Day One In Veneto and Valpolicella
"Adventures In Wine Country" with Co-Hosts Chuck Byers and Greg Rist is a new series airing April 2010 on CHEX television channel 12 Durham and Greater Toronto Area.
Good-Bye Umbria
It was hard to say good-bye to all our new friends in Umbria. They were a very special group. Elisa at Subretia, Miona, Christina our very special interpreter driver and of course Monica Latini who did magnificent work in organizing this package. I wish to thank all the wineries that were involved in giving us a very special picture in wine making in Montefalco as well as the Lungarotti family for so graciously opening up the museum and their winery to us in Torgiano.
I would also like to take special thanks to the Consorzio for making this trip possible. A truly special person was Maura for her expert guide work in Bevagna and Montefalco and always looking so lovely. I would like also to thank the many restaurants and shops that we visited and filmed. The people of Umbria welcomed us and we felt welcome. You in Umbria have made new friends as did we.
At ten in the morning, we were picked up by Monica who drove us to the train station in Folognia. There we started the rather long and arduous trek to Verona----all five and a half hours of it. Luggage in hand and through two train changes we moved forward and luckily had little in the way of problems in getting to Verona where we were met by Maria Victoria Boccoli and Mr. Emilio Fasolerti who is the Director of the Consorzio Per La Tutela Dei Vini of Valpolicella.
They picked us up and transported us to our hotel called called Castrum---a fortress hotel on top of a very high hill that overlooks part of the Valpolicella vineyards. From it could be seen a wide expanse of hills, vineyards, villages and roads. It gave me the vision of Barbara Streisand singing the song "On a clear day" since it was clear and the beauty sure seemed out of this world.
Every so often the bell on the tower would ring and around church bells rang signifying that it was indeed the day of the Lord---Sunday. It seemed very apropos that we arrived at such a fanfare.
Our two "Guardian Angels" as Maria called herself and Emilio waited for us as we refreshed ourselves. We then went out to a restaurant called Dalla Rosa Alda. The restaurant featured local cuisine and ingredients as well as a "real" wine cellar which was carved out of rock. The restaurant now also has guest accommodations as well as a lovely out door terrace which overlooks the hills and Lake Garda.
I had a great selection. As a starter I had local bean soup thickened with pasta and laced with olive oil and cheese. For my main course, I had a delicious thin sliced beef in Amarone sauce. This plus a slice of crusty bread did the trick. Emilio picked the wine of the meal, a excellent Villa Novare Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ripasso from Bertani (2006). Ripasso means that the fermented Valpolicella was put through another fermentation with the remnants (LEES) of the
Amarone wine which give the then young wine, more richness and body thus allowing it the capability to be aged.
This wine was no different since it excellent body and mouthfeel with dark cherry and plum notes with a pepper finish. With the meal both the bean soup and meat, it came alive.
Greg had his wine with donkey----yes, you heard it! He had an ass's ass for a meal. I hear it was good. What would "Shrek" say? Poor "Denkie"!
After the meal we did some touring where we went to the Church of San Gorgio which had a cloistered patio though it was getting dark and we could not see as well into it.
We returned in plenty of time to relax before succumbing to our rather long day. Yet, we managed to get some touring in even though we had arrived late in the day. With this in mind, what else has adventure in store for us.
END OF DAY ONE
Good-Bye Umbria
It was hard to say good-bye to all our new friends in Umbria. They were a very special group. Elisa at Subretia, Miona, Christina our very special interpreter driver and of course Monica Latini who did magnificent work in organizing this package. I wish to thank all the wineries that were involved in giving us a very special picture in wine making in Montefalco as well as the Lungarotti family for so graciously opening up the museum and their winery to us in Torgiano.
I would also like to take special thanks to the Consorzio for making this trip possible. A truly special person was Maura for her expert guide work in Bevagna and Montefalco and always looking so lovely. I would like also to thank the many restaurants and shops that we visited and filmed. The people of Umbria welcomed us and we felt welcome. You in Umbria have made new friends as did we.
At ten in the morning, we were picked up by Monica who drove us to the train station in Folognia. There we started the rather long and arduous trek to Verona----all five and a half hours of it. Luggage in hand and through two train changes we moved forward and luckily had little in the way of problems in getting to Verona where we were met by Maria Victoria Boccoli and Mr. Emilio Fasolerti who is the Director of the Consorzio Per La Tutela Dei Vini of Valpolicella.
They picked us up and transported us to our hotel called called Castrum---a fortress hotel on top of a very high hill that overlooks part of the Valpolicella vineyards. From it could be seen a wide expanse of hills, vineyards, villages and roads. It gave me the vision of Barbara Streisand singing the song "On a clear day" since it was clear and the beauty sure seemed out of this world.
Every so often the bell on the tower would ring and around church bells rang signifying that it was indeed the day of the Lord---Sunday. It seemed very apropos that we arrived at such a fanfare.
Our two "Guardian Angels" as Maria called herself and Emilio waited for us as we refreshed ourselves. We then went out to a restaurant called Dalla Rosa Alda. The restaurant featured local cuisine and ingredients as well as a "real" wine cellar which was carved out of rock. The restaurant now also has guest accommodations as well as a lovely out door terrace which overlooks the hills and Lake Garda.
I had a great selection. As a starter I had local bean soup thickened with pasta and laced with olive oil and cheese. For my main course, I had a delicious thin sliced beef in Amarone sauce. This plus a slice of crusty bread did the trick. Emilio picked the wine of the meal, a excellent Villa Novare Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ripasso from Bertani (2006). Ripasso means that the fermented Valpolicella was put through another fermentation with the remnants (LEES) of the
Amarone wine which give the then young wine, more richness and body thus allowing it the capability to be aged.
This wine was no different since it excellent body and mouthfeel with dark cherry and plum notes with a pepper finish. With the meal both the bean soup and meat, it came alive.
Greg had his wine with donkey----yes, you heard it! He had an ass's ass for a meal. I hear it was good. What would "Shrek" say? Poor "Denkie"!
After the meal we did some touring where we went to the Church of San Gorgio which had a cloistered patio though it was getting dark and we could not see as well into it.
We returned in plenty of time to relax before succumbing to our rather long day. Yet, we managed to get some touring in even though we had arrived late in the day. With this in mind, what else has adventure in store for us.
END OF DAY ONE
posted by Chuck Byers - Wine Consultant | 3:59 PM
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