When I say that it's time for "Wine Around" at my home on Cape Cod, it means that a group of us chatty neighbors grab a bottle and meet up at one of our patios for a weekly Summer evening fest.
When I say that Jack, Marie and I went for a "Wine Around" in Umbria.....well, we're not speaking the same language. In fact, it wasn't about the spoken word at all. It was ALL about the wine and it was hard to curb my enthusiasm (can you imagine, ME, curbing my enthusiasm?).
Joe and I met Mark and Giselle Stafford during our first trip to Umbria, years ago. Through FaceBook (that was the only thing nice I can say about social media), I became friends with, first, Gisellle and then Mark, as they crafted their plans and started up their company, Gusto Umbrian Wine Tours. We came, we met, and we fell in love and the rest is history. Our first wine tour convinced us, at the time, that one should never come anywhere near this region without calling them for a day out that will be worth every cent. The Staffords were skilled tour operators from Day One and we were impressed way back then with Gusto! It certainly was a day to remember, especially as Mark drove us back to our accommodation, round and round the bends, head spinning from a bit too much of some very,very fine wines.
"Let's book a wine tour" was my suggestion to my friends before we left home. And so, on November 16th, Jack's seventieth birthday, off we went in the Gusto! van, Mark at the wheel, off into the countryside that he loves so much and knows of every inch. We traveled from the Assisi area to the Montefalco area and the entire time, Mark prepped us for what we were going to experience, the
history of wine growing in Italy, the differences between the grapes, vines, tastes, chemistries, and lives of the young wine growers we were about to meet. Armed with that information, we did our first stop and stepped right up to the vines for more information. We learned about the entire growth cycle of the grapes before we went into the cantina for our first lesson in how to "taste" the gorgeous fruit of the vintner's family. This is, always has been, and hopefully always will be, an industry that is placed lovingly from hand to hand in a family. When the elder members are force to finally slow down, the younger members take over and so the cycle perpetuates. With advancements in technology, the younger members add a new dimension to the marketing of their products but marketing is not their main goal. Fine wine, care of the land and an appreciation of what has been entrusted, are far more important. These are not mass-producers we're told.
And so, we sat down, at two cantini. Met two families of beautiful people. Tasted with our eyes, noses, entire mouths. We swirled and sniffed. Along with our wines,we enjoyed sapori d'Umbira. Tastings of local cheeses and meats, also produced by the families, for in Italy, wine is not a stand-alone. Food, the right food, always accompanies wine. (same as our patio parties!).
After our two winery visits, it was off to lunch at a country restaurant, carefully selected by the Staffords. To our delight, Giselle joined us. A warm and welcoming Umbrian wood fire glowed as we sat and enjoyed course after course of house specialities. And, of course, more wine!
It goes without saying that Jack was a very special guest and that his birthday did not go by un-noticed or under-celebrated. A little lava cake with a candle delighted Birthday Boy and we all sang "Buon Compleanno" to him and wished him "Auguri"with joy in our hearts and lots of wine in our heads.
I can't think of a better way to celebrate a landmark birthday, or any birthday, or any day, for that matter! Oh, and did I mention that the sun was shining? Yes, it was a brilliant blue sky and sunny all day and we didn't even really need the wine to make that happen. Love.
This was no Cape Cod, Cranberry Knoll Ladies Wine-Around. Sorry.
gustowinetours.com
When I say that Jack, Marie and I went for a "Wine Around" in Umbria.....well, we're not speaking the same language. In fact, it wasn't about the spoken word at all. It was ALL about the wine and it was hard to curb my enthusiasm (can you imagine, ME, curbing my enthusiasm?).
Joe and I met Mark and Giselle Stafford during our first trip to Umbria, years ago. Through FaceBook (that was the only thing nice I can say about social media), I became friends with, first, Gisellle and then Mark, as they crafted their plans and started up their company, Gusto Umbrian Wine Tours. We came, we met, and we fell in love and the rest is history. Our first wine tour convinced us, at the time, that one should never come anywhere near this region without calling them for a day out that will be worth every cent. The Staffords were skilled tour operators from Day One and we were impressed way back then with Gusto! It certainly was a day to remember, especially as Mark drove us back to our accommodation, round and round the bends, head spinning from a bit too much of some very,very fine wines.
"Let's book a wine tour" was my suggestion to my friends before we left home. And so, on November 16th, Jack's seventieth birthday, off we went in the Gusto! van, Mark at the wheel, off into the countryside that he loves so much and knows of every inch. We traveled from the Assisi area to the Montefalco area and the entire time, Mark prepped us for what we were going to experience, the
history of wine growing in Italy, the differences between the grapes, vines, tastes, chemistries, and lives of the young wine growers we were about to meet. Armed with that information, we did our first stop and stepped right up to the vines for more information. We learned about the entire growth cycle of the grapes before we went into the cantina for our first lesson in how to "taste" the gorgeous fruit of the vintner's family. This is, always has been, and hopefully always will be, an industry that is placed lovingly from hand to hand in a family. When the elder members are force to finally slow down, the younger members take over and so the cycle perpetuates. With advancements in technology, the younger members add a new dimension to the marketing of their products but marketing is not their main goal. Fine wine, care of the land and an appreciation of what has been entrusted, are far more important. These are not mass-producers we're told.
And so, we sat down, at two cantini. Met two families of beautiful people. Tasted with our eyes, noses, entire mouths. We swirled and sniffed. Along with our wines,we enjoyed sapori d'Umbira. Tastings of local cheeses and meats, also produced by the families, for in Italy, wine is not a stand-alone. Food, the right food, always accompanies wine. (same as our patio parties!).
After our two winery visits, it was off to lunch at a country restaurant, carefully selected by the Staffords. To our delight, Giselle joined us. A warm and welcoming Umbrian wood fire glowed as we sat and enjoyed course after course of house specialities. And, of course, more wine!
It goes without saying that Jack was a very special guest and that his birthday did not go by un-noticed or under-celebrated. A little lava cake with a candle delighted Birthday Boy and we all sang "Buon Compleanno" to him and wished him "Auguri"with joy in our hearts and lots of wine in our heads.
I can't think of a better way to celebrate a landmark birthday, or any birthday, or any day, for that matter! Oh, and did I mention that the sun was shining? Yes, it was a brilliant blue sky and sunny all day and we didn't even really need the wine to make that happen. Love.
This was no Cape Cod, Cranberry Knoll Ladies Wine-Around. Sorry.
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| Our Birthday Boy. Auguri Jack!! |
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| Giselle and Mark. I love these people. They always have my back when I'm in Italy. Needless to say, this photo was not taken in Umbria but I think it captures them so well. |
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