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Published: April 12th 2014
"Yeah, it is finally Spring Break and we are going back to Italy, but this time with my brother. It was very long plane ride but we survived. First we were in Barolo Italy. We had a very long drive to get to the hotel. When we picked up the car it had a very small trunk so my dad had to put all the luggage by my seat and I was smooshed. When we got to the hotel we went straight to bed. The next day went to a bunch of wineries. We had lunch that had the best hot chocolate ever and it wasn't chocolate milk, it was chocolate chocolate. We walked around the town and took a lot of pictures near a castle. The last winery which was pretty cool we got to draw on the wall. I drew a bird drinking wine and Vitor drew a mushroom drinking wine, I do not know why. Then we had an amazing dinner at this little restaurant. We went back to the hotel to relax. The next day we went to a very colorful church where we went 3 years ago. We took some of the same pictures with Vitor this time. Then we met our friend Alessandro and I liked his dog Kurt. We ate lunch at a cool place that cool looking chairs. I liked the rabbit salad....it tasted like chicken. Then we went to Elio Grasso which was my favorite winery in Barolo because I got to play on the grass. I think that is why they call it Elio "Grasso". The cave where they have all the wine is very cool. We had to say goodbye to our friends, but we had a very good time." - Sofia
Daddy's Comments:
Well another Spring Break trip back to Italy. Sofia had complaining that she has been "homesick" even though she had only spent the first 4 months of her life in Italy. Regardless, she was very excited to return again after 3 years. This time it was even more special as Vitor was coming with us. He had not been there since we left in 2005.
So, late Wed night we flew first to Madrid (Sofia a little disappointed that could not meet up with good friend Ana) and then a short trip to Milan. A little bit of stress
when picking up the car as when I told them that we were going to take the car into Slovenia for 2 nights, they stated that it was not possible. The car's GPS would shut it down as it is not permitted. What! Living in Italy for 3 years, driving into Slovenia was effortless as the country became part of the EU....no border control. I did not think to even ask when booking on line. Well, about 1 hour of stress and going to 5-6 different car rentals at airport, the last one, Avis, did permit travel to Slovenia....more expensive than I had booked, but was not willing to give up Slovenia trip.....we were off.
Less than a 2 hour drive, a stop for a snack at the great gas station shops, we arrived in Barolo. We stayed at a nice B&B we had stayed at a few times previously -
il Ciabot . The couple that runs the B&B is very nice and it is in an awesome location, walking distance from the streets of Barolo (and next to Rinaldi). Quick showers and bedtime...big day tomorrow.
Our first full day in Barolo and we had
4 scheduled winery reservations which turned into 5, only 2 of which I had been to previously. We started at
Paolo Scavino where we tasted with some nice people from Switzerland before we got a short tour of the place. Really cool. Also, joined by Enrico for part of the time. Great Barolos! As this was at 930am and I was driving, I was spitting for the most part, but definitely getting "better" at it. Second, stop was Renato Ratti in La Morra. Unfortunately, Pietro was not available so we tasted with one of the employees who was very nice. Vitor was able to try the wine and was very responsible, and tasted and spit for the most part. Sofia had fun playing on the grass with an incredible view and taking pics/selfies.
We had a snack back at Barolo at Sofia's favorite hot chocolate place. Some meats, cheese, and of course, hot chocolate. Around the corner, one of my favorite Barolo producers, Bartolo Mascarello was our next stop. This was a place I visited back in 2004 and had the honor of meeting Bartolo Mascarello before he died a year later. It was one of the events that started
my passion for wine, having him share his wine and his art. While he is no longer with us, his daughter, Maria Theresa, is a wonderful woman, and we met her once again and gave her a picture from our last visit of her and Sofia. This time, she had American Allen helping her out and he gave us a tour of the winery and the tasting. Sofia and Vitor then picked out Barolo bottles with Bartolo's artwork on them (not available in USA) and we added a couple magnums/bottles to the wines we had already purchased earlier.
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Next stop was
Azelia , related to Paolo Scavino, were we tasted with son, Lorenzo. With most of their Barolo bottles sold out, they had their 2005 Barolo Bricco Fiasco, so of course bought a couple bottles after trying as that is Sofia's vintage. Finally ended up at
Marchesi Di Barolo in the center of Barolo near our hotel. This was the first winery I had ever tasted at in Italy. Good friends from Miami, Barbara and John, had visited a couple years ago and had a wonderful experience with the owners. While we did not meet
the owners, we were met by a very nice employee and had a great time. Sofia especially loved drawing on the walls and had a taste of water with a splash of wine. Anna, did call and gave us a bottle of a Barbera as a gift, which was very nice.
We had an incredible dinner at "Barolo Friends". The onion appetizer was awesome, as was the main dishes and desserts.
On Saturday, we had some extra time in the morning since we ended up adding Bartolo Mascarello to the first day, so we headed up to the famous small, but extremely colorful church. Sofia loved the colors and we took a bunch of photos. We had another big day today, and not only visiting 3 of my favorite wineries that I have visited previously, we were to be joined by some friends....Alessandro, Andrea, and friends. Sofia and I had met Alessandro and Andrea about 4 years ago when they "
couchsurfed " at our house. Alessandro is a GI doctor in Turin, and we stayed and travelled with him 3 years ago when we returned to Italy. This time, he was meeting us with a bunch of his
I love this tree
Elio Grasso, Monforte d'Albafriends.
We arrived at
Manzone where we were greeted by Giovanni Manzone himself. Shortly after, Alessandro and his friends arrived, as well as Kurt, his very friendly dog that Sofia was excited about. We had a great time tasting wine, talking and laughing. Lots of wines to be tasted and I bought a bunch of them, including some 2005 reserve "for Sofia" which Giovanni signed.
We then had an incredible 4-5 course meal at
Da Felicin which was incredible! Beautiful place and awesome food. Sofia, Vitor and I especially liked the rabbit salad, but all was good. While many stayed for after lunch drinks, we took off for the next tasting at
Elio Grasso , another one of my favorites. Their estate is incredibly beautiful and Sofia and Vitor played a lot on the grass but also enjoyed touring their incredible cellar cave. Most of their wine was sold out, but we were able to taste and buy a couple bottles of their incredible Runcat Reserva.
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Final stop was another of my all time favorites and part of that first day of wine tasting 10 years ago - Giuseppe Rinaldi. This time, we
had not only Beppe leading the tasting but also his daughter, Marta, who I met for the first time. It was fantastic and great way to end the 2 days of tasting. We tasted some of the wine that they were in the process of bottling (2010 Barolos) as well as the 2009s. Luckily I had reserved a case of both the Brunate and the Cannubi, or else there would have been none for me to purchase. At only 33 Euro at the cellar and $100-120 in the USA, I am glad I picked up a bunch. These are wines to be drank many many years later (will be ready for Sofia when she turns an age yet to be determined.
After walking around Barolo with our friends and then a snack and a drink at the B&B we said our goodbye's to Alessandro, Andrea, Kurt and the group. I am sure our paths will cross soon, especially with Alessandro as he travels quite frequently......
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