An American Winery in Tuscany

Back to the Montalcino area to visit Castello Banfi today. It's located in a valley south of Montalcino and north of the Maremma region, separated by a range of tall hills, but still able to get coastal breezes. Kind of like the way the Alexander Valley and Sonoma Valley areas are separated from the coast plain in NoCal.

This is an enormous property - by Italian standards. It was created in the 1970s by the Mariani family from Long Island, New York. Today, it is a global wine company with multiple vineyards throughout Italy and relationships with wineries in Argentina, Chile, and New Zealand.

We booked the entire day here. First to visit their famous wine and glass museum. Then to have lunch in the La Taverna restaurant with their five course tasting menu. And we finished off the day with a winery tour.

OMG - what a meal! And a different wine with each course. I kept a copy of the menu, scanned it, and embedded it in this blog posting. Definitely going to eat a light dinner after this gastronomic feast.



















Breaking News: Today is Alitalia's last chance to be rescued. We'll see if there is a news release tonight. Otherwise, we may have to book the house for another week. My American Express Platinum Card should be able to pay our way a while longer.