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Eat Here: Enoteca Della Valpolicella

Has there been a time when you’ve had a meal and you think, “Wow, I’d like to come back and eat here again!”. We said that. And, we then went back and ate there again. It was that good. Italy at its best. Here is what you can expect.

We had just completed a mourning tour and tasting of the wines of the Allegrini winery, and it was oh, so good. Now it was time for lunch. Because of a recommendation by Silvia at the Salvaterra winery, we had made a reservation for lunch at Enoteca Della Valpolicella…and we are glad we did, as the locals already know about this gem.

Getting There

On this map, you can see the short drive from Villa Allegrini (red circle) to Enoteca Della Valpolicella (blue circle) in the small village of Fumane, just 9 miles north of Verona. So, it’s possible that Juliette and Romeo had their first date here. Yeah, I know. Right?

Drive through the gate and park in the small lot.

“Whether you dine for lunch or dinner, either experience (or both, as in our case) will please you no end”

Eating There

First of all, don’t expect to be treated like a customer…you are a guest at Enoteca Della Valpolicella, and that’s the way you will feel.

Dining is upstairs, and it is a very pleasant place to eat. Add to that our very pleasant cameriera (waitress), and you have a very pleasant meal, assuming the food is also very pleasant.

Elisa Riolfi took or order, with a bit of a twist. She asked us what sort of things we liked (and didn’t like) and she then suggested that she bring us what one might call a 'chef’s menu’. We handed her our unopened menus and put our trust in Elisa.

We were glad that she approached our meal this way…because it turned out that, along with everything else, the food was very pleasant, indeed!

It turns out that Elisa has a good relationship with the chef, as Chef Ada is her mother.

I mentioned in the introduction that we returned to dine for dinner after having eaten lunch at Enoteca della Valpolicella. One of the reasons we wanted to return? This absolutely heavenly starter of Tomato Sauce alla Veronese.

It is finished with a bit of burrata cheese, basil, and a splash of EVOO.

And, for our dinner, once more we let Elisa and her mom take the reigns, but with one demand —- we wanted this starter with our meal, once again!

In this photo, you can see the texture of this scrumptious delight.

In testament to just how good this simple dish is, Ellen’s action speaks for itself! This gives new meaning to ‘diving in’ to a dish!

Ellen says, “It is remarkable that something so simple should be so flavorful!”.

And it is super simple. There are only three ingredients, and one of them is butter!

We know how to duplicate this dish. Click this thumbnail and you can see for yourself.

Wine with Our Meals

As with virtually every meal we eat in Italy, wine is always appropriate.

For lunch, we opted for a bottle of La Grola from the Allegrini winery which we had just visited that morning.

For dinner, it was a nice Amarone. This wine is the one that is made from grapes that have been raisinated for about 100 days before being pressed, described in the article here.

They have over 800 labels in their cellar. And they know each one…as well as the families that produce them. Just ask, and you will receive a wine that you will enjoy with your meal.

Whatever the meal, there is always a toast to Italy and friends not present — and that includes you, of course!

Ellen and Steve (in photo) along with Leslie and Craig, offer a toast

Here are the chef’s selections for our lunch and dinner. And it is oh, so good to know that bacon is often a part of a meal in Italy! That particular dish is Dandelion Leaves with Monte Veronese Cheese and Crispy Pancetta (which you will find on page 47 of the yet to be mentioned cookbook, below).

See the third dish in the top row? That is Duck Breast with Recioto & Honey Sauce…and it was absolutely fabulous.

Recioto is a sweet, red dessert wine made in the Valpolicella Amarone style. By putting the Recioto together with the honey, a delicious sweet, but not overpowering, accompaniment is created for the duck breast.

Here is the recipe so you can try it at home. Just click on the thumbnail to get a larger view.

Dessert? Yes please. And thank you!

A Visit from Chef Ada Riolfi

During our trip, we had found a cookbook that we really liked, as it had dishes that were the specialty of Italian chefs of the Lake Garda, Verona, and Valpolicella area - the area which we were visiting.

The cookbook is titled, “Polenta & Amarone: The Flavors of Lake Garda, Verona and Valpolicella”. It so happens that Chef Ada is featured in this cookbook with 7 of her recipes. As we happened to have our own copy with us, we had Ada autograph our book. Surely you too have a cookbook with you as you travel. I certainly hope so!

It is interesting that Ada had not seen the cookbook before tonight, as it was not of her creation. And, upon taking a look at some of her recipes therein, she spotted errors in cooking temperature and time.

Here she is as she signs our cookbook, after penciling in changes to the Duck Breast with Honey and Recioto Sauce recipe. She changed the ‘brisk heat’ of the Recioto sauce to ‘low flame’, and the time of ‘15-20 minutes’ to ‘40 minutes’. It’s nice to have a chef handy whilst you’re cooking, so we will try to do that for our future at-home cooking sessions! We’ve already scheduled Keller, Douglas, Flay, Giada, and more!

Four women of whom bother-in-law Craig and I are in awe

The Cookbook

If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the cookbook (without Chef Ada edits…unless you make a personal visit to Enoteca della Valpolicella, of course), click here.

Just be sure to select the Italiano-English version (rather than the Italiano-German version). Each recipe is given in both Italian and English.

By the way, the woman on the cover is Pierina Caprini. Though we know her, you probably don’t…but you will soon when i publish an article featuring her restaurant and cooking. So, stay tuned for that…it was one of the most truly magical evenings of our lives.

That’s it for our back-to-back visits to Enoteca della Valpolicella. Both lunch and dinner were fabulous.

Want to give Enoteca Della Valpolicella a try for yourself, To the right is their contact information.

And here is a direct link to their website, where you can make a reservation…which is a must. Click on the British flag to get an English version and/or let Google translate for you. Click on the word ‘Reserve’ and fill out the form to make your reservation.

Whether you dine for lunch or dinner, either experience (or both, as in our case) will please you no end. If a bottle of un-ordered Amarone shows up at your table, make no fuss…just turn to the table near the window to see Ellen and me giving you a thumbs up of affection…that bottle is on us.

Ciao for now,

Steve

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Eat Here: Donna Selvatica in Neive

Index of Articles

You’ve heard of the term, “A Diamond in the Rough”, which refers to something special surrounded by something not so special. I was going to suggest that for a subtitle for this article, but it just doesn’t work. The Ristorante Donna Selvatica is surely a diamond, but it doesn’t sit in a rough…it sits in a charming hillside town called Neive.

So, let’s say that Donna Selvatica is a diamond on a golden crown, instead.

We happened upon this place within a place after a long afternoon of wining at Michele Chiarlo’s Le Orme vineyards and Calamandrana winery…I know, someone has to do it, so we gave of ourselves for each of you. And, you’re welcome.

“The folks of Neive finally had something to be proud of when their last homegrown countess, Countess Maria Vittoria, became Queen of Spain”

Ristorante Donna Selvatica

As just mentioned, we spent the afternoon touring the Michele Chiarlo vineyards, winery, and tasting room (more on that in a future article). It was early evening as we headed west to our lodgings at Villa Gremi. We had not researched, or even thought about, dinner because we were so intrigued with our afternoon activities. So wife Ellen took to Google as we headed west and suddenly shouted out, “Turn right at the next road!”. Being well trained, I turned right at the next road. This road led to heretofore unheard of Neive. Having interpreted the command to, “Park right here!” to mean park right here, I parked. Who says I never listen?!

Walking the cobblestone and brick-paved streets of Neive soon led us to Ristorante Donna Selvatica. As we arrived well before the opening hour of 19:00 (aka 7:00pm), we made a reservation for patio dining and we explored Neive, as described a bit further in this article.

We really liked this restaurant…the location, the view, the ambiance, the service, the wine, the food…everything.

The location is pretty much in the center of Neive, as can be seen in the aerial view a bit further down the page.

But the view…magnificent. The rolling, vine-covered hills go on and on, with the small town of Barbaresco sitting mid-distance.

This closeup view from our table provides detail of the famous Barbaresco Tower, and an elevator ride to its top continues those magnificent views.

For our nightly…daily…frequent…toast, we chose a white wine called Arneis. We had never heard of Arneis until our afternoon tour at Michele Chiarlo, which happens to also produce this crisp, minerally-yet-light wine. The grapes are grown in the Roero area of Piemonte. It is now our favorite white wine of Italy.

Those are in-laws Craig and Leslie Johnson toasting on the patio.

The homemade ravioli pasta with mountain butter and 36-month aged Parmigiano Reggiano is poised and ready to be eaten.

Might this be a mix of potato gnocchi pasta on Castelmagno-cheese cream, and sliced Castelmagno cheese with honeydew honey, jams and Langa Bio hazelnuts? Yes, I believe so. It’s like eating a cheese-covered cloud.

At this point I was in a food coma of some sort, so I don’t remember exactly what this dish is. But, it appears to be duck fixed a couple of ways — one of which is wrapped in pancetta. I’ll find out exactly what it was next time I’m there.

You know how sometimes you don’t have room to order dessert, but they bring you some anyway? I think that’s what this is.

If you are a grappa fan, and I’m thinking that one-in-a-hundred of you might be, they have dozens from which to choose.

Here you can click to see an actual Italian/English menu from Donna Selvatica >>>

But before we depart, I need to tell you what ‘Donna Selvatica’ translates to in English. That would be ‘Wild Woman’. You don’t have to be/take a wild woman to this restaurant; however, Craig and I found that it helps. We love our own wild women!

The Town of Neive

While waiting to eat at Donna Selvatica, we explored to tiny town of Neive.

Like many of the small hill towns of the Piemonte, this one sits on a hill — naturally. The hill upon which it sits is about 4 miles northeast of Alba, which is one of the towns-of-considerable-size in the Piemonte.

Neive is a very small town. This photo shows its extent. Ristorante Donna Selvatica is within the red oval.

Today, things are quiet in Neive, but it hasn’t always been that way. Witness the fate of the nice Castle of Neive that used to stand here proud. The Neivesi had a hard time of it in 1274 because both the communes of Alba and Asti wanted that little hill-top town as their own. The Albesi and Astigiani met for battle, and since neither could pull off the heist of the town, it seems that one or both of them destroyed the Castle of Neive in spite. But did they have to take it out on the nice folks of Neive?!

Then, in the next century they were totally embarrassed when Giangaleazzo Visconti’s daughter Valentina married the Duke of Orleans and the town was given up by her father as her dowry. And I thought an envelope with cash and some jewels were customary.

A couple of centuries later Neive went to the House of Savoy, and then to the French for 17 years before being returned to the House of Savoy. In 1618, Neive became a fief assigned to Count Vittorio Amedeo Dal Pozzo, who assumed the title of First Count of Neive. The folks of Neive finally had something to be proud of when their last homegrown countess, Countess Maria Vittoria became Queen of Spain.

I’m guessing that after all of that, they would just like to be left alone. But go anyway, because in addition to Donna Selvatica there is a particularly nice little shop there.

Fili di Fantasia

Fili di Fantasia translated to English is Fantasy Threads.

We were really surprised to find this nice shop of things with threads open at a late hour — and frankly that it existed at all on its itsy-bitsy street.

Wife Ellen and Sis-in-law Leslie were quite pleased with this little shop.

And, I was quite pleased with the view from the back balcony.

And yes, purchases were made.

Strolling Neive

We found the brick pavers to be a bit easier on the feet than the cobbles, but either are more charming than the typical asphalt pavement.

The church of Saints Peter and Paul existed in the 12th century, but was rebuilt to its present form in the 18th century. I was fortunate to capture in a gorgeous evening light.

The inside of the church is very peaceful with numerous artworks.

Here you see a typical home and garden. Note the soil. It is calcareous and is just what the enologist ordered for the growing of grape vines.

One would think its not so great for vegetable gardens, though.

Love the Italian roof tiles!

Wish I had them on my villa.

Wish I had a villa.

Wish I was even near a villa!

Though these people are not enjoying a meal at Donna Salvatica, they do look to be having a good time.

As we closed out our evening in Neive, we were treated to the lights of the surrounding hill-top towns, with Barbaresco prominently featured in the foreground.

Links…

Ristorante Donna Selvatica

Fili di Fantasia

We fondly remember our afternoon in Neive and our evening dinner at Ristorante Donna Selvatica. If you are in the area, I would recommend that you follow my wife’s advice and, “Turn right at the next road!”…you will not be disappointed…unless you are coming from the other direction, of course.

If we happen to be at Donna Selvatica at the same time one evening, I’ll gladly let you purchase the first bottle of Arneis…I’ll get the second.

Ciao for now,

Steve