Latest news with #Nebbiolo
Irish Examiner
14 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Wine with Leslie: Intriguing tastes of Nebbiolo
I've often been asked what led me to fall in love with wine, and I think it was probably just my innate hedonism. I adore the scents, flavours and textures to be found in even modest bottles of wine, and of course in great wines from say Burgundy, Bordeaux and Piedmont (to name just three of my favourite regions). What inspired this column was a fragrant and fruit-driven Nebbiolo di Langhe in Lidl this month as part of their Italian celebration. Given that my last two columns covered southern Italy, I decided I needed to give other countries a chance, so I have chosen two other wines that offer similar pleasures. Nebbiolo is rarely a bargain and this is because it is such a difficult variety to manage. Nebbiolo is picky about the soil it is planted in, it is the first variety to bud but also the last to ripen (usually mid-October). It needs a long growing season with plenty of sunshine and well-drained soils so it is particularly suited to Piedmont. You will find examples in Australia, California and almost every new world region, but none have come close to recreating the complex aromas and flavour profile of the wines of Piedmont. Nebbiolo can have scents of violets, cherry and plums but also tar, ink, and cold tea. The best Barolo and Barbarescos are fragrant, elegant and enticing, but also much more grippy and structured than you would expect from such a beguiling aroma. I'm also recommending a Spanish Mencía which can also offer intrigue and complexity, but is generally a more easy drinking wine. And of course I had to include a Bourgogne Pinot Noir which is all about the seductive scents matched with structure and acidity; even Riedel recommend the same glass for both wines. There are finer Bourgognes to try, but this one is a good place to start. Santenzo Langhe Nebbiolo, Piedmont; €10.99 Santenzo Langhe Nebbiolo, Piedmont; €10.99 Lidl This has to be the best value Nebbiolo in the country and is one of number of good Italian wines in Lidl this month (also look for Fiano and the Riccardi Chianti Colli Senesi). Blackcurrant and dark plum fruits with a touch of ink, fruity and ripe with noticeable weight and texture. Tannins are present, but they are integrated and overall this is quite the charmer. Brezo de Gregory Perez, Bierzo, Spain; €21 Brezo de Gregory Perez, Bierzo, Spain; €21 MacCurtain Wine Cellar; Sheridans Dublin and Galway Mencía has similar molecular properties to black truffles, they say, and matches them brilliantly, as does Nebbiolo. Mencía offers scents of violets and lively ripe fruits such as blackberry and cherry, but also an earthy tone. This is one of my favourites, with pastille aromas, supple and layered fruits, but with a lightness of touch and lingering red and black fruits. Louis Jadot Pinot Noir, Bourgogne, France; €32-33 Louis Jadot Pinot Noir, Bourgogne, France; €32-33 JJ O'Driscolls; La Touche; Molloys; O'Briens Pinot Noir is an obvious grape to compare to Nebbiolo and this Bourgogne version is even somewhat affordable; Jadot are big but they are consistent. Bright cherry-strawberry aromas with a hint of earth; supple, textured and lingering tangy red fruits. O'Driscolls also stock the excellent Two Paddocks & Two Picnics Pinot from NZ, both made by Sam Neil (yes, that Sam Neil). Beer of the Week 8 Degrees Brewing 'Full Irish' Single Malt IPA, 6% ABV, 440ml €3.75 8 Degrees Brewing 'Full Irish' Single Malt IPA, 6% ABV, 440ml €3.75 Bradleys; Matsons; Tesco; Independents; I first tasted this in 2014 (initially for a festival but soon brought into the core range) but have not featured it here. From Irish grown barley malted in Cork, but using New World hops (simcoe, cascade, citra and amarillo). As expected from those hops this is a hop-bomb, packed with lime and lychee fruits but with a good hit of malt on the mid palate. Perfect summer drinking. Read More Wine with Leslie: Deep reds to savour from my Italian excursion
Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
With the new Vin Folk, Hermosa Beach becomes a culinary destination
'Hi, I'm chef Jude. I'll be taking care of you this evening.' A young man in pristine chef whites greets our table at Vin Folk, a petite, bucolic restaurant on the northern edge of downtown Hermosa Beach. He has an earring in each ear and a grin that reaches his eyes. I wonder if he may have lost his way to the kitchen. 'We're a chef-driven restaurant,' he says. 'You'll see that most of us are wearing chef coats.' He launches into a speech about how the restaurant is attempting to do away with the traditional 'front of the house and back of the house' system. It's an explanation that takes at least a minute. Then he asks if he can take our drink order. I inquire about a bottle of white Nebbiolo. 'Oh, I don't drink yet,' says Jude, confirming he's not yet old enough to legally consume alcohol. 'But I'll get a staff member more familiar with the wine list.' The future of L.A. dining might indeed be found in this teensy dining room. Located just a block from the strand, it's a bright spot in an area dense with acai bowls, coffee shops and sports bars. Half the diners on any given evening are couples dressed for a night out. The other half are seated on the patio, with dog leashes wrapped around their wrists, Hokas and flip-flops on their feet and the look of someone who may have spontaneously wandered over from their oceanfront home. The dining room crackles with the hopeful, earnest energy of a start-up company, ripe with possibility. And with food that has all the technique and precision of a tasting menu restaurant with less of the fuss, it is without a doubt the most exciting place to eat in the South Bay in recent memory. The menu is a jaunt through chef-owner Kevin de los Santos and chef-partner Katya Shastova's backgrounds and travels, each dish attached to one or more specific 'memories' that your chef will share throughout the evening. The mussels tart ($25) is both precious and picturesque, the kind of plate you feel compelled to pull out your phone for and photograph, even if you don't normally do that sort of thing. Inspired by a summer trip to Europe before opening the restaurant, the two remember traveling through Portugal, dining on tins of fish, bread and wine. The dish is a love child of mussels in escabeche and pot pie, with a diamond of puff pastry that acts as a golden, high-walled bed of crust on the plate. Nestled in the center is a smoked fennel cream studded with bits of crunchy fennel and smoked clams. Arranged in a neat row over the top are mussels in escabeche — plump, tart and tangy. A curled nub of pastry is playfully arranged at one corner of the diamond like the lip of a steel tin. You shatter the flaky crust, sending shards of pastry into the rich cream and mussels, the combination at once rich, acidic and balanced. The bivalves may be painstakingly placed with multiple pairs of tweezers. And throughout the evening, the staff will yell a taut, loud, 'Oui!' to confirm tickets in the kitchen. But this is not a place that takes itself too seriously. De los Santos and Shastova are making an effort to mentor the staff with a style of service they learned while working at Somni, Aitor Zabala's fine dining restaurant now located in West Hollywood. At Vin Folk, which opened in November, staff are trained in multiple positions, both in and out of the kitchen. Everyone helps with prep, then De los Santos and Shastova play a game of chess with the staff, placing members in positions where they may be strongest. 'We are teaching them,' says Shastova. 'You go through everything because we believe it's important to learn every single detail of the restaurant if you want to have your own one day.' It's a system that breeds an enthusiastic crop of chefs who beam with pride at the presentation of each dish, all hands having contributed to its creation. It also makes for a cozy, often crowded dining room, with the back of the restaurant occupied by chefs clustered together in the open kitchen, hovering over plates of food. The headcheese toast ($15) is a loose interpretation of the patty melt at Langer's Deli in Westlake. It's a slice of head cheese made from slow braised pork head and shoulder over a piece of Hokkaido milk bread with a spoonful of sauerkraut and a piece of New School American cheese. On the side is a smidgen of mustard so hot it makes your nose tingle. The melted, almost waxy cheese catapults the toast into another dimension of richness. A modicum of mustard yanks the flavors back to earth. A bowl of pritto ($20), according to the chef who served the dish, is the restaurant's take on Taiwanese popcorn chicken. Chunks of zucchini and nuggets of Jidori chicken thighs are coated in potato starch and whipped egg whites for a delicate coating with a fleeting crunch. There's a dusting of togarashi powder hot with the numbing sensation of Sichuan peppercorns. It's the dish that everyone at the table keeps coming back to, nibbled on absentmindedly while you contemplate a second glass of wine. Partner and beverage director Christina Montoya put together a short list of lesser-known, small producers. Wine inquiries are usually met by sommelier-in-training Idean Hashemian, who floats around the room, quick to offer a taste of Brooks Amycas white wine or the Trail Marker Wine Co. Chardonnay, depending on your order. He's patient and personable, demonstrating the same eagerness as the chefs, every pour accompanied by a tidbit about the winemaker. Without a full liquor license, the cocktails are either low or no alcohol. The Lower Negroni has the same bitter citrus bite as the classic Italian aperitif cocktail with the addition of warm chocolate bitters. The Zen-Cha Spritz with tea, cava and mint tastes like it's made to sip with an ocean breeze. The strongest dishes tend to be anchored by the chefs' most vivid memories. Beef tongue ($23) is an homage to Shastova's childhood in rural southern Russia. It's prepared the same way her mother made it: simmered for hours, then rested overnight in a pool of its own juices. The tongue is painted with a dehydrated tomato skin glaze that turns sweet on the charcoal grill, then splayed over a bed of grated tomato spiked with horseradish. It's fatty and exceptionally tender, with a rich, focused beefy flavor free of any offal tang. The roast chicken ($60), one of the few large-format dishes at the restaurant, is nearly upstaged by the black-eyed pea cassoulet beneath it. The beans are creamy and luxurious, saturated with a mixture of emulsified butter and chicken drippings. Pastry chef Lei Elmann and De los Santos turned their childhood breakfast memories of eating Koko Krunch cereal in the Philippines into the restaurant's most striking dessert ($20). It's composed of squares of milk chocolate crémeux that melt on the tongue, a 'soil' of chocolate crumbles, grated chocolate infused with guajillo and jagged hunks of cocoa crackers like fragments of puffed chocolate rice cereal. A smooth chocolate Amaro sauce is poured over the top, and off to the side is a small cup of warm milk. The dish is finished by grating asin tibuok over the plate, a bulbous mass of Filipino sea salt that looks like a fractured dinosaur egg. Swipe a piece of the cracker through the Amaro sauce. Pop a chocolate square into your mouth. Build a spoonful of chocolate soil. The intensity of the chocolate builds to a crescendo of cocoa, then subsides with a sip of milk. At times, not everything clicks, with some dishes feeling overly complicated or disjointed. A beef tartare ($22) meant to mimic the flavors of Chinese char siu involves a grocery list of ingredients including flax seed and beet root pulp crackers. The beets overpower the beef and muddle any nuance in the tartare. The garganelli ($30) feel tough and out of place in a sauce nantua that eats more like a thick paste than the classic crayfish butter cream sauce. And sometimes, the 'memories' shared when serving a dish can be a little distracting. During one visit, I was told the chili crab ($42) was inspired by the classic Singaporean chili crab, something De los Santos often ate in the Philippines and Singapore. It's a crab with global recognition, served throughout Southeast Asia drowning in a sweet chili sauce laced with dried shrimp paste and marbled with egg. Then, I was also told that it's an homage to the Santa Barbara crabbing boat that Shastova worked on for five months during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those two disparate memories become a bowl of Venetian-style risotto with a small mound of rock crab meat sourced from that same crabbing boat and a fried egg espuma in the middle. During the near-minute-long explanation, we inevitably lost the plot of the dish. I dug in a spoon and tried to conjure the taste of Singaporean chili crab, the funk of the shrimp paste, ginger and chili. The risotto was impeccably cooked, each grain a plump oval glutted with crab stock and a compound butter infused with ginger, shallot Thai chile and tomato. There's a token resemblance to Singaporean chili crab, if any. But with a bowl of risotto this excellent, there's really no explanation needed. The food itself is the most compelling story, and with a dining room full of chefs this ambitious, I'm anticipating a happy ending.
Forbes
11-06-2025
- Forbes
Autumn In Piedmont's Langhe Hills: Fine Wines, Food And Stunning Landscapes
Rows of the colorful autumnal vineyards on the hills of Langhe in Piedmont, Italy. The autumn harvest season is one of the best times to visit the Langhe Hills of Piedmont. Visitors can enjoy the region's bounty of fine wines and cuisine amidst breathtaking views of vineyards, rolling hills, and woodlands, swathed in vibrant shades of red, orange, gold and brown. Located in northwestern Italy (in the southern part of the Piedmont region), the Langhe Hills are framed by the Maritime Alps and the Ligurian Apennines. Eleven small villages (communes), including the town of Barolo, are spread over this hilly area, which comprises the official Barolo DOCG wine production zone. Nebbiolo Grapes Located northeast of Alba, the Langhe Hills are the exclusive home to Barolo and Barbaresco, two of Italy's most prestigious red wines. The wines are named after these two tiny villages. Both wines are made from 100% Nebbiolo grapes and are favorites among wine enthusiasts. Often described as siblings, Barolo is known as the "King," and Barbaresco as the "Queen." However, the region produces other high-quality reds and whites, including Barbera, Pinot Nero, and Chardonnay. The Piedmont Langhe/Monferrato wine region was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014 for its stunning vineyard landscapes and rich winemaking traditions. (The only other Italian wine region to achieve this status is the Conegliano and Valdobbiadene wine region, which produces Prosecco.) Italian white truffles at the Truffle Fair in Alba, Piedmont (Italy), the most important international truffle market in the world. The regional cuisine of Piedmont is also legendary among food lovers, perhaps only second to Emilia Romagna. The town of Alba is the epicenter of white truffles, known for its yearly International White Truffle Fair. The fair's 95th edition will be in October. Steeped in agricultural and culinary traditions, the Langhe Hills are known for their regional pastas (tagliarini, tajarin and agnolotti), risotto, polenta, and cheeses. Meat lovers enjoy the uniquely lean, tender Fassona beef, from a breed of cattle native to the region. The area is also famous for Piedmont IGP hazelnuts, which are valued by chefs and chocolatiers worldwide. In Turin, the nuts are used to craft gianduia (a chocolate-hazelnut confectionery). Alba is home to Nutella, the popular spread that is considered a descendant of the candy. Mauro and Giovanni Manzone in the wine cellar A consortium, Consorzio Di Tutela Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe E Dogliani, oversees the strict procedural guidelines for its 500 members that govern the production of Barolo and Barbaresco as well as other denominations like Dolcetto di Dogliani, Barbera d'Alba and Langhe DOC. Only vineyards located on the slopes of the hills, with the best sun exposure and an altitude between 170 and 540 meters above sea level, are allowed to produce Nebbiolo grapes for Barolo. Grape quantity is also capped to guarantee high quality. Most wineries in this region are small, family-owned, and produce site-specific wines. Each village (commune) has distinct soil types, altitudes, exposures and microclimates. Giovanni Manzone Winery is located in Monforte d'Alba, one of the 11 communes in the province of Cuneo. The winery's namesake inherited a house and farm from his father, Stefano, located in what is now called the Castelletto MGA (Menzione Geografica Aggiuntiva), a recognized Cru (single-vineyard designation) within the Barolo DOCG. The steep, stony ground made cultivation challenging. But through perseverance and hard work, he began to produce wine and bottled his first Barolo Ciabot del Preve in 1961. Following long-standing tradition, his Barolos were and still are aged in large oak barrels with long maceration times. In the 70s, the family acquired another plot of land in Gramolere, now considered a Menzione Geografica Aggiuntiva (MGA) or Cru within the Barolo DOCG, which has been known historically for grapes that produce wines of incredible structure. At the end of the 1980s, Marc de Grazia, an influential American wine importer who promoted Barolo wines, recognized the quality of Manzone wines, leading to their fame worldwide. This was the start of a 23-year successful partnership with the importer. A fifth generation of the Manzone family, Mauro and Mirella, now oversee operations of their 14.3 hectares of land. About 8.5 hectares are used to produce Rossese Bianco, Dolcetto, Barbera, and Nebbiolo wines within the Barolo appellation. The grapes are hand-harvested and the winery follows a Colderetti protocol to ensure environmental sustainability. Manzone Famiglia Manzone Winery welcomes visitors for guided tastings and tours of the cellar and vineyards. 'We can't compete with the marketing of large, commercial wineries,' says Mauro over a Zoom call. 'The best way to show our work is through tastings of our wines.' The Manzone tasting room offers expansive views of the Barolo region. Mauro compares the small villages dotting the Langhe Hills to 'small jewels,' each with its own charm, characteristics, and customs. Plans are underway to renovate the farmhouse to host overnight stays. Visitors meandering the cobblestone streets of the well-preserved medieval centers will find historic castles, churches, markets and museums (including a Barolo wine museum and a corkscrew museum). More active wine tourists can book popular e-bike tours, plan walks, or run beside the photogenic hills and vineyards. 'Wine and food show their best together,' says Mauro. The Langhe Hills do that in spades. Local trattorie, osterie and ristoranti offer food enthusiasts opportunities to savor authentic farm-to-table regional Piedmontese cuisine paired with exquisite wines. One of the most convenient ways to explore the region is by car, allowing stops at wineries, wine shops and other attractions in the scenic villages. Unlike more trafficked wine regions, visitors appreciate the authenticity of the small hotels, agriturismi, and guest houses in the Langhe Hills. The passionate winemakers of the Langhe Hills are warm and welcoming. They are rightly proud of their terroir, which offers tourists a perfect mix of gastronomical, historical, and cultural treasures. Manzone Wines The Nebbiolo grapes of this complex and balanced wine come from vineyards with the Castelletto MGA. A traditional single-vineyard Barolo made from older grapes in the Gramolere MGA, full-bodied and well-structured with excellent aging potential A just-released special edition Barolo from the 2009 vintage, offering depth, structure and elegance, celebrating the winery's 100th anniversary A delicate, juicy red wine from a new vineyard planted in 2020 Barolo village road sign, Piedmont, Italy Before visiting any winery, check its website for its offerings, opening hours, and cost. It is always prudent to make reservations in advance. These wineries are proud of their history and heritage and are happy to share their stories with visitors. Located close to the center of the village of Barolo, this family-owned winery was established in 1972 by Aldo Vajra, who inherited parcels of land from his grandfather. The estate emphasizes sustainability and focuses on the unique characteristics of its Barolo Cru vineyards. The winery offers tastings and guided tours. Considered one of the region's oldest wineries, Coppo cellars date back to 1892. Located in Canelli in Monferrato, the winery's tours and tastings offer valuable insights into Piedmont grape varieties, vineyard management and winemaking methods. The cellars (known as 'Underground Cathedrals') include 5000 square meters of tunnels with vaulted ceilings and natural Canelli tufa rock that are recognized as part of the Piedmont UNESCO World Heritage Site. Ceretto, based in Alba, is considered a leader in the single-vineyard Barolo movement. Known for its commitment to sustainability, it has implemented various organic and biodynamic practices in its vineyards. The winery offers private tours, Cru tastings of Barolo and Barbaresco, and vertical tastings. Located in the village of La Morra, about 9 miles from Alba, Renato Ratti offers guided tours of the cellars, special visits, and Barolo tastings. The property rents rooms and suites in the family estate at Costigliole d'Asti in the Monferrato hills, with a restaurant and wellness area. The winery plans to open a museum in 2025. This fifth-generation family-owned winery is located in Alba's historical center, built on the city's 2000-year-old walls. The vineyards are in multiple communes in the Barolo and Barbaresco appellations. Tours and tastings are by appointment. Information about the Langhe Hills from the Italian Tourist Board
Forbes
09-06-2025
- Forbes
Orient Express Launches Train Journey Through Italy For Truffle Lovers
Take a trip for truffles. You don't often see a luxury train journey dedicated to a fungus. But here we are. Not just any fungus, mind you. We're talking about the white truffle—the kind that shows up on menus with eye-watering prices and shows up in your dreams if you've had it done right. This November, the legendary Orient Express is leaning into truffle season with a new itinerary: The Truffle Route. Two nights, rolling through northern Italy aboard the swanky La Dolce Vita Orient Express, with enough food, wine, and countryside to make you forget your inbox exists. The trip kicks off in Rome, then winds up into Piedmont—a region that, if we're being honest, knows its way around a bottle of red and a truffle shaver. This isn't a tour for people who just 'like Italian food.' It's for those who can tell you the altitude of their favorite Nebbiolo vineyard. You know the type. Maybe you are the type. From the moment you step onto the train at Rome's Ostiense station, it's clear subtlety isn't on the menu. Think gleaming wood, artful brass, and seats that invite you to sink in for a conversation. If Wes Anderson and an Italian count collaborated on a rail car design, this might be it. There's a strong chance you'll be handed Champagne before your coat's even off. Dinner is served not long after departure—Heinz Beck is in charge, which tells you most of what you need to know. The mood is elegant, but it never veers into stiff. There's music, candlelight, and linen that definitely wasn't bought in bulk. You start to realize that, yes, you're eating truffle risotto on a train, and no, you're not dreaming. It's absurd in the most delightful way. By the time the sun rises, you're in Nizza Monferrato, a town that feels like someone photoshopped together every perfect Italian hilltop you've ever seen. It's quiet and beautiful, with a faint scent of soil and breakfast. In other words, you've arrived. Here's where it gets interesting: passengers get the choice to head off on two truffle-forward excursions. First is a visit to Tenuta Cucco, a winery that's been doing its thing for more than half a century. You're welcomed with a glass of local red and a quick stroll through the vines before heading underground to their aging cellar. Travel in luxury and sample white truffles. Then comes lunch, a multi-course celebration of Piedmontese cooking—rich, savory, and a little rustic, paired with wines that taste even better when someone else has chosen them for you. After lunch, it's time to chase truffles. Literally. You head into the woods with a trifulau (that's a local truffle hunter) and his dog, who frankly does most of the work. You'll learn how to spot the right terrain, why truffles are so hard to cultivate, and maybe—if you're lucky—witness the moment when the dog catches a scent and starts to dig. It's quiet, oddly suspenseful, and moving in an unusual way. This is not your average tourist experience. Of course, once you've found the truffle, it's time to eat it. Back in the village, lunch is served with the freshly found treasure shaved generously over dishes like tajarin or fonduta. It's indulgent, sure, but also kind of sacred. Truffles are weird like that. Later that afternoon, you're off to Canelli, home of the Underground Cathedrals (yes, that's really what they're called). These are enormous stone cellars cut into the hillside, where some of Italy's best sparkling wines are made and stored. A tasting is included, naturally, followed by another meal—because if there's one thing this trip isn't short on, it's reasons to eat. The train departs for Rome that evening. There's one more dinner onboard, one more chance to stare out the window at the Italian countryside as it fades into night. By the time you wake up the next morning, you're back in Rome. Hopefully, with a suitcase full of wine and a camera roll full of food photos, you won't be able to explain to coworkers. Prices start at $9,490 per passenger, which is, admittedly, not pocket change. But if you've ever dreamed of combining a truffle hunt, a wine tour, and a luxury train journey into one long, slow, delicious weekend—well, it might be exactly the splurge you've been waiting for.
West Australian
02-05-2025
- West Australian
Bar & Bites: Cider house rules and the best of the Perth Hills on show during Bickley Harvest Festival
There are golden experiences in them Perth Hills. This realisation dawned in Isaac Newtonian fashion, when an apple literally clunked onto Bar & Bites' noggin during a family fruit-picking session at Core Cider House in Pickering Brook last weekend. The cidery is one of more than 20 venues taking part in the Bickley Harvest Festival kicking off on May 3 and 4, before running throughout May. Team B&B was thoroughly impressed with Core Cider, from the (quite strong) sparkling apple, pear and ginger cider to the tourist-ready tucker, including macadamia crusted crocodile tail with delicious lemon myrtle mayo and Fremantle octopus with romesco. The orchard itself is stunning. Before hitting Core, we tasted wine at La Fattoria, a restaurant and winery an apple's throw down Merrivale Road. Former teachers Eric and Lucy Radice run 'the farm' — Eric's Sicilian family have been on the property for around 80 years, one of many Italian immigrants in the Bickley Valley. La Fattoria has 10 different varieties of Italian grapes, including Nebbiolo, Sangiovese and sun-lovin' Montepulciano, making 13 wines plus limoncello, grappa and an intriguing fig leaf liqueur. Another local winery is Plume Estate, run by relative newcomers in affable Dutch couple Marcus and Anita Geisler. Perched atop one side of the valley with sweeping views, Plume is a cellar door offering tastings and sales of estate-grown wines plus tasty plates courtesy of the Geisler's daughter-in-law Bianca Raub. Her speck and onion flammkuchen (basically a flatbread pizza) was excellent, especially with a glass of pinot noir. We also squeezed in a quick wine tasting at Lawnbrook Estate, which has a restaurant, vineyard and distillery on its beautiful grounds. Their sparkling pinot noir chardonnay, rested on lees for a few years, is a ripper. Bickley Valley boasts cider, beer, wine and, of course, spirits. B&B dropped into HHH Spirits, at this stage a big shed off Walnut Road to try Zimbabwean-born civil engineer turned distiller Hilton Izzett's liquid alchemy. While this is currently a much less polished hospitality offering than, say, Core or Plume, whisky and gin devotees should pencil this into any Hills itinerary. And given Bickley Valley is less than a 40-minute drive from the city, this unheralded slice of WA makes for a brilliant day trip. Visit for more. GLASS ACT IN THE SHADOWS During May, Northbridge mainstay Shadow Wine Bar is pouring all wines by the glass, giving patrons a chance to try some drops usually only available for those forking out for a bottle. The grape idea is part of the Coravin World Wine Tour, a global initiative from the wine preservation device hitting five capital city venues across Australia. This means Shadow will be pouring hard-to-find drops from the likes of Occhipinti, COS, Farvie, Ochota Barrels, Juniper Estate, Picardy and Dormilona. Located at 214 William Street, Shadow Wine Bar is open Monday to Saturday from noon until late. OH, VIENNETTA! A beloved dessert gets a local makeover with Chicho Gelato banging out a Viennetta gelato cake for Mother's Day. Nothing says 'good on ya, Mum!' better than a Dubai chocolate base layered with pistachio gelato, chocolate sheets and rosewater gelato. Costing $90 each, Mamma's Viennetta gelato cakes are available for pre-order until midnight on May 6, with pick ups from Chicho's Fremantle or Mt Lawley stores from May 7-11.
