Garda Wine and Culture Events Highlight D’Annunzio-Inspired Cuisine
Gastronomic reviews, tastings, celebrations, and cultural events. And an original project for rediscovering cuisine inspired by Gabriele D’Annunzio’s tastes.
In recent days, the Consorzio di tutela dei vini del Garda Classico, the Comune di Gardone Riviera (represented by Mayor Alessandro Bazzani and Councillor Giovanna Ciccarelli), and associations of merchants and restaurateurs have formed an alliance aimed at synergy between the quality of wines from the Brescia shore and the historical-tourist-cultural heritage of the lakeside location.
Wine and cultural events
The goal? To set up a series of highly appealing events. The first has already been scheduled. Between June 9 and 10, on the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of the Confraternita del Groppello and the gala held at the Grand Hotel, several local restaurants will offer a menu based on Garda meats and flavors, paired with the distinctive red wine of Valtenesi.
Between June 30 and July 2, the Chiaretto, the “wine of a night,” will take center stage. After the recognition was awarded to the Ambasciatore del Garda classico, given to personalities who have distinguished themselves in promoting the wine culture abroad, a three-day gastronomic event will be held in restaurants featuring menus based on fish and Chiaretto.
Free tastings will also be held along the lakeside promenade and in the upper part of the town (the small square in front of Vittoriale). The most demanding project is a full week dedicated to “Dining with D’Annunzio,” re-proposing some of the most original recipes left by the poet in his extensive culinary correspondence.
Recipes and memories of D’Annunzio
“A beccaccina of magnificent color,” he noted in his notebook after a lunch in Vienna. “Golden and tawny sauce in the silver vessel. Skillfully made croutons. Delicate and complex colors.”
In the “Libro segreto,” he speaks of a hare lunch, fragrant with thyme and rosemary, a golden pâté in its crust coated with slices of lard, and a pheasant sprinkled with the juice of ox marrow. D’Annunzio’s Vittoriale cuisine was entrusted to domestic servants he called “Clarisse”, in honor of Saint Clare of Assisi.
Each had a name: Sister Gazzella, Sister Intingola, Sister Ghiaccesca, Sister Salutevole. Among favorite dishes were galantine, a sausage of meats, pistachios, and flavors, served on the Masse during the Buccari Mockery; baked trout fillets with butter, sage, tomato, and white wine; eggs in shells; fruit salads with drops of Aurum or Napoleonic Cognac; and breaded cutlets pounded with a stone pestle, thinner than a banana peel or a freshly baked bread crust.
The event will be framed by antique exhibitions of “D’Annunzian things,” and a series of themed activities (concerts, film screenings, painting en plein air). All scheduled for mid-September, with the aim of encouraging tourists to extend their stay.