L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JUNE 23, 2016 www.italoamericano.org 18 L'Italo-Americano T here are three things that I f i n d m o s t I t a l i a n s a r e happy to talk about: food, wine, and sports! Not unlike wine, the sport of cycling has a great heritage in Italy, with its own larger than l i f e h e r o e s s u c h a s F a u s t o Coppi, Gino Bartali, and, of c o u r s e , ' i l P i r a t a ' M a r c o Pantani. As a passionate wine guy, I've gotten lately to thinking about the bicycle's relationship to wine. Along with wine, a passion for cycling has, for me, been an important part of a personal i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f t h e I t a l i a n lifestyle. I mean, broadly speak- ing, folks in Italy have the living of life down to an art form. Eat, drink, sing, be lighthearted, and socialize. Do so with people you care about. Keep an appreciation of personal well-being and don't rush. For God's sake, be sponta- neous. Yes, each to his own, I say. But, if one currently does none of these, I politely suggest the immediate adoption of a few lifestyle changes. It is hard to argue that the relationship of the bicycle to wine does not coexist in a rather complimentary fashion: calori- cally speaking, the excess of one is quite in harmony with the effort of the other. Eat. Drink. And ride the bike. One sort of absolves the sins of the other. To give the point a bit of religious c o n n o t a t i o n a l a C h a z z JOEL MACK Wine, Bike, and Living La Dolce Vita Palminteri's movie The Bronx Tale in a scene about Catholic confession, "…you can start over every week." Wine and cycling, as separate activities, both capture some- thing beautifully simple. Yet, in either, one can find meanings both deep and profound. Both wine and the bike, in their own ways, lead one across emotional and physical landscapes, open t h e h e a r t t o t h e r h y t h m s o f nature, and promote a conscious- ness of lifestyle and the human spirit. I recently re-read a few arti- cles I'd written about wine and, in the following passages, noted t h e c r i s s c r o s s o f c o n n e c t i o n between my cycling life and my life with food and wine: Pinot Blanc Pedaling fast along a down- hill curve I approach Bahler Farm with the bike's computer reading 51 kph. CAUTION: COW CROSS- ING. I squeeze the brake levers. My lungs need air, but an e a r l y e v e n i n g m i x o f J u l y humidity with the permeating smell of cow dung deters me f r o m o p e n i n g m y m o u t h t o breathe: it's nose only. Between me, dinner and a bottle of Pierre Frick Pinot Blanc chilling in the refrigerator is one hill and a handful of miles which I plan on ripping through at 100 strokes per minute. A salty elixir of sweat and old sun block runs down my face and onto my lip somehow stirring my appetite. Barolo Tobacco hangs in the curing barns now. Great fields of corn have been cut down to brown stalks returning an expansive f e e l t o t h e l o c a l l a n d s c a p e . Thousands of jack-o'-lantern- o r a n g e o r b s p e e k o u t f r o m among the pumpkin vines. Fall is rolling into my neck of New England. Today, the world outside seems composed in shades of brown accompanied by a sleepy, rainy day's sound- track. But inside, overhead light- ing and the sizzling sound of shi- itake, portobello, porcini mush- rooms and shallots hitting the pan turn the kitchen into a lively space. We'll simmer these in a cream sauce and serve over fet- tuccine, washing it all down with a bottle of Barolo. Riesling Riding the open flats past local corn fields is always a w i n d y p r o p o s i t i o n d u r i n g autumn. The wind that, when at my back, earlier made me to feel like a better cyclist than I really am, now bears down hard on my forward motion. Tall, dry corn stalks look on with disapproval as I ride by. "Better riders than you have been by here today" they crack- le, their dehydrated whispers chasing me row across row. Across the road, sunflowers bow their heads politely down so as not to stare as I struggle past. The breakfast of champions was apparently not on my morn- ing table today. To distract you now from this tale of lackluster pedaling, I shall draw your attention instead t o t h e m o r e w i n n i n g p e r f o r - m a n c e o f W e i s e r K u n s t l e r Riesling Spatlese. I don't believe in perfection. N o t r e a l l y . B u t , t h e r e a r e moments both on the bike and with wine that come pretty close. T h e r e c a n b e m o m e n t s w i t h either one when silence comes coated with a sort of smooth- ness. Some would call it medita- tion. But, I think I call it harmony. Is it necessary to point out that any benefit derived from wine or cycling should never be s o u g h t b y c o n d u c t i n g e i t h e r activity together with the other? To be clear, I am not suggesting o r c o n d o n i n g a c t i v e c y c l i n g along with the consumption of wine. Only that each one, in its own way, contributes to this writer's living of la dolce vita. Both wine and the bike, in their own ways, lead one across emotional and physical landscapes, open the heart to the rhythms of nature, and promote a consciousness of lifestyle and the human spirit There are moments both on the bike and with wine that come pretty close to perfection WINE NEWS TRENDS PROFILES

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