vino

Last year about this time, Paulie was here for Festival del Vino. Last weekend, we went again, but this year, we took Missy, Chip & Jacob in Paulie's place. We missed you, Paulie!

Among the 70 or so wines, there was a lot of prosecco. So we started there. No real standouts to tell you about, though they were pleasant enough.

We moved on to medium-bodied reds, like Chianti (mostly Classicos since there were so many Chianti, I told everyone to stay with the best) or dolcetto. After several of those, keeping people in any kind of order was a lost cause. I tried. Oh, well. We had some good aglianico, including a Taurasi but I think it was too young and tannic for most tasters.

All the while, a parade of singers are crooning too loudly on a PA system that carries their Frank stylings throughout the open air pavilion. And it was hot, steamy 90-plus hot.

But the people were nice, we were tasting wine and chatting. We met up with my colleague Renee, who is also Italian (her dad came over from Sicily) and a lot of fun. She brought a posse too.

After all that (and after we bought a few bottles that enchanted us, a moscato d'asti, a la chryma christi), we headed back. Everyone had a short break for naps and outfit changes and stuff, then we had an Italian grape harvest celebration meal. No, there was no actual harvest, but who needs it? All we needed was the theme. The above schiacciatta* was a star appetizer.

We drank some more vino. Our neighbors, Taso and Theodora, joined us. It was a great night on the deck.

Next year, y'all come, ya hear?

(*Schiacciatta shown is actually the practice one baked the week before)