A Vineyard Tale

Vineyard time! 

Spring has sprung and there are new, tender leaves on the vines.  My people and I were off to the south this week, and the lush, volcanic hills, about an hour from Naples and Mount Vesuvius.

Feudi di San Gregorio is a noted winery that produces wine from the ancient indigenous grape varieties of the region.

Some was spilled, as is the case at every tasting.  Enough for a small dog swilled from the glass and was very much appreciated. 

My pronouncement?

A wine of golden color, pear and citrus on the nose…my nose.   Fresh and dry on the tongue, with a crisp mineral finish.  Perfect for the coming hot weather.

Ahhh, to be a dog in Italy with summer on the way.Chow.

All Roads

We have a neighbor in the apartemento next door.  She is French.  Every time she makes a trip to her home country she returns with a case or two of french wine.  Obviously she is a francophile, for good reason, I suppose.  But, really.

After all: When in Rome.

Far be it from me to suggest that anything French may have been invented by the Italians but let’s look at the subject of oenology, shall we?

My people and I spend the summer and early fall in our vineyard just outside Sienna so I know something about the process of turning fruit to fermentation.

The best part, to my mind, is rolling in the lovely aromatic glop of must, a by-product of the crush.  It leaves my fur a pleasant royal purple hue.  Heaven.  But I digress.

The making of French wine was greatly influenced by the many Popes who made their homes in Avignon.  Chateau-Neuf-du-Pape (meaning, new castle of the pope) sits just to the north of Avignon and is regarded by many to be a mecca for great wines…rooted in Roman culture, of course.  All roads do, indeed, lead to Rome.

Neuf said.

Chow.