Dinner with Catherine de Medici - 25 Feb 2009
25 February 2009
Dinner with the Venetians and Giacomo Casanova - 28 Jan 2009
Tuesday, 24th November 2009
Cost £65 per person
Paolo (our chef) & Gabriele
(Wine Consultant and Accademia Italiana Gastronomia Storica)
Gabriele Rosin will guide you in a voyage of discovery of Venice wine and food through anecdotes, history and tales during your dinner, including some spicy bits from the “My Memories” of Giacomo Casanova.
The cuisine of Venice and Giacomo Casanova (the Italian adventurer Giacomo Jacopo Girolamo Casanova de Seingalt (1725-1798) best known for his memoirs, which are a most revealing record of 18th-century European society). During this time the Carnival in Venice started in October and lasted for 6 months of festivity and amusement. This traditional Venice’s menu is matched by fabulous Masi and Fausto Maculan wines.
MENU
Welcome Aperitivo
Cichetti misti (Small bites):
Mille foglie di polenta con baccala mantecato (polenta & cod mille feuille)
Sarde in soar, sopressa, rucola e grana (marinated sardine & Venetian salame)
Ciuffi di radicchio tardivo in pastella (tempura of Trevisano red lettuce)
With a glass of Prosecco Col de Salici Extra Dry 2008, or Spritz
~ ~ ~
Crema de fasoi borlotti con tochetti de musetto de porceo
Thick borlotti beans soup with cotechino sausage
With a glass of Masianco Masi 2008 pinot grigio,verduzzo
~ ~ ~
Bigoi fatti in casa all’arna con verdure Venete
Home made straw spaghetti with a rich confit of duck ragu & crunchy vegetables
With a glass of Brentino 2007 Maculan merlot/cabernet
~ ~ ~
Faraona de casa in salsa pevarada con patate al tartufo dei coi Euganei
Confit of guinea fowl leg with ‘pevarada’ sauce with new potato fondant filled with truffle from the Euganei hills
Accompanied with stewed cabbage , pancetta & grilled Trevisano radicchio
With a glass of Amarone Costasera 2006 Masi
~ ~ ~
Salame di cioccolato con zabaione caldo
Chocolate roll with warm home made zabaione sauce
With a glass of Torcolato 2006 Maculan vespaiolo
There is also the option of buying wine from the VINOTECA which is also an off-license
What are Cichetti?
Cichetti are small portions of food served in bars all over the city, usually with an ombra, which is a small glass of wine. Most Venetians eat cichetti, before lunch or before dinner, or in place of lunch or dinner. Eating cichetti in Venice is a great way to hang out with the locals and to eat some great food at reasonable prices. When you go out for cichetti, you will eat standing up, hopefully in a crowded room.
About Maculan Wines
For most people outside the region, Maculan is Breganze. Stretching between the Alpine foothills and the Roman town of Vicenza, the Breganze vineyards can easily yield anonymous wines, but such is Fausto Maculan’s determination to transcend the norm that he manages to wring every last drop of character from his carefully grown grapes, be they locals specialities like Vespaiolo (the wasp-seducing basis of Torcolato and Acininobili) or international varieties that he has imported and planted.
Brentino Out of the bottle the aroma of this Merlot/Cabernet blend is very fruity with cherry and strawberry dominating with some subtle green pepper as well. After about an hour in the decanter the fruit evolves to cherry, chocolate and plum. It has light/medium weight in the mouth with a round, soft feel, a hint on tannin and a nice acidic snap at the finish. It picks up lushness and mouth feel as it evolves
The 2006 Torcolato is 100% Vespaiolo aged in French oak. This super-rich dessert wine flows from the glass with sumptuous layers of honey, apricot jam, candied orange peel, herbs and flowers. The wine possesses tons of depth and a finish that lasts forever. This expansive, compelling wine is a gem.
Masi Masianco 2008 white wine awakens the palate with freshness marked with delicate tannins of dried fruit and a gentle pineapple aftertaste. Refreshing and light with beautiful golden reflections, Masi Masianco white wine is the one to choose for just about any occasion or celebration.
Amarone Masi 2006 is the product of the winemaking method called "appassimento" (drying of the grapes). Verona is the only appellation where the ancient system of the production of dried grapes coexists with the modern techniques of vinification with fresh grapes. At the autumn harvest, the best clusters of grapes from the hillside vineyards are selected and placed in large wooden boxes or on bamboo racks. Stored in large rooms, in well-ventilated old farmhouses, the grapes dry slowly in the cool early winter weather. By January the grapes weigh 35-40% less and have enhanced flavour as well as a higher concentration of sugar. The Corvina grape is often affected by "botrytis" ("noble rot"). After a delicate pressing, the dried grapes, still partly on their stalks, cool ferment to dryness in large Slavonian oak barrels. The wine is transferred into old barrels where it ages for 4-5 years, after which it is bottled.