And now for something completely different! We backtracked a little bit to Cison di Sanmarino to the house of Barbarella and Alessandro. They offer one room, La Suita, to guests and what a room it is.
La Suita, our room
Goodies to welcome us
The whole house is like something cut out of a fairy tale really, and the hosts are simply delightful.
B&B La Suita
Wisteria that scented our room all night
We settled in and then headed out to the village for a food festival. Like most villages in Italy, it is quaint and charming and intensely photogenic.
We were probably the only tourists there, but enjoyed some nice bites of goodies both local and from other regions of Italy. There really isn’t much to say about it if you haven’t tasted, so I’ll let the pictures do the talking.
I spent the evening on the terrace with our hosts and their friends, practicing Italian and indulging in cheese and ham from Friuli, wine from Treviso and Toscana, and stories from all around the world while the full moon came out from the clouds. A sweet place to stay. In the morning we were greeted with a breakfast of home-made jam, tarte tatin, fresh yoghurt, ricotta and cappuccino.
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Then we headed into the heart of Prosecco country, to Col San Martino near Valdobbiadene, to meet an acquaintance of mine, Sgr. Dino Maule representing Merotto Spumanti wine makers.
Impeccable as always, he showed us around the premises.
Sgr Dino Maule
We met the owner and also had the good fortune of seeing two employees putting the final touches on Merotto’s award winning Prosecco Fondatore… this involves placing a green seal on every single bottle, then wrapping it in special paper and placing in in cartons, all done by hand. When told about this tradition, most people think it is a figment of a wild Italian imagination, but we’ve been there and we’ve seen it done.
Applying the wax
Pressing the seal.. many a hundred bottles all done like this
Every prosecco at Merotto is fantastic, and we departed with two fine bottles, including a rose that is so beautifully pink and so nicely bottled that it seems a shame to open or drink it (but we will).
Tasting at Merotto
We travelled through the heart of Valdobbiadene, where unlike the lowlands, the vineyards climb up steep slopes to the tops of the hills, making the harvest a very laborious process indeed.
Our next destination is Verona. A slight change of plans means we will be spending 2 nights in the city, but the weather is fine and Maci will be there!! And perhaps Romeo and Juliet too.