Well, let’s see, I have yet to finish my piece on Sicily, I haven’t yet written about my exciting stop in Franciacorta, and then there’s my four days in Verona for Vin Italy 2016, but at least I have a few minutes to post some pictures from today’s visits: Fontodi, Castello di Rampolla and La Massa.

Tulah, the winery dog at La Massa, as sweet a dog as you’ll find anywhere. They’re really doing some new and interesting things at this house and it shows in the quality I tasted today (2013 La Massa, 2012 Carla, 2012 Giorgio Primo).

Castello dei Rampolla, as seen from La Massa. Early morning clouds and cool temps gave way to perfect blue skies and 70 degrees by the afternoon.

I didn’t see any cinghiale today, but I had some for dinner last night at Osteria e Bottega dell’ Abate on the Strada del Chianti, and again today for lunch at Chianti Bar, in the old town center of Castellina in Chianti.

Just before you turn left at the chiesa on your way to Castello dei Rampolla, is this little valley on your right side.

With La Massa to my back, this is the road (the only way in or out) that leads to the very impressive winery/cellar, built in 2011, these guys are really upping their game – talk about grape selection at harvest time, wow; these folks are taking it to the next level, and quite a story, too.

Learned a good amount today about soil characteristics of the area (more complex than I’d imagined, with many soil types, but the best for seems to be limestone (Sangiovese), followed by clay (Merlot).

Sorry for the short post (and the feature picture not really matching with the theme, but as usual, I’m short on time), though I am excited that my next 9 days in Chianti look like they’ll all have WiFi. Now I just need to budget the time to get caught up on my writing.

ciao,