Domenica in Toscana

We slept a bit late to shake off the jet lag, then headed up to Arezzo for the monthly antiques fair. It was fun to poke around the booths, but I have to admit that there are no longer any bargains to be had since it's mostly tourists who visit the stalls. I heard far more Inglese than Italiano spoken there today. 

The one item I was interested in buying was a small enamel sign from a grocery store that listed some of their offerings like "pasta all'uova" "latte intero" and other staples. I might have paid 25€ for the sign, but the guy wanted 100€--typical of the prices we saw. Beh!

We found a new wine bar, which just opened in June, and spent some time with the couple that owned the place. They specialize in wines just from the area around Arezzo and Cortona. The guy was a great host and gave excellent suggestions on wines to try.

We decided to drive next to Cortona, since it was close by and found the town packed with people as there was a medeival archery and jousting festival happening there. Most of the folks wandering around were dressed more or less like Robin Hood--pointy toe shoes, feathers in hats, cell phones, brown tunics, etc.

Down one small, and quiet, alley we were beckoned into a tasting room by a woman from the Romeo vineyard in Montepulciano. I asked her why she didn't sell her wines in Montepulciano and she replied "troppi, troppi negozi di vini." We tasted all five of her products and were especially blown away by the Lipitiresco 2010, a wine that rated 94 in Wine Enthusiast this year. It was extraordinary. Their Vin Santo was also one of the best I've tasted. Gabriella Romeo was our gracious hostess and we enjoyed every minute of our impromptu tasting with her.

After some more strolling, we found a wine bar with a great view towards Lago Trasimeno and sat for a pleasant glass of local wine with a plate of typical bar snacks.