lets see... this started with...
“The thrill is gone… The thrill is gone Baby”…
Sing it B.B.
“Yeah yeah yeah… the thrill is gone Baby.”
but we're not done at Banfi yet so....
Back at the winery, we get the full tour from the selecting the grapes to be crushed, 
through the fermentation process etc…etc..etc all the way to the bottling. We saw the innovative barrels for fermentation developed by Banfi that combines both stainless steel top and bottom sleeves with white 
oak staved centers to use the latest technology to develop the wines that are uniquely Banfi.Now freezing our butts off… it gets very chilly in
the mountains and in the cellars after sundown and of course we left the coats in the car, we bid our guide Claudia farewell and head back up the very dark… VERRRRYYYY winding road to Montalcino.Once back at our warm hotel… we freshen up and as its still very
early... sundown is around 5pm here… we 
dress a bit warmer and wander the town taking in the culture and lots of KODAK moments. We decide that we need to eat by 7PM as we must get an early start back to Rome tomorrow and we settle on a quaint little Ristorante recommended by the Hotel, Osteria Il Giardino.Battery died and now we’re in Newark waiting on the flight to Ft Lauderdale so we will continue as the battery charges.
As B.B. King wails in the background [the owner lady-thats her in the background- loves the blues] we have one of the better meals in Italy.We notice the same Ribillito soup selection as we had in the winery along with another Crème de pici I Peccorino. The owner tells us it's a typical tuscan twice baked bread soup and I have to try it to compare with the one at Banfi. NO COMPARISON… this was incredible, rich broth, fresh spinachi and fagiole cannalinni with hints of salsice. Illys was equally tasty and the bread, made here fresh daily was so flavorful it was a sin to dip it in the EVOO but that was also too good to pass up. And of course Chuckie had to use it to mop up
E V E R Y morsel of the zuppa. A local Pinot Grigio was a perfect accent. Completing the meal was an outstanding Sfogliatellita [apples in an angel light puff pastry with Crème Englaise and a Creamy Riccotta and Pear Cheese cake along with a well made cappuccino
and we were in heaven.A Great Tuscan meal, the "Best of the Blues" in the background, in a super little ristorante, on the mountain top, in the fog… It just doesn’t get any better than this. Food/service/wine= a Serious 5+ stars [Chuckie was to engrossed in the meal to take pics of it]
One more trip around the town square for KODAK at night and we stumble up to our 3rd floor perch to crash… but not until a Nowat edition.More on the trip back to Roma… with Mario Andretti Chuckie and the Winding roads in the Fog.
Ciao 4 Now
Chuck and just plain giddy about the Superb night and a great meal, Dragon Lady.
No comments:
Post a Comment