Venice Carnevale What to Do WineBars ItalianWine Prosecco

CARNEVALE

  VENICE ITALY

 

VENICE

  CARNEVALE in GREEN

CARNEVALE VENICE

2020

VENENZIA 

ITALIA

 

VENICE

ITALY

CLASSIC VENICE

The MOLO Looking to San MAGGIORE

During CARNEVALE

CAFFE FLORIAN is "A MUST" !

VENETIAN CARNEVALE 2020

"WILL IT SNOW" ?''

By The BRIDGE of SIGHS

VENICE

CARNEVALE 2019

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SANTA MARIA delle SALUTE

VENICE

VENETIAN SEAFOOD RECIPES

The FEAST of THE 7 FISH"

AFTER YOU VISIT VENICE"

Relive Your VENETIAN MEMORIES

With VENETIAN SEAFOOD RECIPES 

In The FEAST of The 7 FISH

by Daniel Bellino Zwicke

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The WINE BARS of VENICE

ULTIMATE GUIDE 

by BEST SELLING ITALIAN COOKBOOK AUTHOR

  DANIEL BELLINO ZWICKE

 

Visiting VENETIAN BACARI (Wine Bars)

Are a "MUST DO"

During CARNEVALE in VENICE

SEE THE ULTIMATE VENETIAN GUIDE to The BACARI of VENICE

And YOU'LL WANT to GO to HARRY'S BAR

"ANOTHER VENETIAN MUST DO"

READ "My FAVORITE RESTAURANT in The WORLD"

by BEST ELLING ITALIAN COOKBOOK AUTHOR

Daniel Bellino Zwicke

"HARRY'S BAR" !

Inside HARRY'S BAR

READ CASANOVA'S VENETIAN SEDUCTIONS

AND ?

Do SPADE

CASANOVA'S FAVORITE CAFFES & WINE BARS

VENICE

GIACAMO CASANOVA

GUIDE to the WINE BARS (Bacari) of VENICE

The MOLO

CARNEVEALE

A BRIEF HISTORY of VENETIAN CARNEVALE

The origins of the Venice Carnival date back a very long time, but it is not one hundred percent clear when this would have been. Most sources mention 1162 when Venice celebrated the victory against the Patriarch of Aquileia, while other sources claim that the Doge Vitale Falier (the chief magistrate in the former republic of Venice) and the government of la Serenissima allowed the poor people already in 1094 to enjoy a short period of fun and festivities. Over time, the event has appeared and disappeared, and the festival and the use of masks even became strictly forbidden in 1797 under the rule of the King of Austria. It reappeared gradually in the nineteenth century, but only for short periods and mainly for private parties. It was only since 1979 that the event became organized in the current way. At that time, the government and some Venetian associations (such as Teatro La Fenice, the Venice Biennale and other tourist organizations) decided to revive the history and culture of Venice.

Nobody knows why Venetians began wearing masks. One of the scholars claims that it was caused by the extremely rigid class system ruling in Venice, especially that during carnival the usual order was overthrown: the poorest beggar could pretend to be the richest man. 

The tradition of masking has a long tradition in Venice. All the way back in 1268, a law even was passed to ban—of all things—putting on masks and throwing perfumed eggs!

By the time of the Renaissance, masks were a fixture of Carnevale celebrations. By the 16th century, the popular Commedia d’Arte troupe performed slapstick comedy in the piazzas of Venice—while masked. Believe it or not, though, masking was hardly just a Carnival tradition.

By the 18th century, Venetians were allowed to wear masks for six months a year. And they took advantage! Black velvet masks, for example, would be worn in “houses of ill repute”—especially gambling parlors—to shield their owners’ identities, as shown in the painting here.

Not quite. By the 18th century, Venice’s Carnevale festivities were going downhill. With the Austrian conquest of Venice in 1798, mask-wearing—as well as Carnevale—were all but finished. In the 1930s, Mussolini banned the celebrations altogether.

So what changed? In 1979, a group of Venetian artisans banned together to restart Carnevale. If that seems like a ploy for tourism, it was—and it was one that worked. Today, about 3 million people travel to Venice every year for Carnevale. The 1970s are also when the long-forgotten art of mask-making was restarted. 

Today, Carnevale in Venice is a huge celebration that goes on for two weeks. While many events—particularly the opulent masquerade balls—require invitations and have steep ticket prices, many others, like the candle-lit parade of boats, concerts, and street performances, are free and open to the public.

A VENETIAN MASQUERADE BALL

VENICE

Painting by Pietro Longhi

Masked Revelers dressed in Traditional Costumes

At the MODERN DAY CARNEVALE

of VENICE

CARNEVALE

VENICE, ITALY

SUNDAY SAUCE

WHEN ITALIANS COOK

RECIPES 

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Piazza San Marco

by CANALETTO

The RIDOTTO

by Francesco Guardi

Venenzia 

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Brunello 2015 Vintage in NewYork

Marchesi Ferdinando Frescobaldi with author Daniel Bellino Zwicke

FRESCOBALDI BRUNELLO CASTELGIACONDO

The 2015 vintage is a historical year for Brunello di Montalcino that nobody should miss. The wines show impressive precision of vivid fruit, fine tannins and freshness in acidity despite their ripeness and richness which makes them some of the most exciting in years.

Aside from high tannins and acidity, traditional Brunello di Montalcino wines are often described as earthy with aromas and flavors of sour cherry.  

The diverse soils of the Montalcino region most certainly will add earthiness to the wines, but other traditions enable these large brown grapes to fulfill their potential.  Maceration, the process of leaching color, flavors and tannins from the skins to the juice, is much longer in these wines, adding rich, dark color, flavor and age worthy tannins.

Recording an exceptionally high level of excellence of the grapes harvested, the 2015 vintage was awarded 5-stars at the simple ceremony held last Saturday morning, traditionally the second and final day of Benvenuto Brunello event held every year in Montalcino. The last time a vintage was assigned 5-stars was in 2012 and 2010 before that during this decade. Both 2011 and 2013 were awarded 4-stars by the experts’ panel. The disastrous 2014 had managed only 3 stars, even though a few journalists had felt it was being slightly generous.

"The producers had been waiting for such a flawless vintage for many years. As a beaming President Fabrizio declared in Italian, ‘Our Consortium members are extremely satisfied with this grape harvest. This is the vintage par excellence that they have been waiting for a long time."

The Colombini family has been harvesting grapes from their Montalcino vineyards since 1790.  Still run by the family, the Barbi winery balances old traditions with modern technology such as a cold maceration process called “cyro maceration” that is intended to enhance the aromas of the wines.

From elevated vineyards with rough topography, this is a warm, friendly wine with a bouquet and flavors of sour cherry, a nice minerality, healthy tannins and, of course, a damp earthiness. 

BRUNELLO ZONE

MONTALCINO

Italian Cookbook Author Daniel Bellino Zwicke (M)

With Lamberto Fresobaldi and Marchesi Leonardo Frescobaldi

Brunello Tasting New York

Like every year, I am looking forward to my two favorite Italian Wine Tastings of the year, in          New York. For myself and any New Yorker heavily into Italian Wine, the two biggest and most important Italian Wine Tasting Events are # 1, the Benevenuto Brunello Tasting held each January in New York, and this years will be on Monday, January 28th, 2020 ..

The other great Italian Wine Tasting Event in New York is the Gambero RossoTre Bicchieri Tasting of Italy's Top Wines which are awarded 3 Glasses (Bicchieri) for the most esteemed Italian Wines of that particular year, in this case of 2020 ..

I love tasting all the wonderful Italian Wines, especially Barolo, Barbaresco, Brunello, Chianti, Taurasi, and all of the great wines of Italy, but even more than tasting the wine, I love seeing my Italian friends who make wine, and also catching up with my New York Italian Wine Friends and Colleagues. So as usual, I'm gearing up fro these two great events as well as Great Wines of Italy by James Suckling on March 4th .. I'm all registered for all these 3 big Italian Wine Events, and I'm ready and rearing to go.

Me and Conti Cinzano

Tasting some of the Counts awesome Brunello

Col d' Orcia

Kevin Zraly 

Gotham Hall 2013

Benvenuto Brunello

Kevin gave an awesome Seminar on Brunello a few years back. 

The best wine seminar I've ever attended. Absolutely Awesome. I just love his style.

CLICK HERE to READ About Kevin's BRUNELLO SEMINAR

SUNDAY SAUCE

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Rolling Stones Drink Wine

The ROLLING STONES

Cheering in The NEW YEAR

with WINE

Probably 1967 or 68

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Vini Sfuso Demijohn Wine Venice Italy

VINI SFUSO

Do MORI

VENICE

Vino sfuso, literally wine from the cask or demijohn, is a delicious staple in the Italian diet. Daily, families take their empty bottles down to the local cantina for a refill of their preferred grape.

Throughout history, wine and beer were consumed by all, as it was often safer than drinking water. Your enemies could easily poison the water supply you know! Drink vino (wine) instead! Table wine usually hovers around the eleven percent alcohol level, making it light enough for lunch. In Venice, each neighborhood has at least one cantina to choose from. These are genuine local businesses that do not cater to tourists. So, be prepared to practice your Italian and pay in cash.

In each region of the country, you will find this type of shop. It’s usually conveniently located near the butcher or baker. Regionalism is a predominant cultural element.

What is vino sfuso? Translated word for word: “loose wine” (no, no, not “promiscuous”… “unpackaged” ). More properly defined: bulk wine, dream come true, wine on tap, wine from the cask (the barrel or container where wine is fermented, matured, stored or shipped).

Nave d'Oro, Canareggio.

As already noted the Nave d'Oro Vino Sfuso shops are quite widespread in Venice although they seem to be owned by different members of the same family and others. This one is a particularly nice one advertising Torbolino (the new partially-fermented sweet red wine) and exceptionally Frizzante wines.

A BACARO Somewhere in VENICE

Vintage Picture

VENETIAN SEAFOOD RECIPES

To GO with YOUR WINE !

DEMIJOHNS of WINE

VENICE

In this little survey, we were told that the majority of Veneziani take home Raboso for red and Verduzzo for their white vino sfuso. Isn't that amazing?

SEAFOOD RECIPES

ITALIAN CHRISTMAS

For LENT

And ALL YEAR LONG

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Raboso is a red wine grape grown primarily in the eastern part of Veneto. It is also called Raboso Piave, from the name of a river near where it is grown. It produces deep-colored wine, with notably high levels of tannin and medium alcohol content and high acid. The name raboxo in the native Venetian language means "angry", because angry is the sensation in the mouth when this wine is drunk young. Raboso was in the past the most cultivated grape variety of eastern Veneto; Venetian navigators called it vin de viajo, "wine of travel", because it was the most resistant to aging and transport. Its popularity decreased in the 20th century, and today the vineyards of Raboxo are just 1–2% of the total amount of vineyards in Veneto.

Verduzzo (or Verduzzo Friulano) is a white Italian wine grape grown predominantly in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of northeast Italy. It is also found in significant plantings in the Piave Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) of the Veneto region, though some of these plantings may be of the separate Verduzzo Trevigiano variety. Verduzzo Friulano is used in varietal and blended wines, many of which fall under DOC as well as vino da tavola designations, that range in style from dry to late harvest wines.^[1] According to wine expert Oz Clarke, most of the sweeter examples of Verduzzo can be found in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia with the grape being used for progressively drier styles of the wine the further west into the Veneto.