David and Robin's visit

David and Robin in Topsham

Topsham, Devon, 27-29th June, 2011 A rare and too brief visit to Topsham by my brother David and his partner Robin who were over from Virginia for a conference in Madrid and flew over to visit us for just a couple of days. We share a love of Italian wine, food and cooking, and cycling amongst other things. So it was a chance to ride, cook and eat together, and to dust off some special bottles...Here's a taste of what we ate and drank.

Tuesday dinner: We went to Turf for lunch and afterwards headed out to sea for a spot of fishing. We're in luck and catch a sea bass. Just the right size for an antipasto of ceviche - the super-fresh fish 'cooked' briefly in lime juice with cilantro and chilli, nada mas. The wine to accompany is Mario Fontana's zesty, minerally Cascina Fontana Gavi 2009.

Dinner in the garden, a rare treat this summer. Cheers!

Gorgeous fat Lyme Bay scallops from Derek's mobile fish van, quickly pan-seared with Spanish chorizo from Darts Farm and served on a bed of wild rocket.

For this melange of mar y tierra, I unearth a treasure - a bottle of Marques de Murrieta Ygay 1991 Rioja blanco - the wine deep gold in colour, with rich almost honeyed overtones, deep in flavour, bone dry with an exhilarating lemony finish - a  venerable 20 year old marvel that still tastes outrageously 'young'!

A tray of local potatoes and tomatoes pan-roasted on the grill.

A favourite cut of meat - lamb neck fillet from Gerald David at Darts Farm, char-grilled with garlic and fennel seeds.

Mario's Cascina Fontana Langhe Nebbiolo 2005 - Langhe Nebbiolo is not a baby Barolo but a serious and elegant red wine in its own right. I consider Langhe Nebbiolo, with its touch of grippy tannin and acidity, to be a perfect wine to accompany lamb. Mario's is a traditional example, deceptively light in colour for such a serious and full flavoured red wine.

We are fortunate to have one of the best cheesemongers in the country just around the corner from us, Country Cheeses. Guy, who worked here as a teenager, selected a piece of Westcombe mature farmhouse cheddar; Little Stinky (surprisingly unstinky); Blue Hills blue cheese; and Finn, a soft goat and cow cheese - all local. Mario's Barbera d'Alba 2004 is a fitting wine to accompany the cheese.

Wednesday dinner: The next day, after an afternoon cycle over the hills to Sidmouth and the sea, with a stop for a pint of Otter Bitter at The Diggers Rest in Woodbury Salterton, we are famished again. Time to fire up the grill once more. Here are some lovely flat cap mushrooms sprinkled with garlic, lemon zest and extra virgin olive oil from Badia di Morrona, to pan-roast on the grill.

Cycling works up an appetite. So we go to Darts Farm for a massive bistecca alla fiorentina - tre dite per favore - a 2 inch thick t-bone of Devon Red Ruby beef from Gerald David. Guy likes to prepare steak by the salt method - literally cover the meat in sea salt for about an hour per inch, then wash off and pat dry before cooking . . .

First an aperitivo - Geoff's Pebblebed Brut, made from grapes grown on hills overlooking the Exe estuary - the perfect wine to sip while watching the evening Devon yawl races on the Exe.

David and Robin have come to us from Madrid, and brought with them some sensational jamón iberico de bellota - creamy, melt-in-the-mouth fat, deeply flavoured meat, sweet and salty at the same time. Pebblebed Brut partners this beautifully.

Cheers!

Another unusual rarity - Pithos Bianco 2008. This wine harks back to the origins of viticulture. It is made by Az Ag COS in southeastern Sicily by ancient methods - the grapes fermented in terracotta amphorae buried underground. Golden brown in colour, slightly cloudy, not oxidized but rich and sour at the same time. This is the antithesis of boring modern white wines fermented in stainless steel. Definitely not for everyone but I really love it, especially with a plate of . . .

Spaghetti alla chitarra with Budleigh Salterton crab.

It's a cool evening tonight but so nice to be eating outdoors.

To accompany the bistecca alla fiorentina - a great Tuscan wine of course. This old favourite Querciangrande 1990 is a super-Tuscan made by a dear friend Gianpaolo Pacini. This particular bottle brings back fond memories. When we were researching our book The Wine Roads of Italy, we first met the Pacinis probably in 1989 or 1990. Guy was just 2 years old and I remember him wandering into the bathroom, somehow turning on the shower (one of those showers with jets that come out everywhere) and having the shock of his life. How we all laughed at our little boy. The years pass by but memories like special wines are the touchstones of our lives - maturing, evolving, developing with age.

Bistecca alla fiorentina flame-grilled!

Bistecca alla fiorentina as we like it - bloody rare!

To finish, a hazlenut and pear tart with some stewed rhubarb and custard - the wine Muffato della Sala 2000 - made by the Antinoris in Umbria from grapes effected by noble rot - muffa nobile, deeply honeyed, not overly sweet, with the haunting bouquet of botrytis and bottle age.

Wednesday: The next day, we go down to Budleigh Salterton for crab sarnies and mugs of tea on the beach . . .

Bella

Kim

Me and my brother

Ice cream at Budleigh Salterton on the Jurassic Coast

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