Happy New Year!

We are ending the year looking back on a 2011 that was very eventful for us. We started the year finding out about a potential job in Italy and by March it seemed to be a sure thing. Then, a week later all bets were off as the government went to hell and couldn't make any good financial decisions, and hiring freezes were enacted. With the Italy thing off the table, we dove into boat ownership. That was a fun start to the summer. We unfortunately learned a few of the pitfalls of boat ownership, but all in all, we love the boat. Of course, shortly afterwards, the Italy thing was back on the table, the boat was put into storage, and here we are! We ended this eventful year with a quiet day exploring some local wine making areas.

We explored an area near here called the Valpolicella region which is located just North of Verona. We sampled one of their wonderful wine creations called Amarone and another called Recioto. These are wines made from grapes which are first laid out to partially dry (and concentrate) before extracting the juice. These are wonderful wines.

Our first stop was to an address of a winery referred to us by a new friend. Luckily, I have navigation on my phone or we would never have found this place. It was on a very narrow, old street in the middle of a small, old town. This street is only wide enough for one car and when we got to the address, it was only a gated driveway with a small sign. Chris got out to inquire about the winery and he happened upon the wine maker's wife who told us to follow her. She jumped in her little Fiat and away we drove. We didn't go more than probably one half a mile by the way the crow flies, but it was full of turns, switchbacks, and we crossed a dry river bed which leaves me wondering how they get there in the Spring. We finally came to the actual winery (cantina as they call it) and met Ettore. He was the only person there and he gave us a wonderful personal tour of the whole place. We saw the grapes drying, the vats for pressing, and a long room full of oak barrels for aging.

The place is very new and beautiful. He also explained the meaning of the many large, mixed-media art pieces he has hanging on the walls. This place was part winery, part art gallery. Of course, we finished the tour with wonderful samples of their three wines, Valpolicello Classico, Amarone, and Recioto. Bravisimo! These samples were accompanied by some freshly carved speck and bread sticks. If not for our restless kids, we could have sat there all day drinking those heavenly creations.

It was time to move on to lunch. Ettore had an excellent suggestion for a restaurant in his town so he got in his car and led us there. He even walked us into the restaurant, presented us to the host as his American amici (friends), exchanged a few words with the other patrons having lunch, and bid us arrivaderci. The lunch was fantastic. It was some of the best food we have had so far. We combined it with another excellent wine and it was one of those moments when you really remember why people say the food in Italy is to die for. It was wonderful!

Our next mission was to find a winery suggested to us by the maintenance man at our hotel. He is apparently a resident expert in Veneto wines and he lives in the heart of the Valpolicello area. I plugged the address into my navigation and we were on our way. This place was in an area due North of Verona. We followed a few roundabouts through typical small, quaint towns until the navigation said our destination was on the left. Again, there was not much more than a driveway leading to a couple houses. There was a small sign with the winery name so we pulled in. We rang the door bell and an older woman stuck her head out of an upstairs window and pointed us to the other house where we found Lorenzo Manara, a fourth generation wine maker for the Manara winery. He took us to a garage where stainless steel vats stood tall in the background and he took us into a room and began to pour us some of his wine. They were great. I must say not as good as the first place, but still wonderful and they were reasonably priced, so we were able to start building our collection by bringing home a few bottles.

The night was topped off with a nice dinner with new friends who have a three year old boy well-matched with ours in his level of rambunctiousness and physicality. It was a nice way to end a year full of new, memorable experiences. We look forward to many more in 2012! Happy New Year!