Monday, July 18, 2011

Hiking through Sciacchetrà

Gastro Hiking
Cinque Terre


I grew up hiking. Canada is filled with great hiking spots. You can practically walk out your backdoor and hike up a mountain, see a beaver and bump into a deer. Italy is a bit more populated, about 58 times more, and the wild animals have, for the most part, been turned into nice purses, shoes and salami. The chance of going out on a hike and not constantly bumping into other hikers is practically impossible. Not so in the Cinque Terre. The terraces that spread up and down the rugged cliffs and mountains have been built over centuries so there are literally thousands of sentieri, or trails, leading through the grapes vines, wild fennel in the lush coastal paradise. Meaning you stay away from the heavily populated tourist trails by following the old grape harvesting trails that lead into the villages.  On a hot day you can really smell the sugars inside the grapes fermenting into the local sweet wine Sciacchetrà. Or maybe it was just a touch of heatstroke.
Sciacchetrà is made from 60 % Bosco, and 40 % Albarola and Vermentino grapes. The best bunches of grapes from the September harvest are set aside in the cases they were collected in for two months. Then they are carefully macerated and fermented for eight days. After the wine is matured for five months in wooden barrels and 15 months in stainless steel vats before being bottled. Locals say it is best enjoyed served at ambient temperature. 
The result is a rich straw colored sweet wine that goes great with pandolci bassi, local almond biscuits or simply on its own at the end of great meal. 






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