One of our favorite things about traveling is the people we meet, especially when we have a shared interest like wine. On our first night in the Veneto, we headed into the town of Vittoria Veneto with Cinzia Canzian for dinner at Trattoria alla Cerva, which serves an amazing selection of classic dishes typical of the region. Cinzia is the winemaker of Le Vigne di Alice, along with her sister-in-law Pier Francesca Bonicelli, a local enologist. Cinzia previously worked at the Prosecco Consortium in Treviso. She first learned about wine from her grandfather, and the winery is named after her grandmother, Alice. In addition to the winery, they also run Relais Alice, the beautiful bed & breakfast that we stayed at while in the Prosecco region.
We started off our evening, of course, with glasses of Alice Prosecco Doro Nature. It paired perfectly with all of the dishes. Bubbles can go with almost anything! We discussed everything from Alice’s motto, “Life is a bubble,” to winemaking, to the local foods, and history. Wild asparagus was on menus everywhere we went, so we had to try it. This was served in an agrodolce sauce and pancetta – delicious! We also tried the restaurant’s famous strudel with spinach and mushrooms, and finished with Cinzia’s favorite dessert there, millefeuille.
The next day, we were treated to a tasting of the Le Vigne di Alice wines, sampling everything from an extra-dry single vineyard Prosecco to a vintage variety that Cinzia’s grandfather would make for her grandmother’s osteria, and a Brut rosé. Alice has a wide range of Proseccos that are made in different ways, including some wines that have secondary fermentation (called Method Classico, or the Champagne method), and other wines that are never disgorged (called Metodo Integrale). They have even produced a small batch of Amaro.
If you haven’t tried Le Vigne di Alice, you must! You can find it in San Francisco (or online) at Biondivino. In Chicago, you can find it at Binny’s.
Meet Cinzia and taste Le Vigne di Alice at Biondivino in San Francisco on Tuesday, February 5, 2019, 6-8pm. There’s a $10 tasting fee that’s waived for Wine Club members.