

A wheel of Grana Padano is cylindrical, with slightly convex or almost straight sides and flat faces. It measures in diameter, and in height. It weighs 24 to 40 kg (53 to 88 lbs) per wheel. The rind, which is thin, is white or straw yellow. Grana Padano is sold in three different ripening stages:

• "Grana Padano" (9 to 16 months): texture still creamy, only slightly grainy
• "Grana Padano oltre 16 mesi" (over 16 months): crumblier texture, more pronounced taste
• "Grana Padano Riserva" (over 20 months): grainy, crumbly and full flavoured
• Grana padano cheese typically contains cheese crystals, semi-solid to gritty crystalline spots that at least partially consist of the amino acid tyrosine.

Food And Wine Of The Veneto Region

PIAVE RIVER WINE ZONE, TREVISO The area located between the provinces of Venice and Treviso, in the Piave river basin, is full of vine cultivations, growing happily in the clay soil that is rich in mineral salts and well fertilised. Local soil conditions lend themselves to top quality, prized red wines. This area extends through a broad plain bordered by the sea to the south, the hills of Conegliano and Montello to the northwest, and Friuli to the northeast, and is crossed by the Piave river. An anonymous writer in the late sixteenth century described this area...« The Piave river is very convenient and useful to Venice, [...] this river can be navigated by boats from Ponte di Piave to Venice, bearing wheat, wine and other goods ». "Burci" , large, slow boats that could navigate the channels, every day carried all sorts of goods, such as clothes scented with lye and bread to the "fónteghi" (storehouses) of the Serenissima Republic of Venice, making for rather hectic comings and goings along the waterway. The hinterland of Venice and the area around the town of Oderzo had been home to the stores of the Serenissima Republic of Venice since its origins, and this practical and economic relationship resulted in the "Veneto villas" being built. These were not merely for the enjoyment of the Venetian nobility but - and especially from the mid sixteenth century - they were used in an attempt to improve agriculture and make the land thrive. Therefore, it was not by chance that the people of the Piave river have for centuries been cultivating grapes for the "vineyards of Dogi", today producing a dozen or so wines of importance. The D.O.C. white wines are: Piave Chardonnay, Piave Pinot bianco, Piave Pinot grigio, Piave Verduzzo and Piave Tai. The D.O.C. red wines are: Piave Cabernet, Piave Cabernet Sauvignon and Piave Merlot (all also as riserva), Piave Pinot nero and Piave Raboso. The latter, made by native Raboso grapevine, is ready for market after only three years of ageing, one of which in the barrel. The territory has plenty of history and is linked by the Strada del Vino (Wine Road) extending for over 150 kilometres. Visitors are thus able to discover the different economic and cultural centres of importance, such as Roncade, Oderzo -the Roman Opitergium that was rebuilt many times - and Motta di Livenza. But what is certain to touch the tourist the most is the atmosphere on the left banks of the Piave, in the Raboso district, with its ancient traditions and its alleyways that tease the visitor with glimpses of the river, remote churches hiding precious frescos and the fine town of Portobuffolè.

PIEVE DI CADORE | BELLUNO PROVINCE

Pieve di Cadore. This town of Roman origin has an outstanding literary and artistic tradition. It's claim to fame is being the birthplace of Titian and the artist's house, which is still standing, is now a museum. There is also a painting by Titian in the parish church (Madonna and child with Saints Titian and Andrew and Titian himself as Donator).

The town is clustered around what might justifiably be considered the parliament of Cadore. Palazzo delia Magnifica Comunita, built in 1525. Today it houses historical and patriotic reminders of the city and important early-Venetian finds uncovered in the excavations at Lagole. There is also an odd "museum of eyeglasses" which reviews the history of glass where and there are also many eyeglasses factories in the vicinity.

TALEGGIO CHEESE | LOMBARDY

Taleggio is a semi-soft, washed rind, smear-ripened Italian cheese that is named after Val Taleggio. The cheese has a thin crust and a strong aroma, but its flavor is comparatively mild with an unusual fruity tang.Taleggio and similar cheeses have been around since Roman times, with Cicero, Cato the Elder, and Pliny the Elder all mentioning it in their writings. The cheese was solely produced in the Val Taleggio until the late 1800s, when some production moved to the Lombardy plain to the south.

The production takes place every autumn and winter when the cows are tired from a summer of grazing. First, the acidified milk is brought to the processing center from milk calves as per tradition that will mature within six to ten weeks. After the cheese is made it is set on wood shelves in chambers and washed once a week with a seawater sponge in order to prevent mold infestation and to prevent the cheese from forming an orange or rose crust. Today, the cheese is made from both pasteurized milk and from raw milk in factories. The factory-made cheeses are brighter and moderate in flavor. Spices, raisins, nuts and some lemons are also added.

The cheese can be eaten grated with salads such as radicchio or rucola and with spices and tomato on bruschetta. It melts well, and can be used in risotto or on polenta.

WHERE TO EAT IN THE VERONA PROVINCE

Where to eat in the Verona Province of Veneto Italy. Great Slow Food restaurants in the Verona Province to try during your next vacation.