Oil vs butter. It reminds me of the boxing match of the century, when Foreman and Muhammad Ali wore their gloves in the Kinshasa ring in 1974 to play for the world title, which Ali will win in the eighth round with a KO. Today I don’t necessarily want to look for a winner. As in a still image, …
Supermarket vs. Real EVOO
Don’t be fooled by the sommelier … Why should we worry about pairings? As an oil and wine sommelier, I often wondered about the meaning of pairing. Is it really necessary? It is an exact science, can you break the rules? We have therefore kept this word, “sommelier”, and it is here that I have an entirely internal smile …
Panta Rhei: et oleum fluxus est
Ever-newer waters flow on those who step into the same rivers – Heraclitus The oil benefited from the “long wave” of the search for the quality of the raw material. This meant that we started talking about quality oil, but just like the fancy restaurant menu nowadays, it only led to much confusion. Quality oil is associated with the …
Mordi, bevi e fuggi a Napoli – Travel Tips
Immaginate di avere solo 12 ore per visitare una città: no, nulla a che vedere con ‘Paura e delirio a Las Vegas’. Io li chiamo ‘mordi, bevi e fuggi’, suona molto meno pulp ed underground, ma è il modo in cui io cavalco il mondo, probabilmente più simile a ‘Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulaine’. Prendere un volo alle sei …
Je m’en fous de rien, Je suis Parisienne
If the idea is to eat well, forget it. In Paris you drink well, but on eating… I would have reservations. I start from a disadvantage, I’m Italian, and I’m used to it well. You don’t have to go too far, though, for a good breakfast. The cafes Parisian Are a certainty. If you can not fall into the …
Interview with Quentin Beaufort
Hi Quentin, I would like to bring you and your champagne to life in a somewhat unusual way. I like to talk about wine, and especially about champagne, but I like even more to “humanize” it. So I will ask you some questions, some of which you can evaluate “unconventional”, to which I would like you to answer me …
The heart has its reasons that reason does not know
“The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of… We know the truth not only by the reason, but by the heart.” Blaise Pascal This morning I took courage and I removed the post-it from the fridge. “March 25th. Air France flight at 6.10 “. I had just woken up, I was still numb from sleep with cotton mouth …
Nothing happens by chance: Chapelle Du Clos Cazals
Once upon a time there was a biting wine … evocative, wasn’t it? It always sounds good as incipit once upon a time. It is reassuring. It is a phrase that smells good. It was the ‘yoga’ of the 70s, when my generation still liked to write the letter to Santa Claus, or reclaim the poem learned by heart …
Evening dress and high heels or jumpsuit and sneakers?
Champagne is ‘a serious thing’, even for those familiar with wine. Champagne has that unusual habit of showing up in an evening dress and never making you feel too comfortable in your Sunday dress. I myself, when opening a bottle of Champagne I suffer a kind of reverential fear. I am surprised to find myself shy and reserved; when I …
Hit and run in Barcelona – Travel Tips
With Barcelona it was not a “haces que me estremezca!”. Let’s say that we didn’t start off on the right foot initially. Maybe I was still a teenager, or more likely I frequented the “wrong crowd” which more suited Lloret de Mar’s nightlife, rather than appreciating the modernist architecture that colors the city in pastel shades. Barcelona and I “sniffed” …