The state of bathing waters in Italy is simply... excellent. It's what the latest reports say, according both to the data gathered by the EEA (European Environment Agency) and the Italian ISPRA (High Institute for Environmental Protection and Research). And Friuli Venezia Giulia in particular really stands out of the crowd, according to the national reports by ISPRA and by the regional Arpa (Regional Agency for Environmental Protection).

The data were collected for the National System for Environmental Protection (SNPA) during 2016-2019 bathing seasons. The Oriental Alps District, which identifies FVG coastal area, is one of the three best bathing sites in Italy, along with Sardinia and the Central Appennino zone (central Italy): the three of them have top quality, clean crystal waters to dive in! And, what's best, also inland bathing waters (rivers and lakes) in FVG are all ranking as “excellent”.

Overall European coasts boast a vast majority of “excellent” ratings as to water's quality, based on the constant monitorings and on the very strict standards imposed by EU environmental laws. Italy is doing pretty well, as nearly 5.000 out of its 5.539 bathing waters were classified as 90% excellent. A good result, considering it represents the 25% of the whole European bathing zones.

High peaks and deep, blue sea

Though often many think of Friuli as a mountain region, it actually has a 78 kilometres-long, almost nonstop string of beaches facing the northern part of the Adriatic Sea, overlooking the Gulf of Trieste. Some of FVG sea cities have been holiday destinations for, well, centuries and have long been beloved summer spots especially for foreign tourists, mainly coming from Northern Europe. Thus meaning they're fully equipped for tourist accomodation and leisure activities, so that you're not going to bore yourself there even during some random rainy day.

Lignano Sabbiadoro and Grado are among the most renowned seaside resorts, but Trieste and Duino-Aurisina also share likewise beautiful waters. And extremely clean, too: 60 of FVG bathing sites were rated as “excellent” by Arpa FVG, leaving out just a very few of them (only six got merely the “sufficient” or “good” status).
So if you haven't booked anything for the summer yet, this could be a huge hint for a deeply relaxing and playful holiday. Where else could one find fine beaches and also close, breathtaking mountains for a walk? And let's not forget about wines and dines... A good chance indeed to have a great time.

By clicking here you'll find a map of FVG coasts and bathing sites, while here you'll find a map of bathing waters in Europe. And just click for more info on Facebook on Lignano Sabbiadoro and Grado.

Grado's photo by vonlucius, taken from Pixabay

Freshness and sweetness in a double taste. A mouthful from chef Kevin Li's recipe and a sip from Do Ville's Malvasia combined for an enduring feeling of pleasure: it's the amazing outcome for our next journey through the 2020 edition of “Zhong Can Yi Jiu”, the culinary guide from the project “Chinese Cuisines meet Italian Wines”.
In this second chapter we'll introduce you to the second dish especially created for one of Do Ville's “Ars Vivendi” wines.

Kevin Li's extraordinary skills for an extraordinary Malvasia
Some very peculiar Chinese ingredients contribute to a seeming simple dish, which hides instead a masterfully skilled training. Kevin Li is known for his commitment to culinary art and to innovating tradition with his creative ideas. His recipe for Do Ville's "Ars Vivendi" Malvasia is wok fried river shrimps and tallow tree seeds (click here for full ingredients and method).

The flavours all rest in two main ingredients, one a very typical addition to Asian dishes, while the other being a quite unusual choice. Maggi sauce is actually a largely, commonly used seasoning in almost any Asian country. It's a liquid, dark-coloured hydrolyzed vegetable protein-based sauce, looking like soy or Worcester sauce, invented in Switzerland as late as the 19th century and it's very popular as an enhancer for broths and soups. It certainly has some herbs in it, though its formula is still a well-kept secret: there are at least nine variations sold around the world, according to different regions' tastes (the Mexican one is more chili-oriented, for example). Let's say it can be easily found in every Chinese kitchen.
But Chinese tallow tree seed oil really is a rare ingredient, instead. Tallow tree is an ornamental tree native to eastern China and Taiwan, more known for its many industrial uses (the wax which coats its seeds is employed for soaps and candles). The seeds contain two different kinds of fats and the oil is seldom used for cooking purposes. There lies Li's touch of genius!

Beauty and plainness: the Huaiyang cuisine
Chef Li is specialized in Cantonese cuisine (the most widely experienced Chinese cuisine in Italy) and in Huaiyang cuisine. The latter has the ingredients' freshness as its flagship, preferring freshwater fisheries as in the Do Ville's recipe.

Being in the quartet of China's most valued cuisines, it originated in the cities of Huai'an, Yangzhou and Zhenjiang, in the Jiangsu Province (along the rivers Huai and Yangtze, and near the Yellow Sea) and it flaunts ancient roots. Huaiyang cuisine has always been a favourite choice for official banquets since the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 A.D.) for a few reasons: each dish is based on its main ingredient and on how it is cut, implying that elaborate slicing skills play a key role for its good-looking dishes, that are cooked carefully over a low fire.

Huaiyang style isn't as spicy as other Chinese cuisines, it tends to be sweeter and simpler instead: that's why chef Li's recipe was paired to a Malvasia, a sweet white wine made of a 100% Istrian Malvasia grapes. In Do Ville “Ars Vivendi” the notes of apple, apricot and plum pleasantly blend in with the shrimps’ texture and their sweet sour coating.

Kevin Li (born in Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province) has over 20 years of culinary experience and worked for international top level hotel restaurants: Fairmont Nanjing, Hilton Wanda Nanjing, Shangri-La Suzhou, Wanda Realm Hotel Dandong and many others. He was awarded many prizes throughout his career, including the title of “Master of Chinese Cuisine” at the “National Culinary Skills Competition” (2013).

Photos taken from Zhong Can Yi Jiu website.

Mountains make up to half of Friuli Venezia Giulia's territory. And its Alps and Pre-Alps hide some incredible hamlets which are like humble jewels in a rocky crown.
One of them is Sutrio, a 1.200 inhabitants' town right in the middle of the Carnic Alps, pretty close to the Austrian border. It's located on the left side of the Bût river and is considered one of the most ancient dwelling place in the whole Carnia area.
What's the magic formula behind its charme? Picturesque stone houses, an excellent woodcrafting tradition, a lot of mountain sports and, of course, tasty local food and wine, too.

A town for skilled hands
Sutrio's story dates back to the XIV century and its narrow, cobbled streets are lined with traditional buildings. Among them, the most interesting are the cramars' houses. Here the term cramar (“peddler” in English) defined mainly spices and fabrics' merchants, and above their front doors usually laid a special sign: a Mercury's cross, the symbol of trade.
Also lining up the streets are sculptures, wooden creations and woodcrafting workshops for which Sutrio is known as the Region's furniture centre. Its marangones, the Friulian word for carpenters, are especially skilled in carving and sculpting. Actually one of the main attractions is the renowned “Presepe di Teno”, a wooden Nativity scene that was hand-made by the late Gaudenzio Straulino: a massive piece of art, representing the whole town with mechanically operated features.
It's thus clear why the most popular events in Sutrio are the annual “Magia del Legno” (The magic of wood) and “Borghi e presepi” (Hamlets and Nativity scenes). “Magia del Legno” is a festival in September which celebrates the town's most important art, with marangones opening up their workshops to the public. And during Christmas time, thanks to “Borghi e presepi” almost in every corner one can spot a Nativity scene, both carved in wood or even played live by local people, while enjoying traditional music and food.

To the mountain's top
From the town centre, one can easily reach up to the ski-lifts that lead to Mount Zoncolan's (1.750 m) and Mount Tamai's (1.970 m) tops. So tourists can equally enjoy the 22 kilometres-long ski runs in wintertime, and no-sweat hiking paths in the summertime.
For example, from Sutrio it can take just about one-hour walk to get to Mount Tamai: and the view from there it's really worthwhile, overlooking the entire Bût Valley and the adjacent Degano Valley. Some of the panoramic paths also lead, of course, to lodges where local products are to be found. Like the extremely delicious shepherd's cottages' cheese, fresh butter and ricotta, and some vigorous grappa to cheer up.

Food & festivals
Other main events go along with typical products and dishes. Like the one completely devoted to cjarsons, a Friulian variation of ravioli, in June. In March, Sutrio celebrates pork meat with “Fums, Profums, Salums”, a feast of local salami treats.
The Hay Festival (“Fasìn la Mede”, mede meaning sheaf) on Mount Zoncolan, in July, recalls the ancient harvest time and works, and is sealed with traditional dishes. And in October, the harvest's otucome can finally be enjoyed: flours are the stars of “Farine di Flôr”, where tourists can taste any kind of flour products. And toast with Friulian wines like a Cabernet, or some fresh Ribolla Gialla and Verduzzo Friulano, maybe paired with polenta, local meat and fresh mushrooms. Well, now we're really drooling!

On Sutrio municipality's website you'll find contacts for bars, restaurants and accomodation: www.comune.sutrio.ud.it. If you want a "one of a kind" experience, you can try the "albergo diffuso" formula: sleeping in private houses as if in a hotel, taking advantage of the privileges offered by both. More info at this link.
And to keep updated with all the events, you'd better check the Proloco Sutrio's website and Facebook page.

Wood working photo and salami photo taken from Proloco Sutrio's Facebook page

What happens when a great Italian wine meets a great Chinese dish? An extraordinary explosion of taste in your mouth, that's all we'd expect. And that's what you'll get from the pairing of our partner Do Ville's “Ars Vivendi” Chardonnay, with the recipe especially created for it by chef Will Chan, included in the 2020 edition of “Zhong Can Yi Jiu”, the culinary guide from the project “Chinese Cuisines meet Italian Wines”, which enlists 140 dishes &wine pairings.

It's the first out of eight recipes that high level Chinese chefs dedicated to as much wines from both our partners Do Ville's and Cantina Rauscedo's white and red wines. Starting from now, in the next articles we'll highlight all of them.

Chef Chan's dish winking at Do Ville's Chardonnay
The refined recipe created by Will Chan for Do Ville's Chardonnay is fried mushrooms and razor clams in XO Sauce. A rejoicing of vivid Asian flavours, in which the razor clams are cooked with ingredients such as XO Sauce and high-grade Shaoxing wine.

XO Sauce is a typical seasoning from Hong Kong, made from dried seafood (usually dried shrimps and scallops), salty Jinhua ham, shallots, garlic, chili and oil. In the Hong Kong slang, XO stands for “high quality, prestige”, meaning that it gives the dish a definite twist of taste.
Shaoxing wine also is a common ingredient, and it's a sort of variation of the more used clear rice wine. What's the difference? It has a more complex and deeper taste, giving the recipe a stronger vibe. It's an esssential ingredient in traditional dishes like the Shanghai-style braised pork belly (Hong Shao Rou).
And it all matches perfectly with DoVille’s Chardonnay, which balances the “umami”* character of the mushrooms mixed with the sea flavour of the clams. The Chardonnay's exquisite notes of green apples, bananas and honey give a boost to the mingling of the different essences in the drinker's mouth. Its good acidity enhance the razor clam's taste and its closing vanilla notes leave a pleasant sensation after the mushrooms. It's made from 100% Chardonnay grapes, and its peculiarity is the “sur lie” method (on the yeasts), where the yeasts are not filtered after the fermentation, which gives more roundness to the wine.

Will Chan has more than 15 years of experience in the field, being a graduate of Master Chef Course in Chinese Cuisine at the Chinese Culinary Institute, and the Executive Chef for Greater China Club. He also worked at a Three Michelin-starred restaurant in Macau and has won several awards in international competitions. Chef Chan is renowned for his unique use of top quality ingredients and different cooking techniques.

About the 2020 "Zhong Can Yi Jiu" guide
It's the second edition of the guide, first published last year, which is part of a very interesting, wider project called “Chinese Cuisines meet Italian Wines”. Promoted by the Italian Wine Bank and produced by The I Factor (organizers of the Italian Cuisine and Wines World Summits and of the Italian Wine List Awards), the program involves 24 talented Chinese chefs from Beijing and Shanghai and is implemented thanks to a collaboration with the Italian Sommelier Association's Club China and the Hong Kong Chinese Culinary Institute.


* UMAMI: a Japanese word meaning “savoury”, explicitly referring to the taste of glutamate given by certain foods, which are rich in proteins.

All photos taken from Chinese Cuisines meet Italian Wines's website and Facebook page

Friulian wines sure match finely with the region's typical dishes. But... what about with Chinese ones? It may come as a surprise to you, but the results are incredible!
And you can check them out personally, by reading through the 2020 edition of “Zhong Can Yi Jiu”, the first guide ever devoted to the matching of Chinese cuisines, both traditional and contemporary, with Italian wines, which has just been published and is available online on the following websites in Chinese and English: https://chinesecuisines-itwines.com and https://zhongcanyijiu.com.cn/.
Of course, the guide features our partners's wines: Do Ville and Cantina Rauscedo are among the Italian wineries who joined the challenge.

It's the second edition of the guide, first published last year, which is part of a very interesting, wider project “Chinese Cuisines meet Italian Wines”. Promoted by Italian Wine Bank and produced by The I Factor (organizers of the Italian Cuisine and Wines World Summits and of the Italian Wine List Awards), the program involves 24 talented Chinese chefs from Beijing and Shanghai and is implemented thanks to a collaboration with the Italian Sommelier Association's Club China and the Hong Kong Chinese Culinary Institute.

The current edition has been supported also by the Italian Consul General in Hong Kong, and by the Italian Embassy and the Italian Trade Commission in Beijing who both organized the event “I Love Italian Wines” in June 2019, where the culinary guide was launched in advance. «Zhong Can Yi Jiu is the only project that aims to propose innovative tools to the Italian wineries for their marketing strategies – says Rosario Scarpato, founder and director of the guide – by pairing their wines to the creations of contemporary chefs who work in Chinese restaurants in China, but also Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore and worldwide».

A feast of Italian and Chinese flavours for your palate
41 Italian wineries took part to the 2019 and 2020 editions, which enlist a total of 140 pairings of Chinese dishes and Italian wines (red, white and sparkling ones) coming from 12 regions: Friuli Venezia Giulia, Abruzzo, Campania, Emilia Romagna, Marche, Piemonte, Puglia, Sardegna, Sicilia, Toscana, Umbria, Veneto. Among them, some of the best and most renowned national brands like the Tuscan Castello di Banfi and Castello di Volpaia, Valpolicella's Sartori or the Sicilian Tasca d'Almerita.

Do Ville and Cantina Rauscedo appear with four wines each. From Do Ville's “Ars Vivendi” brand were selected Chardonnay, Malvasia, Giuliano e Rosé and Rauscedo went for its Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso Friuli Grave DOC, Sauvignon Friuli Grave DOC, Traminer Aromatico Friuli Grave DOC, Verduzzo Venezia Giulia IGT.

The guide consists of recipes divided into starters, main courses, staples and desserts from ten regions or cities across China: Beijing, Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan, Ningxia, Shangai, Sichuan, Singapore, Taiwan, Yunnan. It's very easy to consult, as you can choose by your preferences as to meat, dairy, fish, vegetarian dishes, spicy, eggs, seafood, or also by the type of wine you most fancy. You'll find some really savoury dishes, like braised oxtail with mushrooms, crispy cod with steamed pumpkin and mozzarella cheese, and also a very edgy porcini ice cream!

About IWB
Italian Wine Bank is a unique project promoting leading Italian wineries and their wines abroad and is part of MELIUS, a fellowship among The World’s 100 Best Italian Restaurants outside of Italy. IWB is particularly committed to supporting Italian wine producers exploring innovative marketing tools. Just like the Zhong Can Yi Jiu project, that also includes the publication of the second edition's printed version and a roadshow of presentation, with tastings in restaurants, seminars and fairs in China and Hong Kong. Make sure you'll be there!

Cover photo: Chef Felix Hue during the presentation of Chinese Cuisines meet Italian Wines at I Love Italian Wines event (this one and the bottom photo are taken from Italian Wine Bank website)

High prices not always equal high quality. But there are exceptions, of course, and it applies especially when talking about the wine world. The Wine Searcher just published its “Most Expensive Wines” charts, reviewing brands from all over the world and a few surprises came out of the Italian one.
In the Top 25 List of the most expensive bottles made in Italy, there's a tiny Friulian champion standing tall among the likes of Barolo, Amarone, Brunello di Montalcino: ranking 7th, there’s Miani Calvari Refosco Colli Orientali del Friuli. From a small winemaking firm in Buttrio (Udine), it comes in a very limited production of a few hundred bottles yearly, and each one is worth around 625€. It's worth remarking, too, that Refosco is a typical Friulian native grape.
Topping the precious chart there’s the only other FVG name, a Picolit Acquavite by famed Friulian grappa makers Nonino, hardly to be considered as wine: one bottle is about 1.365€.

The same Refosco by Miani also made it to the Top 25 Best Italian Wines, along with another of its limited-edition products, Miani Buri Colli Orientali del Friuli Merlot, whose bottles are worth 228€ each: and they’re the only two FVG wines included in “The Best” list!

A valuable acknowledgement for Enzo Pontoni, the owner of the winemaking firm established in Buttrio, a small town near Udine and located in the Colli Orientali (Oriental Hills) area, a place known for its extensive wine cultivation, also having its own DOC (Denomination of Controlled Origin) label.


Buttrio and its wines, a long history of growing taste: places to see
As it often happens with Friuli, there are special, specific areas that have been devoted to wine growing for centuries and so, though maybe not so wide or famous, are home to a series of really amazing wines.
With its barely 4.000 inhabitants, Buttrio (known as "Buri" in the local dialect) is definitely not a big city, and yet it counts about fifteen winemaking firms, some of which can flaunt a long history. Like, for instance, the Conte d’Attimis Maniago, whose lands were brought as a dowry for a marriage between noble families in 1585 and its vineyards are still going strong nowadays.

The Buttrio castle, instead, has been turned into an exclusive country touristic accomodation, while still having its own vineyard and winemaking brand. The ancient castle, tracing back to the 12th century, went through battles, wars and devastation, and the present buildings are of a more recent era, though still erected on those ruins: now it’s definitely a place worth visiting and staying, with its huge park, its superb kitchen and, of course, the wonderfully tasting wines.

Buttrio also boasts a “Museum of the Wine Civilization” in the wonderful Villa Toppo-Florio, an 18th century building with an immense botanical and archaeological park. It’s open to visitors and it also hosts, once a year, the Fiera Regionale dei Vini (the Regional Wine Fair), which will run its 88th edition in 2020 (from the 4th to the 7th June).

For more info about events in Buttrio, check out the Pro Loco Buri's Facebook page.
For more info about tourism in Buttrio, check out the Tourist Office Facebook page.