A Milano a very special wine was born. And the Duomo wine, produced in Valpatena (valley that starts from Verona and rises towards the Lessini Mountains) and bottled by the cellar Hill of Cherry trees. Why is it special? Because it will finance the restoration the cathedral needs.
How the Duomo wine was born
Presented on Monday 11 October, the Duomo wine it's a red Igt born for this purpose. And it is a little gem, with the label designed by the wine designer Mario di Paolo. To buy it, you need to contact the store of the Duomo, or go to La Rinascente Milan. But it is also possible to buy it online, on the cathedral e-shop and on that of the Collina dei Ciliegi. Finally, it will be the "wine of the month" at the Maio Restaurant and at the Sheraton Milan Malpensa Airport Hotel. But the Duomo wine will not be just one. The Brut, best seller of the cellars of Valpatena.
In reality, the link between wine and the Duomo is not new. In the fourteenth century, the communities used to hand over to the Veneranda Fabbrica numerous brentas of wine (one brenta was equivalent to 75,55 liters), so that they could be sold to finance the works. And this is exactly what the Duomo wine will do: finance the restoration work now necessary. "The history of the Duomo is made up of surprising intertwining of food, gastronomy and art. On its scaffolding, moreover, people lived and spent a lot of time”Recalled Fedele Confalonieri, president of the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo in Milan. Who explained how, as always, the products of the earth represented not only a source of nourishment for the workers involved in the works but also a way to support the works.
Food in support of the Cathedral
Thus, with the wine of the Duomo, the ancient tradition of “gastronomic” support for restorations was recovered (the Veneranda Fabbrica, after all, already in the fifteenth century owned vineyards in Volpedo to use the grapes for its work). AND Nor is this the only food initiative in support of the cathedral. To help restore its spiers, Cesare Battisti, Carlo Cracco and Gianluca Fusto they each devised a confectionery product to donate the proceeds. This is the “Il Gusto del Duomo” initiative, presented at the beginning of October.
Battisti has devised a Soft nougat, as it was once made, enriched with puffed rice and saffron pistils. Cracco has re-proposed its famous ones Kisses of Cracco, inspired by Baci di Dama but flat, colorful, visibly similar to macarones and filled with almond, raspberry, yuzu, passion fruit, strawberry and milk gianduia. Fusto has instead thought of Milan biscuits, made with rice flour and saffron and gluten and lactose free.
Featured photo taken from the Collina dei Ciliegi Facebook page
