The Wine of Sardegna

Vermentino is widely planted in Sardinia as the grape likes the cool Mediterranean climate.  If done right, it is an excellent combination of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, with crisp minerality, direct acidity, and a medium to full body. On the nose, this white wine is upfront with pear and white peach notes, and an herbal grassiness followed by green apples.  It is the perfect compliment for Sardinian dishes featuring seafood; tuna, sea bass, and my favorite, lobster.

Sardinia's red claim to fame is Cannonau or known elsewhere as Grenache. Sardinians hold firm the belief that they were the first to grow the grape and when the Spanish came to colonize, brought it back to Spain in the form of Garnacha.  It is spicy with ripe black and red cherries on the palate, soft and usually full bodied in texture and form.  On the nose, black pepper and  terra-cotta with secondary notes of myrtle black currents create an interesting and complex invitation.  This upfront red pairs well with cured meats and pasta bolognese as well as with grilled steak and pork.

Some old rocks in Nora

At the turn of the first century Sardinia was a strategic piece of land for the Roman Empire.  Nora was the seat of the capitol, a town of approximately 8,000 people that sat right on the southern tip of the island.  As the ruins from this period are not necessarily a huge tourist draw, we were able to walk right through these structures, homes of villagers that resided in 500 AD!  You could see remains of the sewage and running water systems that hallmarked Roman innovation and mosaics that helped to date the structures, since in 1950 when excavation began, techniques were held to a lesser standard of preservation. This is a must see if you are in the region.

A Model GM

"It is our goal to exceed all your expectations"  - Antonello Cocco, General Manager Hotel Laguna

First and foremost, he takes the time needed to develop true and meaningful relationships with his guests. My mom and beau-pere arrived a week prior to my sister and I and had quickly become "best friends" with the GM.  By the time we arrived, we were already "celebrities". He greeted me by name, with a warm and welcoming smile and told me how happy he was to have me in the hotel knowing that I was soon to attend the prestigious hotel school, the Hotel ecole de Laussanne.

Throughout the week I watched as he was ever present but always unassuming. He made a point of being in the cocktail area just around 7pm when guests arrived for their pre-dinner drink.  He would spend time with each guest, never checking his watch, always engaging, sometimes listening and sometimes dispelling valuable information about happenings at the hotel and surrounding area.  More than once he asked us what our plan for dinner was, if we didn't have one, he would say, "Have you tried the sushi restaurant yet, it is excellent, I will make you a reservation, no problem," or "Have you a plan for tomorrow? You must see Tuelleda, it is one of the most beautiful beaches on the island. Stop by the front desk and I will have a map there for you."

During dinner, he would make a point of greeting ALL guests, some with just a gentle "Buona sera" not to interrupt, other times being offered a seat and taking it, would effortlessly make guests feel as though he was a part of their party.

Staying at this hotel for a week has allowed me to spend time observing and talking with Antonello, he is a fascinating hospitality professional and is well suited for his position. He always makes sure to check in on the business of the hotel in the morning, diligently remembering guest check-in and check-outs, reviewing P&L's, and holding manager meetings, but then he allows his managers to run their departments, which in turn ALLOWS him to take the necessary time it takes to become an integral part in every guests experience. He has made our stay overwhelmingly memorable.  Thank you Antonello.

A First Impression of Sardinia

Sardinia is an incredibly beautiful island.  It is the second largest island in the Mediterranean (after Cyprus) and is one of the most geologically ancient bodies of land in Europe. The island was populated in various waves of emigration from prehistory until recently (some of the Sardinian language and architecture has a vague resemblance to Spanish descent).  However, the center of the island was never fully conquered and people there still maintain their own language and customs dating back hundreds if not thousands of years.  

The coasts of Sardinia are nothing but spectacular, gorgeous white sand beaches stretch for miles around the island. The waters are crystal clear blue and shallow. As high-end tourism is only relatively recently begun developing on the island, much of the pristine beaches still remain secluded and explorable.  The beaches and waters are some of the most beautiful I have ever seen.

My sister and I arrived on Wednesday and joined mom and Asaad at the beautiful 5-star Chia Laguna Resort.  I will touch more on the resort in a future post, but one thing must be said, the staff represent some of the best hospitality I’ve come across. They are friendly, attentive, approachable and professional and are genuinely concerned with providing each guest with an experience that exceeds all expectations. This is a fantastic resort.

We have been here for two days and have spent both of them at the Chia beach (a short four minutes away) for most of the day. The weather has been immaculate, warm with a nice Mediterranean breeze. Last night we enjoyed fresh fruit cocktails and dined on prawns and tuna that came straight from the water that day. Needless to say, we are in heaven. Much more to follow soon, I promise...

The Road to Sardinia

The road to Sardinia has been paved with time, energy, and a lot of Euros. I guess this analogy doesn't work so well considering Sardinia is an island off the coast of Italy, but you get the point.  Two days before my mom and her new husband, Asaad were to leave for their honeymoon to Greece and a week before my sister and I were to join them, we made the conscience decision to cancel our Greek vacation that took my mom 6 months to plan (due to Greece's unfortunate financial crises) and look for an alternative vacation destination.  

Asaad's first choice was Sardinia, an island my mom, sister and I knew very little about. Jay, my sister, and Emma, my sister's girlfriend scoured the internet tirelessly to salvage the vacation and create a memorable and suitable honeymoon for mom and Asaad. As you can imagine, this was no easy task being that it was last minute during the height of the vacation season and we were looking at a destination that was definitely "on the path." They found a gorgeous resort in Chia Laguna (one of the most beautiful beaches on the island).  Mom and Asaad arrived safely last week and have settled in to a much needed relaxing vacation.

My sister and I are about to arrive in Sardinia after an equally challenging couple of days. After returning from our rustic Catskills getaway in upstate New York, we arrived at her flat in Brooklyn on Friday evening, at which time she stated, "I should probably look at my passport." Plot twist...naturally it was expired.  With the weekend ahead and our flight due to depart on Sunday, we were proverbially F'd.  They only thing we could do, was change our flights last minute, prepare Jay for arriving at the Federal building on Monday morning with all documents in hand, and hope for a same day passport renewal.

And that's exactly what we did.  Flights got changed to Tuesday evening, Jay was twelfth in line at the Federal building at 5am (ahead of 40 others by 7am), delivered her fully completed documents to the window at 8am and had her freshly minted passport in hand by 2pm. This allowed her another couple days to get packed and me another couple days to see friends in NYC and come Tuesday evening, we boarded our flight to London Heathrow.  We arrived on Wednesday morning at 7am, a quick ($250) taxi to Stansted Airport (where?), made our EasyJet flight at 10am, and are just about to land in Sardinia to join our parents and at last bask in the Mediterranean sand and sun.  To be continued...

Reconnecting

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That's Andrew Kippen in my eyes...Bay2Breakers 2009

Smooch Coffee Shop

Brooklyn, NY

It's vitally important, when maintaining those friendships that you hope to have for life, to set aside the time it takes to properly reconnect.  As with most of my life-long friends, the time it takes to catch up on past and current affairs is relatively short.  Where have you been, what have you been doing, who have you been with? What deserves the time is to actually listen and feel your friend.  The purpose of such visits is to reconnect in the present, to feel their smile, and refill your heart with their heart, to be in the same place again and revel in the goodness of your friendship.