Montalcino

Gelato update. At T+12 hours the shape is still holding and can pass the Blizzard test without shedding a drop.

Tuscany, or course, is wine county. And while we’re not really wine people, it seems a shame to be here and not try and take advantage. With that in mind, our destination today is Montalcino. Those that are wine people might recognize the area for Brunello, a wine unique to the area that generally runs on the pricier side of our usual Charles Shaw and Yellow Tail.

The weather is perfect and the hour drive takes us through the countryside, so no complaints until we finally arrive at Montalcino. As Murphy’s Law would have it, we chosen the weekend of the Sagra del Tordo to visit – the busiest weekend of the year. Parking is non-existent and we finally settle into a space far down the hill in the Itchy lot.

The upside of festivals is usually the food and this one is no exception. There are are tents set up all around the main gate and tables full of people. On any other occasion, this is just my jam, wandering from tent to tent, sampling all of the different offerings. Something is different today though and my body, still scarred from its encounter with Italian shlopnik, is having none of it. Fortunately, there are some great places to grab a snack in town, including a bakery that my fellow adventurer swears only sells pastries with a bite taken out of each one.

The main activity in town, however, is wine tasting, and every other shop seems to offer samples of the local hooch. It turns out that I can notice a difference between a good wine and a mediocre wine. The problem all along has been trying to tell the difference between a cheap wine and another cheap wine.

Felling a little happier than usual, we head into the old fortress and up onto the ramparts to take a few pictures of the city before hiking back down to car and heading back to the hotel to check on our gelato.