Umbria III

On our last day in Umbria, we had to (of course) visit some of the local wineries. Our first stop was a vineyard we hadn't heard of before called Adanti. Set on a picturesque landscape, we entered the villa antisipating the wine within. One white, five reds and an out of this world desert Sagrantino later, we were in love with this place. Our 'host' was intellegent and informative, explaining to us all about the Sagrantino grape and the differences between the Doc, Docg and the marriages they created with is and other grapes. We were also amazed by the passito and how well sagrantino does as a desert wine (later finding out that the origins of the grape wine started as a sweet wine) After we bought a few of our favorites we thought the since we were in the area we should visit Assisi, home of the Franciscan monk and his church. The city, now a mecca to Christians, was full of tourists and medalions dedicated to the holy man. The church is set high on a hill and is visible from many surrounding towns. It was destroyed during an earthquake in 09/26/1997 and restored to its original state a few years ago. Beautiful and open, but the insane amount of people really keeps you from enjoying the experience fully. Once we'd had enough, we set of to find a Cipolloni or a place where olive oil is made. Umbria is also home to some of the best oil in Italy more olive trees the vineyards can be seen from the small roads. The Cipolloni we went to was recommended to us by our friend Andrea and is considered a great oil for the price. We tasted their regular oil and the reserva, taking home with us a couple of bottles. Back the B&B to rest and pack, sad to see the day coming to an end. We had been invited for dinner by our new friends and were interested in seeing their much talked about home. Set in the middle of fields, the ranch style home was full of ceramics and homey in an artists way. We helped set the table for the 10 expected guests and opened a few bottles of wine made by small local producers. Once everyone arrived we laughed and dined on local food, slightly enhanced by the brazilian ideas of cooking. With dogs running around us, we spoke of future plans and past experiences, all the time thinking to myself, what a simple easy life, could I live like this? Away from the hustle of city life? Maybe.

And on our drive back to Venice, I thought about it more and more. The simple life in a beautiful place full of amazing people, food and wine. Why not after all? Being happy is whats most important isn't it. And now, back in NY, I still think about Umbria and the friends we met and the places we visited. Who knows, maybe we will end there one day. It wouldn't be half bad, thats for sure.

Nell'ultimo giorno in Umbria non poteva mancare una visita ad una cantina. La scelta è caduta sull' Azienda vinicola Adanti situata tra Bevagna e Foligno in un bellissimo panorama di colline arricchite da vigneti ed ulivi. I vini in degustazione presentati erano un biano e precisamente il Grechetto dei Colli Martani e cinque rossi tutti degni di nota ma due in particolare caratterizzati da un ottima qualità prezzo sono il Montefalco Rosso Arquata DOC e il Rosso dell'Umbria IGT. Non potrei dimenticare fra quete righe il meraviglioso Sagrantino di Montefalco e il persinstentissimo Sagrantino di Montefalco Passito tutti prodotti di ottimo livello gustativo targati DOCG. Dopo averne comprate alcune bottiglie ci siamo avviati per una breve vista verso la Basilica di San Francesco d'Assisi per poi virare appena fuori Foligno esattamente a San Giovanni Profiamma per immergere i nostri sensi nel frantoio Cipolloni. Questo frantoio raccomandatoci da una amica artista Andrea è veramente un passaggio obbligato tra i molti offferti da questa grande terra. Tornando al B&B per una rinfrescatina siamo stati invitati poi da Andrea e Nicola per la cena in una cascina tra le colline umbre. Persone incredibili e affascinanti l'Umbria non finirà mai di stupirmi.