Ligurian Trawl

 

We were off to Liguria for a long weekend in early October for someone's birthday so we thought this would be a perfect opportunity to stock up on the Lumassina (Mataòssu) and Rossese of the most excellent Paolo Ruffino of Punta Crena, an Albarola and a Bosco each in purezza, a Pollera, a Cimixa and a Barsaglina (Massaretta) from Toscana. None of these is widely available even in Liguria so we looked for sources who might be able to sell us the wines and ship them to a central point in the province where we could collect them on arrival,

An historic wine shop in Genova, Enoteca Squillari were able to get their hands on two examples of Lumassina and the Rossese all from Punta Crena, the Cimixa and an Alborola - 5 bottles in all.

Elvira Ackermann is the person to contact at Squillari. She was extremely knowledgeable and helpful. 

For the Pollera and Barsaglina (aka Massaretto) we turned to our old friend Pierangelo Affani of Vino Estremo, Fivizzano whom we last met in 2015.

Pierangelo was still going strong which these days and after Covid is a miracle.

Not only that but Pierangelo had these two wines as made by the Frate dei Monache Bianchi - a local producer whose exact same wines we had enjoyed those seven years ago. 

Now where to find a kind person willing to receive these parcels and hold them for us pending our arrival?

Elvira pours a generous aperitif.

Choosing Portofino as the destination and researching various bars which might be appropriate we came across 'Winterose' whose owner Emanuela Cattaneo had garnered an amazing 100% positive recommendations. On top of that, Sra. Cattaneo was especially lauded for her kindness so she was the one we approached. She couldnt have been more co-operative.

Winterose is indeed a very sweet place and unlike many in Portofino not an overpriced tourist trap.

There indeed were the boxes and we collected them with pleasure and relief.

Chatting to Emanuela we complimented her on the fact she had received such plaudits from her customers. She answered saying that once they had had two glasses they were more than happy to write a good review.

Another wine we had been intrigued to try was Bianchetta Genovese made from the grape of he same name. You will find it difficult to get this outside the area. It is a traditional wine of Genova and its surroundings. Surprisingly it has been proven that the Bianchetta Genovese grape is none other than Albarola. That is a surprise because Bianchetta Genovese wine is lighter and less alcoholic than you usually find in monovarietal Albarola wines from the Cinque Terre.

Just one thing was missing from our attempt to form a complete picture of rare Ligurian varieties - a wine made solely from the mysterious  Bosco variety. It became a holiday obsession to find one trudging up and down the streets in particular in Riomaggiore and Monterosso in the Cinque Terre without luck. 

We will post something on Bosco anon. That's a threat.

Paolo Ruffino of Punta Crena