Tutto posto alla vostra casa

We are back at our cozy apartment in Radicofani where the weather is anything but "cozy" at the moment. The drive up from Rome went well--just clouds, but once we got to the house the wind-whipped rains descended and we got pretty well soaked on the many trips to bring our provisions and luggage up from the car.

Weary and in need of a break, we signed on to the wifi and read our newspapers for awhile. Joe took a shower and caught a second wind. He decided we needed to go find wine to serve with Easter dinner. I wasn't really up for an excursion after a 22 hour travel day, but I was hungry so I put on some makeup and  we set out for Montepulciano, which is the kind of place that always has several shops open--even on the night before Easter.

We took the back roads, passing by Dopolavoro, a very nice restaurant and cozy wine bar we've been to several times, and stopped there hoping for a snack to reenergize us. A platter of salumi and formaggi with foccaccia and two glasses of Supertuscan IGT did the trick and I was ready to play again.  

In Montepulciano, we found a cheese shop where the clerk let us taste any of the dozen or so cheeses that are made by the family. We bought  two--sotto il fieno, which is covered in hay, and a stagionato latte crudo, made with raw milk. It has a grainy texture similar to an aged Gouda or Parmesan.

At the macelleria, we watched the butcher and his wife exchanging happy banter with all their customers and agreed that it'd been awhile since we'd seen two people who loved their work so much. We bought finocchiona and porchetta, but were salivating over the giant bistecca fiorentina that the couple before us were treating themselves to. 

Our final stop was at the Bottega del Vino Nobile, one of our favorite wine shops. We got a tasting card and used the "Enomatic" machines to taste about a dozen wines before choosing two: Tibertini Vino Nobile for Easter dinner and a Grillesimo Morellino di Scansano for a "rosso della casa" for the week. 

Here, Joe is researching ratings on the bottles we are tasting. Cesare, the affable shop owner threw in a bottle of Prosecco as a gift for Easter. Great guy!

We both fell asleep around eight, but now it's 2:30 a.m. and I am wide awake, drinking mint tea and writing my first blog post of the trip. Ah, jetlag . . .