The Edinburgh Reporter January 2021

@EdinReporter /EdinReporter edinburghreporter theedinburghreporter.co.uk FOOD 17
Juliet's Food Diary - Mickel maks a muckle at Eddie's
by Juliet Lawrence Wilson
A happy New Year to you all
- may full be your belly with a
license on your telly.
Apologies to Paulo Nutini,
a performer who looks, to my
untrained medical eye, almost
permanently constipated. If this is
your digestive problem (although
possibly discouraged by the BMA)
kale for dinner then an espresso
and fag in the morning definitely
does the trick. No need to thank
me on your next album credits
Paulo, your ability to sing in an
upright position shall be reward
enough for me.
Last Hogmanay I was at the
Street Party, reporting for this
very publication. I was meeting
strangers who were full of New
Year’s hope, in an endeavour to
combat my own annual turn-ofthe-year
dread. Even a gin bottle
half empty pessimist such as
I could not have foreseen the
2020 that was to come. If anyone
had told me I wouldn’t be able to
simply walk into a pub on a whim,
stride to the bar and order a drink,
I would have told them they were
Lord Mad from the town of Loony
in the region of Bonkersville.
The Italian Job - five wines from the Dolomite Alps
Alto Adige, in the foothills of the
Dolomite Alps, is known for producing
the best Pinot Noir (Pinot
Nero) in Italy.
The denomination is part of the
wider Trentino-Alto Adige region,
which is famous for cool-climate
wines. While aromatic white wines
like Gewürztraminer and Pinot
Grigio are the best-known, the
region's light-bodied and elegant
red wines are also well worth
discovering.
Oleg Dmitriev of Independent
Wines recommends five of the
best Alto Adige DOC Pinot Noir
wines to try right now.
Pinot Noir – or Pinot Nero in
Italian – accounts for 8.9% of Alto
Adige's vineyard area, covering
494 hectares. Most of it is grown
on terraced slopes halfway up the
foothills, starting at 400m above
sea level. Some truly magnificent
high altitude Pinot Noirs are also
made in the region, produced
from grapes that grow more than
a kilometre above sea level. This
expressive grape is excellent at
showcasing its terroir, and in Alto
Adige the grape is usually grown
on calcareous gravel.
Although Alto Adige is a cool
Eddie's Seafood Market owner Campbell Mickel wears his heart on his sleeve
If they’d told me my drinking
restrictions were because I might
catch or pass on a deadly disease,
I’d have said: “Chance would be a
fine thing.”
What hope have we now? In the
lead up to Christmas eateries
were allowed to open until 6pm
with no alcohol served. I mean,
really? Do people have a couple of
vinos over lunch and start hugging
each other? At my daughter’s
insufferably middle class school,
we’ve had several warnings from
the headteacher over playground
parent embracing and this is just
from adults high on avocado and
home-baked sourdough.
Anyway, some continue to
have hope and ambition: enter
Campbell Mickel, proprietor of a
fancy schmancy catering business
climate region, it also gets a lot
of sunshine – more than 300
days per year, to be precise. The
Pinot Noir vines are grown on the
south-east and south-west facing
slopes of the Adige river valley, an
aspect which gives them plenty of
sun exposure. During the day, the
bright light and warmth help the
sugars and aromas develop inside
the grapes. By night, the cool
mountain winds and high altitude
combine to keep the grapes cool –
so they maintain plenty of acid for
a crisp, juicy flavour.
•Kurtatsch Mazon Pinot Noir
Riserva 2016 – matured inside
a mountain cave, this Pinot Noir
has a distinct mineral flavour. It
tastes like Alpine woodland: wild
strawberry, mint and a hint of forest
floor.
•Kurtatsch Glen Pinot Noir
Riserva 2017 – named one of the
ten best Pinot Noirs in Italy by the
“Concorso Pinot Nero”, this highly
complex wine boasts flavours of
hibiscus tea, cranberry, rosemary
and clove.
•K.Martini & Sohn, Paladium Pinot
Noir 2017 – exclusively available
from Independent Wine in the
UK, this award-winning Pinot Noir
that caused him so much stress
he nearly died of a heart attack.
Not to be deterred he then decided
to open Merienda in Stockbridge
and with a restaurant on board
thought about finishing the job
off properly. Sadly, it didn’t work,
so with fearless intrepidation he
decided to go for a new business
opportunity that would see him
rising at three in the morning,
working harder “than when I was
a commis chef in ‘88”, and in cold
and unforgiving temperatures.
Yes, my chum has purchased
the institution that is Eddie’s
Seafood Market in Bruntsfield -
cardiologists at the ready.
In all seriousness, Campbell
thrives on hard work and
optimism. Visiting him in his new
business, I’ve never seen him look
The Italian Dolomites
is gently aged in large second-use
oak barrels. This adds a hint of
spice without overpowering the
natural perfume of the wine.
•Peter Zemmer Pinot Noir Riserva
Vigna Kofl 2017 – another
so healthy and vibrant, from the
nose up at least.
“I was doing home delivery at
Merienda from the beginning of
lock down, and it was going really
well, then everyone started doing
it. Even though I didn’t take a
day off I wanted to be busier and
seeing the queues outside the
good food shops made me think,
its time to find a different way to
be in the food business.”
Everyone was wondering who
would take on an Edinburgh
institution such as Eddie’s, and
Campbell tells me it was both a
long and quick decision.
“I’d been a trade customer for
25 years so knew Eddie, his wife
Sylvia, and the business, really
well. It had been on the market for
five weeks and I just woke up one
UK-exclusive, this Pinot Noir tastes
of rose petals, cloves and dried
strawberry. It comes from a single
vineyard located 1,030 metres
above sea level.
•Peter Zemmer Pinot Noir Rolhüt
morning, went up there and did the
deal that day. Once the legal stuff
had been made formal, I started
working with Eddie right away.
Six weeks later I took over the
business properly. I’m grateful to
Eddie that he’s always on tap for
advice and he still turns up at the
fish market from time to time at
three in the morning!”
While Campbell is a "put the
world to rights" old chap, his wife,
Giselle is the epitomé of a warm
hearted, charming and beautiful
young woman. Despite having
a "proper" job, she couldn’t be
more supportive of her husband’s
various endeavours.
“This business is definitely more
busy and intense than running a
restaurant,” Giselle tells me, “But
for Campbell it’s the same as far
as customer service is concerned.
He’s taken on more staff so there’s
not a queue outside and he looks
to buy and sell seafood from a
chef's point of view.”
“Doesn’t she look great in white
wellie boots?” Campbell teases
her. Giselle rolls her eyes but you
can tell this partnership is a true
bond.
“In the beginning of January we’ll
close for a couple of weeks so that
we can do a refurb and make this
shop look like our personalities.”
“Hmm, grumpy then.” Campbell
remarks. Hopeful and can do, I
think.
I’m not alone in wishing them all
the best and can’t wait to see the
results.
Eddies Seafood Market
7 Roseneath Street
0131 229 4207
2018 – captivating flavours of
fresh and dried red fruits characterise
this bright and velvety wine,
crafted at Peter Zemmer's familyowned
winery.
www.independent.wine