La Gazzetta dello CycleItalia

News about "La Dolce Vita in Bicicletta" 

Volume 11                                                   www.cycleitalia.com                                                   Numero 4  

Carissimi Amici,

This is the first full issue of the electronic La Gazzetta dello CycleItalia.   We hope you enjoy reading and perhaps get inspired to join us this summer. 
Grazie!  Larry & Heather
 
Featured Vacation: Paradise in Piedmont
gary in barolo hills
This was the first itinerary we ever produced -- way back in 1999.
Since then it's been tweaked a bit but we've been careful to preserve the special quality of Piedmont cycling.  Cycling in this region reminds us of riding through a huge, immaculately maintained garden.  Vineyards on your right, meticulous orchards on your left and a picture perfect castle or cathedral atop every hill!  Join us June 10-19, 2009  See detailed day-by-day itinerary. 
Book Review  Campagnolo 75 Years of Cycling Passioncampagnolo book
 
Fans of the famous components from Vicenza, Italy will love this book.  Fanatics who have Campy logos tattooed on their bodies might feel it lacks satisfying detail but for normal cycling enthusiasts this a great coffee table book.  One of my favorite revelations was the debunking of a myth I'd believed for years -- that Tullio Campagnolo refused to shake Shimano's hand when his company debuted their first Dura Ace groupset (a striking almost-copy of Campagnolo Super Record). 
Authors Facchinetti and Rubino recount a meeting at the '65 Milan bicycle show where the rivals "shook hands and established a relationship of mutual respect that was destined to last the rest of their lifetimes."
My only regret is this beautiful book was printed in China of all places!  I'm sure most Campagnolo fans would gladly pay a few more dollars for a book lovingly printed in Italy.
  
Featured Supplier--Torelli torelli corsa strada
Our friends at Torelli continue to help us share the joys of everything Italian.  New owner Todd, with advice from "Chairman Bill" are working with us to increase the size and variety of our rental bicycle fleet.  Their small shop in Italy is working on bikes with aluminum main frames with carbon fiber forks and seat stays - bikes a bit lighter than our current steel framed ones  We'll reduce the weight still further by spec'ing Campagnolo's Veloce groupset with "compact-double" crank and Khamsin wheels.
We plan to bring our tricolore Torelli 20th Anniversary special bikes to Italy this year while our trusty Mondonico bikes get repainted.
If you're interested in a fine Italian bicycle, you can't do better than a Torelli or Mondonico!
 
Recipe:
Pio Cesare Barolo Brasato al Barolo from Matt Kramer's Passion for Piedmont
Make this before winter ends, it's a great excuse to uncork a nice bottle of Barolo - not to cook with but to enjoy with this dish!  Kramer suggests using a Piemonte wine like Nebbiolo in this recipe but says a decent cabernet works fine too.
 
3 T olive oil
2-3 lbs beef roast, round or brisket
2 bottles red wine
1 medium onion, sliced
1 large carrot cut into chunks
1 large pinch of cinnamon
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
 
Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Brown beef on all sides. Remove beef from skillet, set aside in large glass or steel mixing bowl.  When cool add all the other ingredients, stir and refrigerate covered for at least 24 hours.
To cook, put beef and marinade in a big pot with tight fitting lid, bring to boil over high heat, then reduce to simmer.  Let beef braise for 3 hours.  You can also put the whole works in a 300 degree oven.  Keep beef bathing in marinade, adding more wine or meat stock if necessary.
When beef is tender, remove and place in warm oven.  Strain liquid into a saucepan, cook over high heat, reducing it to a sauce.  Slice beef into 1/4 inch slices, arrange on platter and spoon the sauce over the slices.  Kramer notes if using brisket you can skip the marinating period, by browning the beef and putting it in a pot that can go in your oven.  Cook overnight at 300 degrees before removing the beef from the pot and preparing the sauce as above.
 

Wine Feature:  Barolocarlo zarri in cantina 
The "Wine of Kings, King of Wines" is certainly one of the world's most respected. Oddly, its creation was inspired by French enologist Louis Oudart in the early 1800's. The original estate, Marchesi di Barolo, continues to produce excellent Barolos as does Fontanafredda, originally owned by Vittorio Emanuele II, the first king of unified Italy.
These days there are two distinct schools of Barolo winemakers. Traditionalists like Conterno, Mascarello, Rinaldi and Giacosa favor traditional methods and prefer them to newer ones (temperature control machinery, stainless-steel tanks, small French oak barrels) favored by more progressive producers such as Ratti, Gaja and Altare.  All start with (as required by DOCG regulations instituted in 1980) 100% Nebbiolo grapes sourced from a 2875-acre area around Barolo, Castiglione Falleto, Serralunga d'Alba and other small towns, with a minimum of 3 years of aging, two of them in oaks or chestnut casks.  Riservas require 5 years.
An old story recounts an uproar when Renato Ratti had the nerve to charge the equivalent of 50 cents for a bottle of his Barolo!   Nowadays most of us reserve these bottles for very special occasions, like when we visit Carlo Zarri in Cortemilia (photo above) and learn more about the famous wine.
 
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