Open Bottles: the festival of Italian wine treasures.
The second edition opens today at 8:00 pm at Palazzo Giureconsulti with a very special opening event: a recipe I created for the occasion: a risotto with feminine notes (with a surprise hint of raspberry that heralds spring) paired with Cruasè Oltrepo Pavese DOC.
A creation that isn’t just a dish, but a message: a storytelling that unites local tradition, pairing, sustainability, and seasonality. A team of professionals then prepared the dish and offered a tasting to the public; a precious synergy between creative thought and technical execution, enhancing every element of the sensory experience.
Here’s all the info in the press release:
From Friday 1st to Sunday 3rd March 2013, Palazzo Giureconsulti, Milan
Open Bottles, a festival celebrating the treasures of Italian wine, opens on Saturday, March 2nd with a panel discussion with experts on the scams and irregularities of fake Italian products sold in Italy. This will be followed by a presentation of a terroir full of surprises, yet to be discovered: the sweet Oltrepò Pavese.
Then, the green light for cooking demonstrations, tastings, and sensory journeys of taste with the Consortium of the Noble Hills of Monferrato and Fisar, who will be livening up Palazzo Giureconsulti for two days. Aperitif with the Author: Roberta Schira, writer, publicist, and gourmet, will present some of her books, including her latest success, Il Nuovo Bon Ton, published by Salani (second reprint), to get to know others: I see how you eat and I’ll know who you are, a psycho-etiquette book that explores the rules, tips, body language, obsessions, and rudeness of human beings at the table. You don’t know what you’re eating.
The Great Deception of Made in Italy .
This is the provocative title of the opening conference of Bottiglie Aperte, a gourmet salon showcasing niche wines and delicacies, opening at Palazzo Giureconsulti on March 1st. The debate focuses on how to recognize and evaluate what we bring to the table. A hot and controversial topic, it exposes consumers to a jungle of labels, often deceptive and misleading. Industrially produced dishes containing untraceable horse meat, contaminated cheese, European olive oil passed off as Italian, DOP and DOCG wines whose grapes unexpectedly come from far away… What’s in the food we buy in large-scale retail outlets? What don’t labels reveal, even when read with the utmost care? What are the mechanisms of the international agri-food and wine market that we should be aware of to avoid being deceived?
The topic of protecting Italian designations of origin is discussed, starting with tragicomic examples such as the kits sold in Canada for making fake wine at home. Experts then discuss the topic, offering a scenario and possible solutions. Guests include:
- Attilio Barbieri (journalist and blogger at etichettopoli.com) presents extensive research into Made in Italy, the result of a three-year investigation into the numerous brands present in our market. This led to a discussion with Federico Vasoli (international business lawyer with extensive experience in Southeast Asian countries), who details the challenges of protecting Italian products in emerging Eastern markets. The lawyer, born in 1980, points to the passing of the baton to the new generations, who seek to foster the culture and awareness of Made in Italy at the table, shifting legal boundaries.
- Valentina Abbona, a young global ambassador alongside her mother for the family business Marchesi di Barolo, describes her entrepreneurial adventures in a wide variety of countries, highlighting the key steps a winery must take towards successful internationalization.
- Laura Sotgiu (Inspector for the Implementation of Control Plans for DO and GI Wines) explains the role of the wine inspector, whose task is to safeguard Italian products from an extremely unscrupulous market that has every interest in ensuring that supply chain controls do not include clauses that would penalize European products and instead greatly enhance Italian products compared to the retail market. It is well known that our regulations in the past were enacted with the goal of obtaining quality products through undoubtedly more costly methods, but their purpose was to protect our products. Olive oil, wine, and honey are some of the key players in the complex process of identifying a good and healthy Italian product.
On display
From Piedmont, the glasses of the Marchesi di Barolo , the Gattinara Molsino di Nervi , the Bracchetto d’Acqui passito Trentasei di Isolabella della Croce , the grappas of the extraordinary Berta distillery immersed in a park rich in essences and perfumes, and from the noble hills of Monferrato, the Barbera di De Alessi and Casalone.
Moving on to Lombardy, the Franciacorta Sansevé satin from Monterossa, the 9.9 pure Marzemino from La Contessa di Capriano del Colle , and the beers from Bergamo’s Elav. And arriving in Trentino, the Teroldego Foradori and the Trento Doc Ferrari sparkling wines, paired with the Alto Adige Sauvignon from Kloster Neustift Abbazia di Novacella (produced since 1142 by the Abbey’s monks) and the aromatic Gewurztraminer from Tieffenbrunner.
In Veneto with the Cartizze and the Prosecco di Valdobbiadene from Ruggeri , Fossmarai and Carlo Biasotto, the Soave Classico Calvarino from Pieropan, the Gazia Chardonnay aged in acacia barrels from the Treviso Castello di Carboncine.
Follow the signs for Friuli which offers the sparkling Ribolla Gialla from Eugenio Collavini and the Ribolla from Gravner , the Schioppettino from Prepotto from Colli di Poianis , the Gris from Lis Neris and the Blanc De Rosis from Schiopetto .
Go to Oltrepò with the Pinot Noir from Prime Alture and Tenuta Mazzolino , the pure Barbera DodiciDodici from Castello di Cigognola, the red reserve Cavariola from Bruno Verdi , the vintage Profilo brut nature from Andrea Picchioni, the Bonarda from Franco Pellegrini, the Cruasé, a classic method vinified rosé from the Consorzio Tutela Vini dell’Oltrepò Pavese, the Crudoo from Giorgi.
Towards the Emilia Romagna road where the Marcello Lambrusco from Ariola di Parma triumphs, named best red sparkling wine in the world by the International Wine Challenge in London , the Gutturnio from Cantina Valtidone , the Lambrusco from Zanasi, from Cottafavi and the Grasparossa di Castelvetro DOP from Zanasi, the Piacenza brand like the Pantera and the Wolves in Luretta’s Evening.
On to the warm lands of Sicily with the Arbario Passito di Pantelleria from Vinisola , the pure Plumbago Nero d’Avola from Planeta, and the Marsala Riserva from Pellegrino. Moving on to the Marche with the Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi from Casalfarneto, to Basilicata with the Aglianico from Bisceglia , before returning to Umbria with the Sagrantino di Montefalco from Arnaldo Caprai .
Head to Tuscany with Casanova Di Neri’s Brunello di Montalcino , Monteventine, and Castelli del Grevepesa’s Chianti Classico. And stop in Campania with Vinosia’s Greco di Tufo , Rocca dell’Angelo’s Taurasi, and De Conciliis’s Fiano Anrìtece.
Bottiglie Aperte hosts gastronomic content in the Food Stories section:
A selection of cured meats and parmesan from Parmagusto, Lu hazelnuts from the CORILU cooperative, robiola and caprotta cheese made with raw milk from Roccaverano goats from the Regina del Monferrato farm; sweet and savory pastries from Veggetti; Nocellara del Belice extra virgin olive oil from Sciavuru d’Aliva; tagliolini, bagna cauda, and pasta e fagioli seasoned with hazelnut oil presented by “La Commedia della Pentola” of the Alto Monferrato Consortium.
Open Bottles launches Love Oltrepò, the new wave of the Oltrepò region, on Saturday afternoon at teatime. A journey to promote and redevelop a region, from its wines, such as Buttafuoco, the sweet Sangue di Giuda, Bonarda, and the new sparkling wines, to the wine resorts and accommodations in the romantic Pavia countryside. Stories of men and women who passionately embrace the challenges of being small winemakers to bring high-quality, trendy products, such as organic wines, to the market. The conference is sponsored by the Oltrepò Pavese Consortium.
The roundtable discussion will open with Federico Gordini , president of Milan Food Week and creator of Love Oltrepò, and consortium director Matteo Marenghi, introducing diverse and complementary local businesses, such as Franco Pellegrini of Canneto Pavese, ambassador of the Più Libera Association of Producers, which brings together several high-quality companies, and Roberto Lechiancole, founder of Prime Alture Wine Resort. The festival was conceived by the creative mind of Federico Gordini and organized in collaboration with Giuseppe Mazzeo of Più Vino and Piero Milo of Fisar – the Italian Federation of Sommeliers and Restaurateurs. The event’s technical partners are YouWine, who will be setting up the wine refrigeration area; Battaglia Project– Modacucine Milano, who will be designing the event’s kitchen; and Logotec, who will be providing the tasting glasses. An Open Bottles guide with event programs and participating companies is distributed in selected restaurants and wine shops.
Bottiglie Aperte (Open Bottles) is a creative food and beverage format created in 2012 by Federico Gordini during Milan Food Week. Following its success with visitors, this year it is launching as a standalone wine festival, featuring food-related content with Storie di Food (Food Stories). It was created to give visibility to even the smallest businesses in the sector, in a space reserved for a limited number of companies.
Details :
Open Bottles – Palazzo Giureconsulti, Piazza dei Mercanti, Milan
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Friday, March 1st , invitation-only opening – Cooking show with Stefania Corrado
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Saturday, March 2nd from 11am to 10pm:
- 11:00 a.m .: Conference: “You Don’t Know What You’re Eating. The Great Deception of Made in Italy”
- 5 pm : Love Oltrepò conference
- 6:30 PM : Aperitif with the author of Il Nuovo Bon Ton by Roberta Schira
- Sunday, March 3, from 11:00 am to 8:00 pm, Show Cooking and tastings
For information: info@bottiglieaperte.it
Conclusion:
Bottiglie Aperte (Open Bottles) has proven itself year after year as an innovative format, combining excellent wine and gastronomic storytelling. A tasting salon where stories, territories, and new sensibilities meet.
And I’m happy to have contributed my vision and my voice, through a recipe designed to celebrate the Cruasé and tell the story of a conscious spring, one forkful at a time.
