Anyway, here is a teaser from Cammie and Arnaud’s wedding, more to come!

I didn’t have much time yesterday to tour around but we made a quick stop to pick up my friends sister and niece. We had a quick espresso, sampled some cheese and bought a few things for dinner; including about 15 cheeses and a bottle of Michael Couvreur Scotch. MC is a very unique guy, he’s a Belgium man is making Scotch Whisky in the heart of Burgundy!

Check out a few of the photos below, enjoy!

Armagnac Ducastaing XO and a English hand-tap beer. The bread was amazing.

Rabbit and cheese flavored with Guinness and spices on toast.

Artichoke heart salad with shrimp and soft boiled egg

Venison and arugula salad

Amaro Centerbe 30° – Ai Monasteri, Rome, Est. 1890 (Talk skinny neck bottle in the back, it’s an herb brewed digestive drink)
Elixier di S. Bernardo 27° - Nonaci Cistercensi, Certosa di Firenze (This is the short bottle with the monk’s photo, it’s a digestive drink great for after dinner)
Gocce Imperiali 90° – Nonaci Cistercensi, Certosa di Firenze (That’s not a typo, it’s 90 percent alcohol! The small bottle with yellow liquid, that’s why it’s only 200 ml.)

I stocked up with 5 bottles. The monk who was working warned me they were 90°. I replied, “I know that’s why I’m here!” It was a trip being in the Monastery. It sits on a big hill in Certosa outside of Florence. You can tour the ground but it was closed that day due to rain. I really just wanted to hit the gift/liquoer shop!

The other two bottles in the front are Grappa which is an Italian liquor distilled from the must and pomace left over from the wine making process. That includes mostly grape skins but also stems, seeds and left over juice. One of the most popular grappas is Nonino. The taste of grappa comes from the type of grappa, distillation process, and type of aging.

Here are a couple bottles of wine and a grappa from two places we really liked in Tuscany. The regional wine is Chianti Classico which must be made from at least 80% Sangiovese grape. A Chianti may bare a picture of a black rooster (known in Italian as a gallo nero) on the neck of the bottle, which indicates that the producer of the wine is a member of the Gallo Nero Consortium. One of our favorite places was called Casaloste located between Greve in Chianti and Panzano in Chianti. They have a cool little B&B, tasting room and grounds. You can see some of those pictures in an earlier post. However, one of the things we loved was their story and how they link their personal lives to the wine. The bottle “Inversus” below was named and the finger print label was designed after the oldest son. He was born with a rare medical condition where all his inside organs are reversed in order. Perfectly working but backwards!

On our tour through the Italian country side, the rolling vineyards of Tuscany, we drove through many quaint little villages. One of them was literally a town built inside a castle on a hill. Castellina in Chianti. There were others like this, but each one unique. Of course we had to pull over and explore every time. Walking through these castle towns makes one feel transported back to medieval  times. I would love to bring my kids back here. They would really enjoy the make-believe of Knights, and princesses, friar-tucks and peasants.

It’s crazy going half way around the world then running into people you know. I saw my clients Sean and Ghazal, they were married last fall at the Four Seasons in Las Vegas. They were on their delayed honeymoon. While staying in Florence they were driving through Chianti on the same day, wine tasting in the same village as us. Wild!