Montepulciano

Montepulciano, home to my favorite wine in the entire world, Nobile di Montepulciano.

I hope that you all have the opportunity to visit a place about which you've read, talked and dreamt for as long as you can remember. Although I only recently acquired a mature taste and appreciation for wine, it did not take me long to figure out that Montepulciano was on the top of my list.

 About an hour and a half drive from Firenze, situated in the province of Siena, it is a medieval Renaissance city filled with winding roads and alleyways with views like these at the end of every path.

 The main street that runs through the entire length of the town is only 1.5 kilometers long.

They crammed a lot into 1.5km, and as you can see it's not just about the wine. We found surprises such as these around every corner.

Okay, I lied, it really is all about the wine. These are the remnants of my first tasting at Cantina Crociani, featuring from left to right: 

Vino Rosso di Montepulciano, 2007; Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2006; Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva 2005; and "Il Segreto di Giorgio". "Il Segreto di Giorgio" is, as the name suggests, a secret concoction of the owner of the Cantina, and each bottle is numbered. 

My entry in the guestbook: "Saluti a NY dove si pagano $15 per un bichierre di Montepulciano," that's "Cheers to NY, where we pay $15 for a glass of Montepulciano".

We took a short walk to our second tasting at Cantina Contucci, where I tasted four vino nobile, "buono, meglio, ottimo, and the best". 

Of course we did not leave here without making friends. First of all, our new friend "Adamo," the owner, who reminds me of my dad, and is famous in America after being featured on PBS for a documentary on Montepulciano. Of course when he told me this, I replied with, "I am famous in Italia for my appearance on Rai Due," which I hope all of you have seen by now. There was a group of Italians from Firenze there tasting at the same time, they are the largest suppliers of mozzarella di bufala in Tuscany. They supply the cheese to Pizzaiolo, one of the best pizza places in Firenze which happens to be on my corner.

I am not sure what these numbers mean but I am happy I was looking down at the moment to notice them. This photo is proof that I was not imagining them after tasting all of that wine. It was raining, but it made being inside the wine cellars that much more enjoyable and rewarding.

Do not think for a second that I left empty handed from my

 favorite wine region in the world. The box in my hand contains one Nobile and one Rosso... the other 12 bottles arrived at school yesterday.