On a food trip to Italy, we find cheese that reminds us of body parts, discover the beauty of olive oil, and see what dante's descendants are up to these days
Wine and dante
Ask any Italian from Verona about Masi and his hand will instinctively go to his heart as he sighs in pleasure. Masi's Amarone wines are made with a special method of drying and double fermentation. They are smooth and expensive. We see their drying and storage facilities and walk past barrels of prize-winning wines. Then, there is a treat in store.
We are taken to the farm of Serego Alighieri. Alighieri. As in Dante. His son Pietro bought this farm. We are told it was from the money Dante made from selling his first poem but there may be more romance to that story than truth. But Dante did visit here and his descendants are still around. Serego Alighieri makes wines, olive oils, jams and moreu2026 the property also has rooms you can stay in that overlook a farmland straight out of a Monet painting.
Studd up
The expansiveness makes us mellow. Nothing like some pungent cheese-in-the-making smell to slap us awake then. We go to a factory that makes Grana Padano and Provolone. It's like watching Will Studd's show on cheeses of the worldu00a0 pumpkin-shaped cheeses (also called mandarini) ferment in water, green and quiet, like alien pods waiting to hatch. Elsewhere, grana padano takes its time to mature.
We taste everything and also get an unexpected lesson in spice. From Cremona comes mostarda or mustard. A spicy jam-type compote, mostarda is made with mustard and fruit and accompanies cheese. You think you're Indian and know spice but you don't. We pick up six bottles of the stuff.
Au00a0song for juliet
Our journey ends on a Shakespearean note. We spend two nights in Verona. The courtyard that houses Juliet's balcony also has a newly-opened hotel, the Il Sogno di Giulietta. You could have a balcony overlooking Juliet's or, even better, one opening on to the street below for your Romeo to climb up on to. Every room has a jacuzzi tub you will need after all the hectic shopping at the piazzas.
Rates go from Euro 300 upwards but there really cannot be anything more romantic than this. After hours, when everyone has gone, the courtyard is empty. And Juliet's bronze statue stands in a corner, alone at last. The tourists have gone but the poetry remains.
We come home with pasta in our bags and get an invitation to eat at a risotto festival at a Mumbai hotel. Our journey continues. For more on that, turn the page.
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