Prosecco Week Tasting in the Dark kit– and participants before being blindfolded; G. Alley photo
Prosecco is the most popular sparkling wine in the world, and Prosecco DOC is one of the most well known wine appellations in the world. During Prosecco Week June 24-30 2024, Sue Hill and I experienced Prosecco in a new way — tasting in the dark!
Prosecco feels like: silk? sandpaper? beads? or? and yes that’s me!; professional photo provided
Yes, we were blindfolded and we had a tasting kit with four textures and three aromas to help us approach the Prosecco DOC universe in a new and innovative way led by Dr. Hoby Wedler. Dr Wedler was born blind, and achieved a PhD in chemistry from UC Davis which guided him as our guide. As sight is the predominant sense for most of us, being blindfolded amplifies sensory experiences to make every detail more vivid and intense.
It’s 94 degrees here in the Mojave desert at this year’s Bequinox, LA’s regional Burning Man event. This morning we strolled Seraphim Ranch just north of California City in the middle of nowhere and found old friends at the Merry Mad Tea Party where we had iced butterfly flower tea and we made new friends at Cat Butt Camp where they served mimosas and bacon and celebrated Caturday.
When we got back to our camp set up on the outskirts of out 1k member community, I enjoyed a chunk of marinated grilled tritip with a side of veggie chips and a glass of Masciarelli Rosato. It’s Rosé Day, and a nearby camp called Filament is spinning Sade for an event they call “Sade and Rosé in Lingerie.”
I’m actually now sitting in a hot pink and orange lounge chair sipping rosato, I’m wearing lingerie (and bike shorts!), and I’m listening to Sade while I gaze out at the creosote dotted desert and finish this post about roses and rosato from Masciarelli. Don’t get me wrong– it’s hot under the awning of my vw van, but with this rosato, I’m feeling pretty chill– even if my laptop is not and it’s running low on battery!!
Apertivo with Organic Grillo from Cantine Ermes “Vento di Mare” Sicilia DOC
In Milan at an outdoor cafe on my first trip to Italy in October 2022, we were quite surprised to find spritz was served with snacks, specifically, large green olives and potato chips! I looked around and saw everyone had them and that this is standard. Just like chips and salsa is expected in a Mexican food restaurant in California, so are small bowls with snacks common in Italy when you order a spritz, sparkling, or white wine in the afternoon during what we might think of as “happy hour” — that time in the day when lunch has worn off and it is too early for dinner, especially in Italy where it is more common to eat after dark and in the cool of the evening around 830 or 9pm.
People watching with spritz and snacks in Milan, October 2022; potato chips are common in the north while taralli are more popular for apertivo in the south
wine predator.............. gwendolyn alley 