Following my rest on the bench I headed towards San Marco Square and was completely amazed at all that I saw! But first a little Torte Almondine caught my attention. I of course couldn't disappoint this inch thick round torte of almond paste settled into a flaky butter crust and topped with lightly glazed roasted almonds.
I turned the corner and was witness to the most impressive sights and thousands of tourists. So I decided I would find a place to prop myself up and have a delicious snack.
The Square was packed with outdoor cafe's, historical landmarks, art and so much more.
Both Piano and accordian served as theme music to serenade the typical Italian experience in a flood of tourist activity, in comparison to where I had just come from, but why not appreciate both sides? So I did.
After I had walked and walked and walked some more I decided dinner was important. I had a little less interest in additional exposure to the tourist scene and happened upon a Billa, the local grocery market. There, I found a wide variety of everything anyone would ever want or need. Walking around I discovered a bag of fresh greens which would serve me well. I had some chips from my trip already so I moved on toward the cheeses. An impressive selection of smoked and fresh hard and soft as well as semi-soft cheeses were in front of me. Strategically placed on a tiered level of temperatures for refrigeration I began investigating the best choice. I settled on an unaged semi-soft Robiola Vecchia cheese and moved on to the wine section.
Wines are important in Italy and there was no shortage of appreciation in this medium sized grocery market either.
I knew to look for particular phrases on wine labels in order to optimize my experience without being disappointed. I remembered researching information on wines in general before I left the states and Ryan Snyder of winegeeks.com explains it best and most plainly: "Old World wineries must follow strict rules governing the types of grapes used in their wines, the area in which these grapes must be grown, as well as vineyard and winemaking practices. Old world wine regulations vary from country to country and appellation to appellation. However, in general, wines labeled with a specific appellation must:
• Be produced within, and contain grapes only grown within, the specified appellation.
• Use only permissible grape varieties and adhere to specified varietal amounts.
• Produce less than the specified maximum yield of grapes per hectare.
• Contain between the designated minimum and maximum alcohol percentage.
• Adhere to predetermined vineyard practices, winemaking practices and aging techniques.
• Pass chemical analysis and typicity tests."
Therefore if you know what you want to taste, the style you prefer and the region look for it on the label and trust it completely when you see it. I looked for this:
'denominazione di origine controllata e garantia' and found it on this lovely white wine. Oh and Yes, I liked the name most.
Imported wines are a bit different in requirement for labels and have regulations which must be adhered to in order to be in compliance.
I was less discriminating with the my Red Wine choice given I am a sucker for Cabernet Franc in general. It was also rather enjoyable!
I successfully dined and concluded my delicious picnic before heading out to the boat parade, which is another story all together...
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