ShareSaveLifestyle SpiritsWhy You Should Visit The Steep, Winding, Beautiful Heart Of Italy's Prosecco CountryByTom Mullen Molinetto dela Croda mill between Conegliano and Valdobbiadene Just as champagne can only originate from the Champagne region of France so the sparkling wine prosecco can only come from the Veneto and Friuli regions of northern Italy two of twenty regions comprising the country the predominant method includes adding yeast and sugar not to individual bottles (as is done with the method Champenoise for champagne) but to steel tanks of wine where temperature and pressure can be controlled In Italy the highest denomination of controlled quality for wine is DOCG or Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita whereas a respectable step below that is DOC Only the regions of Veneto and Friuli (the first includes the famed city of Venice) can produce DOC prosecco If you zoom in to the northeast portion of the region of Veneto on a map one of several provinces comprising this region Zoom in even closer and you reach the bull’s eye within Treviso named the Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG production zone This somewhat of a bulky pistol shaped territory includes the city of Conegliano on the east and Valdobbiadene to the west This is where DOCG prosecco can be produced colonnaded walkways and spacious gardened villas on the fringe of the city center Ample BMWs and Mercedes are testament to local wealth Should you visit, try dinner at Ristorante Antica Pieve northeast of the city (open only during evenings) Sample the pie made with small Chiodini mushrooms Drink with prosecco (don’t hesitate to pour a little bubbly into your risotto) If instead you choose the tenderloin instead of risotto order a local red Bordeaux style blend that includes the Marzemino grape then slather with olive oil and finally sprinkle with pepper try tiramisu (invented in the Veneto region in the 1960’s) with a little local grappa poured in your espresso to make ‘caffé correcto’ as well as a plate of cantucci—crunchy almond cookies sit on the porch of the restaurant at the hilltop castle (Castello di Conegliano) On a clear day you can see Venice in the distance in one direction Within the Conegliano Valdobbiadene region, Masottina grows glera grapes to produce DOCG ‘Prosecco Superiore.’ In 1946 Epifanio Dal Bianco acquired 10 acres (4 hectares) of vines; the family now manages hundreds of acres whereas many other local proprietors own only a few acres of vines renowned facility produces a million bottles of prosecco per year Vineyards belonging to Masottina Wines near Conegliano grapes could be grown anywhere to make DOC and DOCG prosecco grapes can only originate within Veneto and Friuli for DOC and within Conegliano Valdobbiadene for DOCG some owners are now removing other grapes (such as pinot grigio) and replacing them with glera within this region The road from Conegliano to Valdobbiadene passes through a particularly lumpy and angular brand of hills as challenging to navigate as it is to pronounce the name of the appellation Vineyards are oriented at multiple directions to slopes so steep that Italians name those who tend them as ‘eroici viticultori,’ or heroic viticulturists Patches of trees interspersed with vines here give the landscape a wild appearance The town of Valdobbiadene has an easygoing Church bells chime in the oval shaped central plaza and you may find Sunday cyclists toasting glasses of prosecco before noon local prices were unavailable at the time of visiting (All listed wines score above 90 on a 100-point scale of overall quality.) 2017 Le Rive di Ogliano Extra Dry Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG Grapes come from a single east-facing vineyard close to the winery that is more influenced by wind than sun A taste of meringue pie after a few minutes in the glass 2017 Contrada Granda Brut Rive di Ogliano Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG where south and west facing slopes are influenced more by sun than wind This sparkling wine includes a distinct toasty aroma with tangerines thicker and creamier flavors march out that include gingerbread 2017 Ai Palazzi Chardonnay (Single Vineyard) with lemon crispness and a streak of clover and lime acidity light and limey with almonds and mint in the mouth lemon and a hint of peppermint in the mouth florals and a slight hit of banana on the nose creamy lime and kiwi and caramel tastes; grows sweeter and rounder by the minute in the glass Evidence that red wines can also excel here Cabernet Franc and the local Marzemino grape spends two years in wood brick and tar on the nose; includes a taste of licorice dragonfly invisible wind turbine designed by renzo pianoimage courtesy renzo piano building workshop testing has begun on the mini-wind-turbine blade designed by the genoese architect renzo piano and developed in partnership with ENEL green power an italian multinational renewable energy corporation in the province of pisa (which is also home to the ENEL research center) the way a dragonfly remains stable in flight is being mimicked to develop wind turbines to withstand gale-force winds image courtesy renzo piano building workshop two-blade turbine is less visible than the traditional three-blade design to the extent that it is difficult to detect in the landscape but it has also shown itself to be capable of functioning well in low-intensity wind.wind turbines have to work well in light winds but must avoid spinning too fast when a storm hits larger turbines use either specially designed blades that stall at high speeds or computerized systems that sense wind speed and adjust the angle of the blade in response this technology is fairly expensive for use with small-scale turbines because they don’t produce enough electricity to offset the cost constructed to take advantage of lightweight and resilient composite materials (carbon the dragonfly is able to harness even the lightest breezes requiring winds of only 2m/second to power it more or less continuously this also means that it can be installed successfully at low altitudes the turbine blade with transparent plexiglass panels intended to show off the carbon structure insideimage courtesy renzo piano building workshop the turbine has been designed to have a minimal visual impact and has only two blades the turbine is capable of blending perfectly into the surrounding environment being reduced to the slim vertical line of the tower which is 20 m (65 ft) high and barely 35 cm (13 inches) in diameter vertical blades with a diameter of only 16 m (52 ft) the prototype has generated over 1200 KW·h which have been fed into the distribution grid rumour has it that mass production for the italian market will begin on completion of the test phase which is due to continue for another few months the new mini-wind-turbine blade is part of a strategy for innovation that targets improving the performance of all the renewable technologies making them more available and less prone to problems linked to the intermittency of wind power the aim is ever greater integration of renewable resources in heavily populated areas thanks to the deployment of more compact machines with lower visual impact that even without the blades designed by a famous architect wind turbines do not decrease the value of the adjacent residential property design team: renzo piano building workshop consultants: this project has benefited from contributions from studio favero & milan in venice consulting executive architects for the final design) (for mechanical service engineering and construction) AXOR presents three bathroom concepts that are not merely places of function but destinations in themselves — sanctuaries of style The beauty of nature is that not only does it fascinate us or provide for us, but it also can contribute to technology and innovation as we imitate its appearance. What am I talking about? Well, it turns out that there is a dragonfly-invisible wind turbine and America is in awe is a ground-breaking method of producing renewable energy At the Molinetto test field in the province of Pisa (which is also home to the ENEL research centre) testing has started on the mini-wind turbine blade created by Genoese architect Reno Piano in collaboration with ENEL Green Power an Italian multinational renewable energy corporation Wind turbines are being developed to resist gale-force winds by modelling how a dragonfly maintains stability in flight The dragonfly wind turbine is an outstanding innovative invention because it mimics the actual dragonfly and is different from traditional wind turbines Because of its special vertical-axis design which makes it appropriate for both urban and suburban households It also saves time and space because it is not too big in size but it solves the problems that conventional wind turbines are trying to solve it is noise and pollution and harming natural species like birds Because of the turbine’s capacity to mix in with different types of landscapes homeowners may use renewable energy without sacrificing the aesthetics of their surroundings toy-sized wind turbine’s design incorporates lessons from the wing structure and flight mechanisms of dragonflies and it might potentially address some of society’s most pressing energy issues two-blade turbine is less noticeable than the classic three-blade design—to the point where it is hard to spot in the landscape—it has proven to be capable of operating effectively under wind conditions with low intensity Wind turbines must function properly in mild winds but not spin too quickly during a storm Larger turbines avoid this issue by using either specially made blades that stall at high speeds or electronic devices that detect wind speed and modify the blade’s angle accordingly because small-scale turbines don’t generate enough electricity to cover the cost this technology can be somewhat costly to utilise The Dragonfly Invisible Wind Turbine is incredibly useful in addition to having a beautiful appearance Unlike conventional turbines that depend on the prevailing winds maximising energy generation even under less-than-ideal circumstances This makes it a desirable choice for homeowners in regions with erratic wind patterns Prof. Obata, who majored in aeronautics, came across some intriguing dragonfly studies in 2005. A five-year study project called “Research and Development of an Insect-Type Micro Flying Robot” was then undertaken by and funded by the Ministry of Education He spent this time creating a flying robot that used the same concepts as dragonflies’ flight motors He discovered that the secret to the dragonfly’s steady flight was its wing structure its extremely thin wings’ corrugated surface produced several tiny vortices above the wing surface this technique allowed the wings to generate lift while also lowering air resistance by sweeping backwards any air attempting to “cling” to the wing The new mini-wind turbine blade is a component of an innovation strategy aimed at enhancing the performance of all renewable technologies and reducing their susceptibility to issues associated with wind power’s intermittent nature less obtrusive equipment in both natural and architectural environments the goal is to increase the integration of renewable resources in densely inhabited places © 2024 by El Diario 24 © 2024 by El Diario 24