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Rider Rachel Schutler Photgrapher Karen Salazar

easy riderscheck out these five cool beachcruisers---plus, the perfect scenic,coastel bike trails to match your style

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10 Wine Tastingfrom the expert4 The Italian French Riviera at it’s best6 Top 3 Artistic Cities8 Recipe’s only from the coast

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Geographically, the term ‘Riviera’ refers to the long narrow stretch of coastal land peace-fully nestled between the Alps and the Mediterranean Sea extending from southeast France to northwest Italy. There is no official boundary but the French Riviera coastline covers 560 miles and consists of both sand and shingle beaches. Although its French counterpart, the French Riviera, unfairly holds much of the praise and renown, travel-

lers who have had the good fortune of experiencing the luxurious warmth and crystal clear blue waters of the Italian Riviera attest that it is equally, if not more beautiful, than its famous neighbor due in part to the absence of massive tourist crowds. Even so, at the center of the Italian Riviera sits the Ligurian capital, Genoa, the largest commercial port in Italy, which divides the region further into two sections; the Riviera di Ponente or Riviera of the Setting Sun, which extends westward from the French border all the way eastward to Genoa at the center, and the Riviera di Levante that spans eastward from Genoa to Portovenere. The Riviera di Ponente is home to San Remo, a fancy seaside resort whose Pigna hill offers a breathtaking view of the Ponente and Levante and which also houses the glittering San Remo casino. Other towns located west of Genoa include Albe and Ventimiglia,

FRENCH RIVIERA“Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth”- Pablo Picasso

THE ITALIAN

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both important centers in Liguria during the time of the Romans that now serve as sites for historical landmarks and remnants of ancient and medieval civilization. The French side of the riviera consist of all the small cities along the coast of the border of Italy. Menton is one of these cities just over the Italian border, renowned for its mild climate, annual winter attraction and a good dose of Baroque and medieval architecture. Even so, Menton once was the property of the Italian Ventimiglia family but was acquired by the Grimaldi’s of Monaco in 1346. For centuries it remained under the Grimaldi rule until 1848 when Menton declared itself a free city under the protection of the King of Sardegna. In 1860 Menton chose to become part of France.The city developed during the Italian Renaissance period, stretching its ochre-colored fingers over the steep Colla Rogna. At its nucleus stands one of the best examples of Baroque architecture, the Basilica St. Michel. Near the top, the buildings are typical of medieval times, small at the base and increasing in size on the upper levels, many times creating vaulted streets. Thus, this is one city among many others that share a similar history and is why they form part of the Italian French Riviera.

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Top 3 Artistic CitiesThe Italian French Riviera

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Nice is located on the French Riv-iera in Provence-Alpes-Côte

d’Azur. Blessed by a sunny, temperate climate, Nice at-tracts visitors from around the world. Among its many attractions are its beautiful beaches, lovely seaside prom-enade, interesting museums, and famous city landmarks. Nice’s signature attraction is the Promenade des Anglais, a bustling walkway running along the Mediterranean. On the hills rising up from the shore you will find nar-row streets, red-tile roofs, churches, outdoor markets, al fresco restaurants, parks and dozens of museums. The bay lights up after dark to usher in Nice’s vibrant nightlife.

Even so, St. Paul is a beautiful medieval fortified village perched on a narrow spur between two deep valleys. Its location gives you a great view of the village from the La Colle road to the east or the Cagnes-Vence road to the west. Although the village itself is one of the most intact medieval examples of the region, with much of the ramparts still there. Except for the ramparts and the typical old houses, the most predominant things to see in the village are the art galleries. Yet, at Saint Paul-de-Vence you will find the artistic inspiration that many artist found during their stay,

including the Russian bornpainter Mark Chagall who is buried in the Saint Paul-de-Vence cemetery.Arles sits on a low hill in one of the largest com-munes of France. The ma-jor sites of this location are the Arena and the Theater. Even so, the city is also the location where the famous artists Vincent van Gogh settled in Arles in 1888, producing over 300 paint-ings and drawings such as l’Arlesienne and Starry Night Over the Rhône.

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From the Coast----The traditional delicacies from the coast of the Italian French Riviera

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S E A F O O D R I S O T T O

Cover the bottom of a large pot with olive oil and sauté the garlic and chili pepper. Add the seafood cut into small pieces and sauté on high heat until golden. Add the wine and let evaporate. Add tomatoes and let cook for 15-20 minutes.Add rice and stir until the rice has absorbed the sauce. Add the broth ladle by ladle and continue to stir until the rice is done.

Add butter, stir and let sit for 3 minutes. Add the parsley and serve.

Seafood broth (celery, carrot, onion and some fish heads.

Simmer in 2 liters of water for an hour).

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 chili pepper

12 large shrimp

500 g octopus

300 g baby calamari

300 g squid

1 cup white wine

420 g rice

12 cherry tomatoes, halved

Olive oil, salt & pepper

30 g butter

1 tablespoon chopped parsle

P E S T O M I O2 large bunches of fresh basil

1 Tbs. pine nuts

2-3 walnut halves

2 Tbs. grated pecorino or Parmesan

1 clove of garlic

a little water (or little splash of dry white wine)

+/- 2 Tbs. olive o

Sauté crushed walnut halves and pine nuts in hot olive oil until light brown. Be careful as once the pine nuts begin to color, they can burn quickly. Remove from heat and let sit until room temperature. Proceed as above however, start with 1 tablespoon of room temperature water and work in until 37 incorporated before adding a little oil, then a little water and finishing with enough oil to make the desired consistency. Adding too much water at a time will make it more difficult to ‘emulsify’ the blend.Slightly toasting the nuts first brings out their ‘nuttiness’

From the Coast

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Equal

Not Wines

AllAre

Created

Massimo Coppetti

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I taly is well known for their wine. Massimo Coppetti is the expert of all ex-perts in wine. I had the pleasure of meeting and learning from him. There is a lot more to wine than one would expect. It’s about “moderation.” Wine tast-ing determines if a wine is created the same as others. To determine this you have to follow four simple steps: see, sniff, sip, and summarize. With proper practice anyone can become a good wine taster because everyone has the tools that are needed to evaluate the quality of wine: senses. By following these four simple steps we can analyze the organoleptic properties in a glass of wine; in other words, the characteristics perceivable by our visual, olfactory and gusta-tive senses. Wine evaluation can be objective and subjective, depending on the

taster, the mood, the environment and the time of day. The tasting process begins with the ar-rangement and preparation of the tools and wine samples to be evaluated. Wine samples should be at the right temperature, and tasting glasses should be perfectly clean and without any odors that could interfere with the perception of the wine’s aromas; including the smell of the soap used to wash the glass. As mentioned before, tasting consists of four phases, each of which fo-cuses on specific organoleptic characteristics. During the first phase we concentrate on the visual aspects of tasting: the color, limpidity, consistency, and possibly effervescence of the wine. This process is used to determine the wine’s age, grape variety (or varieties), and to understand how the wine was made -- in wood or stainless steel. Therefore, wine tasting is crucial in understanding the quality of the wine any whiter or not you will want to stink the same bottle of wine again.As you go through the process of smelling and tasting wine, you may begin to understand that wine is a piece of life that represents the terroir, history, culture, tradition and passion of the people from which it comes, just as any traditional recipe, family heirloom, or photograph that has been passed down throughout the centuries. Wine is living and it tells a story, “You can ask something to 53a glass of wine and it will answer you -- it transmits sensations,” By focusing on just the glass of wine while working your way through the four tasting steps, the story unfolds and we discover the secrets of centuries of wine making, of the people who labored in the vineyard under the hot summer sun, of the rain and clouds that quenched and shaded the parched roots of growing grapes. Each sip represents a moment in time that has come and gone, each sip connects us all to another part of the world that you may never have seen and may never get to see, and with each sip past, present and future are one. “In vino veritas,” Latin for, “in wine, truth.

“Moderation”

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