Yesterday, I took some guests to have a wine tasting at Azienda Agricola Gabriele Vitali on the outskirts of Montelparo in the Fermo Province of Marche.
We arrived at 12 noon, expecting a 30 minute tasting then back home for lunch. Well, firstly Elisabetta showed us the vineyards and the impressive new wine-making facility. They have started making a spumante, as well as two types of white - a passerino and a peccorino and two red - a rosso piceno and a san giovese. The wine that has to be aged is kept in oak barrells in the cellar of the old stone farmhouse.
We then went into the tasting room where we sampled each of the four wines. As well as the wine, the food just kept coming - bread with Vitali's olive oil and cherry tomatoes, thick slices of bread, tomato and mozzarella piled high, a platter of prosciutto, melon, cheese with chilli jam and small squares of pizza, a platter of lonza (we'd call it coppa), fresh figs, foccacia, a different cheese this time served with honey, a platter of ciauscolo (our local soft salami), salami, cheese with the traditional grape jam and finally, to go with Vitali's vino cotto (made just for friends and not to sell), squares of plum and fig jam tart.
We finally rolled out of the tasting room at 2.30pm, all thoughts of lunch or even dinner gone from our heads!
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