Concierge Blog
During Ferragosto, a young family from Salerno stayed in our hotel. This year the grandfather couldn‘t stay with them due to his work.
The family’s child was home sick and missed his grandfather since they usually spend a lot of time together at home.
During dinner, while eating a strawberry desert, the child, Stefano, opened up a little and told us he would like to go home this very evening. He explains, tomorrow night, the night before ferragosto, him and his grandfather would dine together and eat palatella, the typical bread of that area.
To surprise Stefano, the next day we prepared the dough and gave it enough time to rise to then bake it just in time for dinner.
At dinner, Stefano was served a whole loaf of bread, similar to the one he would have enjoyed with his grandfather.
While we might not have been able to cure Stefano of his home-sickness, we did manage to put a smile on Stefanos face.
Stefano and his family promised us, that next year they’d all be back, but this time, they’d make sure to bring grandpa.
We certainly look forward to that!
Stay tuned!!!!
Our destination this time was the Parnaud Alm. A walk through larch forests, surrounded by the Schnalstal glacier.
While the sun was shining in Vilpian, in Karthaus the mountain tops were covered with clouds. The concierge asked a local for directions, who also let him know that the cloudy weather was not ideal for the Pernaud Alm.
Fully motivated, the concierge his entourage began the 2:30h hike. But as soon as the first raindrops started to fall the motivation was gone. Stop. It is time to turn around.
In these mountains, but much further up, the Similaun Man was found, the mummy from the ice, also known as Ötzi. While it takes worse weather to end up as Ötzi, rain in the mountains isn’t to be taken lightly. It was high time for a change in plans. With lunchtime approaching the concierge decided to dine in a local restaurant.
Smoked char, roasted suckling pig with potato salad, tagliatelle with chanterelles, and of course, a good glass of wine.
With a full stomach the concierge visited the former Carthusian monastery of Monte degli angeli, where “strength lies in silence”. Enjoying the peaceful, absolute silence, the concierge found it difficult to return to Vilpian, where his telephone vibrates, and the reception bell rings.
The silence is very relaxing. Almost like a vacation.
The concierge considers himself a very lucky person, living, where other people come for holiday.
Stay tuned!
After the Concierge recently received fresh strawberries from the Willelehof, he promised farmer Paul that he would pay a visit to his farm. Not only out of curiosity and to assure himself that Paul’s cultivation was top of the line, but also as an excuse to get out of the office.
The concierge had already seen all kinds of farms, some with broken tractors in the front, scrap metal and machine parts scattered everywhere, with unsold apples being stored out front and a couple crates of pears rotting in between.
But once he arrived in Glanning, in Jenesien, at first the concierge was convinced he was at the wrong address. There should be a farm here, right? Instead, the concierge finds himself standing in front of a villa that could be straight out of Hollywood, with freshly mowed lawn and every pebble on the road precisely where it belongs. But a raspberry plantation right next to the villa confirms that this is indeed the Willelehof.
The plantation is in perfect condition and Pauls strawberries follow suit. He grows to types of strawberries, one in raised beds and one on the ground.
On the well-kept lawn stands Paul’s son, who is taking care of the tractor. Scrap metal and broken parts nowhere to be found.
Paul goes into detail about the strawberry market. His farm isn’t the only thing that impresses us, the taste of his strawberries does as well.
Out of nowhere we notice something strange! As we look across the strawberry fields we discover a hemp plantation in the middle of his fields!
Paul! Not for smoking, is it?
Paul assures us that his hemp is not suitable for smoking. This hemp is grown when changing fruit crops.
Yeah, right…
The Willelehof is in impeccable condition. After the visit we enjoy the landscape of Jenesien on a walk to the Jöchl-Almhütte, from where we continue to the Möltner-Kas, where we enjoy a light lunch.
Cabbage salad with roasted Speck and typical Vinschgerle bread.
Are we sure our appetite didn’t come from Paul’s hemp?
Stay timed!!!
Above Bozen, at an altitude of 1200 meters, Paul and his wife have been running the Willelehof in Jenesien since 1996.
From June to September, strawberry season begins at the Willelehof. Paul and his family also produce raspberries and cherries on an area of one hectare each, which ripen from mid-July to the end of September.
We mostly serve the fresh Willelehof strawberries with ice cream. On weekends we use them to make "tartellettes aux fraises", pastries with strawberries and patisserie cream. Our homemade strawberry jam is also made from Paul's strawberries.
We can’t wait for him to harvest the first raspberries and cherries. What treats will we use them for?
Stay tuned!!!
Well, we harvest the chives, wash, and chop them and add browned sunflower seeds. Then we add a clove of garlic, a little grated Parmesan cheese and a pinch of salt. Fill into jars and seal with seed oil.
Et voilà. Chives-pesto, perfect for pasta.
Stay tuned!
Time for a road trip. The Concierge loads a big quantity of wine from the Cantina Terlano into his truck, to deliver to the wine cellar of a good colleague. Then he continues towards Treviso, more precisely towards Roncade, on his own initiative, to visit the Bekeke winery, whose wines were created by Simone Maculan, agronomist, and oenologist.
The journey continues, with the aim of loading a pallet of Prosecco in Valdobbiadene and then continuing towards Belluno to buy new glasses.
After Belluno a short detour to the Dolomites, which are particularly beautiful in this early summer sunshine, and then back to the Sparerhof.
A detour that is strenuous but rewarding!
At least that was the plan...
From Terlan we take the A22 motorway in the direction of Modena; in Verona we leave the motorway and follow the road until the Oppeano exit. This is what the navigator indicates after all, and then... JUNCTION! abrupt braking, clutch and... Hello? The clutch won't work.
HI-VIS vest pulled out of the car drawer, safety triangle on the road and the next car-workshop called. With all these fine wines in the car... Fortunately, the depot where we wanted to bring the wines is only a few kilometres away. One phone call and one reloading later, the car is still in the same place, but at least without load.
At lunchtime, the car is at the mechanic and the concierge is busy with phone calls to postpone or cancel appointments, a trip to the Dolomites? Impossible.
Lunch consists of a porchetta sandwich and a glass of Soave in the green of the Veronese hinterland.
The emergency plan was to stay overnight in Verona and continue the planned tour the next day after the car was repaired. However, as shops, restaurants and maybe even hotels might be closed during the Corona pandemic, it was best to return that day by regional train. Verona - Bolzano.
Two days later: return to Verona. This time with the Freccia Argento, the Italian version of the Shinkansen, the Japanese super-fast train. In the meantime, the car was repaired in the workshop. As good as new.
The concierge returns to the wine depot, hundreds of pallets of wine are stored here ready for dispatch.
In a corner, a treasure chest:
Many bottles, individually and carefully packed. One label in particular strikes the Concierges eye: Château d'Yquem, 1944. The bottle is in mint condition. It has been carefully stored under optimal conditions, temperature and humidity constantly controlled, for many years. Price at the appraiser? About 10.000€
I wonder who they're selling it to. A rich American? A Russian oligarch? Or maybe a scratch-off winner?
Hah! On closer inspection of the Sauterne bottle, the fill level seemes to be slightly lower than it should be. That wouldn’t fly with a new one.
I wonder who'd want to drink it now. Maybe we'll find out.
Stay tuned!
Spinach and ricotta for the "Schlutzkrapfen"
The concierge recently drove to Lana, which is only a few kilometres from the hotel and where, purely by chance, a farmers' market sells produce on the central street of the village.
When the concierge noticed fresh spinach, he did not hesitate for a moment and made his first purchase. He continued to the concierge's favorite dairy farm, cheese was already on the shopping list and all he needed for his personal favorite meal was ricotta cheese.
Arriving at the hotel, the concierge, wearing the typical Tyrolean blue apron, started to prepare the dough and the filling.
All that was missing now was sage and butter. Local butter and self-grown sage. Some chives and voilá.
"Schlutzkrapfen", dumplings, "Kaiserschmarren", apple strudel... What is your favorite dish? We are curious!
Stay tuned!!!
The other day, to stretch his legs (wearing a mask of course, if social distance could not be guaranteed, which was not the case), the concierge walked along the Adige river. Not along the cycle path, but along the riverbank.
Along the embankment the elderberry is in full bloom. At this sight, the various uses of elderberry immediately came to his mind. In his childhood it was a tradition to cut off a branch and make flutes and small pipes from it.
Grandmother always said that you should always bow twice to an elderberry plant. Elder is so healthy that it was also called the poor man's pharmacy.
What the concierge remembers most was the refreshing elderberry juice. A delight on hot summer days.
So, the small, white, star-shaped blossom wildly growing along the riverbank was plucked and used to make elderberry syrup.
And now that the lockdown has been lifted and the measures have been relaxed, we can open the bar again and serve our delicious homemade elderberry syrup.
The ingredients?
Water, sugar, citric acid, elderberry, lemon, and organic oranges.
Tasty elderberry juice. Just in time for summer.
Stay tuned!!!
