Hello. We’re EARTH Hiroshima.

 

Here is the sequel of our business trip report!

 

Leaving Vienna, our next destination was Venice.

It’s the home of BOTTEGA, which held an art exhibition at the Vienna International Centre, in a collaboration charity project with EARTH Hiroshima.

 

So we headed to BOTTEGA’s headquarters in Treviso province, 45 km north of Venice!

This area produces “Prosecco,” which is attracting attention from around the world.

Prosecco is a white grape grown in a part of Friuli Venezia Giulia, located in the Treviso province in northern Italy. It’s also the general name for the wine including Spumante, made from this kind of grape.

 

It’s Italy’s representative sparkling wine, with the flavor of the grape itself brought out, and also famous because it was served at President Obama’s inaugural party.

The distinctive part of BOTTEGA’s Prosecco is this shiny, gold bottle!

Not only is its appearance gorgeous, but its flavor is also truly superb!

Bottega is also famous for its distilled liquor, called “Grappa,” made from the strained grape pomace left over from the wine making process.

Their Grappa was very conspicuous in the airport’s duty free shop in Italy!

In Japan, Grappa is not very common. But sipping Grappa slowly after a meal is the Italian style.

 

President Sandoro was appointed as BOTTEGA’s president at the age of 19, in 1983. He opened up a new market that overturned the concept of Grappa and drew people’s attention as a hero in the Grappa industry.

 

Connecting traditional Venetian glass with his own design sense, he found great success in his business such as producing excellent artisanal Grappa.

The office building is stunning, with a blend of the traditional and the new.

At the entrance, there was a welcome board for us! It’s so nice of them.

They let us taste the wine in many processing stages, such as the stage before adding yeast.

 

Freshly made Prosecco was amazing!

The fresh, rich flavor of grapes stands out. You can taste the earth in the Spumante while drinking.

 

The grape juice before yeast is added was also very delicious.

I understood why people say “It’s the wine with the grape’s original flavors drawn out.”

 

During lunch in the afternoon, a Venetian newspaper interviewed us.

About peace, Hiroshima, EARTH Hiroshima, and this charity project…

Gorai talked seriously, almost forgetting to eat. And the reporter also enthusiastically interviewed us!

 

After that, we visited BOTTEGA’s glass studio.

BOTTEGA’s excellent artistic bottle.

 

I was wondering how the glass motif is put into the bottle.

But the mystery was solved!

 

They let me have a small try at making the glass.

Of course, my glass blowing technique was way below the craftsman’s technique.

 

We returned to  BOTTEGA’s office and heard staff’s opinions about EARTH Hiroshima products.

The orizuru charm was getting great feedback!

The green charm earrings look so good on her.

And she displayed the orizuru charms in the exhibition room. Perfect!

 

After dark, we headed to Venice and enjoyed aperitivos at a long-established “HARRY’S BAR.”

 

In Italy, it’s common to drink aperitivos to increase the appetite.

From young to old, people were enjoying aperitivos so much that I wondered if they could eat later.

This is the bar that the renowned writer Hemingway used to visit regularly.

It’s also famous as the birthplace of the Bellini.

 

Bellini is a cocktail, blending freshly pureed peach and prosecco.

 

The key is following the original recipe, which uses Prosecco!

 

French Champagne is often used for the recipe.

But we should stick to “Prosecco” from Venice, shouldn’t we!

 

….Maybe this can be a good trivia item for you to show off.

 

To close the dinner, here are Venetian specialties, spider crab and “Peace for the World, Spumante” with the wine charm…

And the day is over in the blink of an eye.

Tomorrow, we’re heading to Milan for market research!

 

 

Click here for→ Trip to Venice