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Guest Blogger:GeGe Tan
Tuscany is known for its beautiful landscapes, cultural history, artistic legacy, and of course, the famous Italian red wine.
Back in the old days when local farmers produced wine at home, they wanted a fast and easy way to sell wine on site without having customers constantly intruding into their living space.
So, the farmers invented wine windows. These small openings with artistic arches and stone frames began to appear on the wall of every wine merchant’s house.
Buchette De Vino
According to Mary Forest, the founder of Buchette del Vino, a wine windows association based in Florence, these wine windows are about a foot wide and a foot and half tall, just big enough for a wine bottle to go through.
Wooden Door
“There was usually a wooden door. The door has a small knocker on it so that the client on the street side of the wine window could knock with the knocker, and the individual on the inside of the home would answer,” said Mary.
No one would ever have thought, when Black Death swept through Europe in the 14th century, these little windows had become one of the earliest ways of ensuring social distancing, while satisfying the local’s need for wine.
Vinegar
“Merchants would ask customers to place coins in a small basin of vinegar, because they knew vinegar had cleaning power,” said Mary. “Then they would hand the bottle of wine to the customer through this small opening.”
Preserving Wine Windows
Mary said because a lot of wine windows today have been disfigured or mistreated, she felt the need to help preserve this ancient feature that has been a historical legacy for Tuscany and many other cities in Italy.
Among all the different kinds of wine in Italy, Chianti is characterized by its velvety and burgundy color. Chianti has a bitter-strong taste because the skins of the grapes remain during the process of fermentation.
A Vegetarian Carpaccio
This amazingly tasteful vegetarian Carpaccio would make a wonderful appetizer to pair with the Chianti wine.
Ingredients:
- Vegetables (2 green zucchini, 1 red onion, 1 tomato)
- A handful of fresh basil and mint
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Instructions:
- Thinly slice all the vegetables on a mandoline.
- Finely chop basil and mint.
- Arrange the vegetables on a serving plate.
- In a bowl, whisk apple cider vinegar with olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- When you’re ready to serve, pour the dressing on top of the thinly sliced vegetables.
- Sprinkle basil and mint. If you would like, top it with some shaved parmesan or pecorino cheese.
Another vegetarian Carpaccio that Maria also enjoys is made of cucumber and radish. Simply slice them like you would with other vegetables and place them on a plate. For dressing you would use 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and a teaspoon of lemon or lime juice. Whisk, pour, sprinkle some basil, and you’re ready to go.
For more recipes get your copy of the gourmand World Award Winning book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays and Special Occasions- 2nd edition
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