Taste of Tuscany

Hubby injured his hand, so my intent to take him up to Villa Appalaccia Winery on the BlueRidge Parkway for his birthday was nearly stalled until good friend Peggy drove me up into the mountains while Dick stayed home and got some rest on Sunday. (Of course, he also got to watch sports on TV.)

It was a gorgeous day; foliage is just coming into color...in another week or so, the spikes of orange and red will broaden into a calendar-like spread.

The winery held a wine and cheese event, but one that was more unusual in that the owners had been to their home in Tuscany, returning with many Italian cheeses. Entering the open courtyard after paying a minimal fee, we visited three stations, each person offering a grouping of wonderful cheeses and placing samples on our plates. Wonderful pungeant lovely cheeses accompanied by a brief description of each type. Well, we thought we knew a bit about cheese, but these offerings, from sheep's milk or cow's milk, aged to perfection, were an adventure.

At a final station, a young man gave us a choice between three wines, along with a tasty, chewy chunk of herbed peasant bread and a spoonful of the winery's own olives. We sat in the courtyard, talking up a storm and savoring our plate-full. Next, we took our (empty!) wine glasses up to the main house where we joined the wine-tasting.

I was hoping to find the Pinot Grigio from 2005, but apparently that one was gone, so I tried their youngest Pinot Grigio from 2007...I didn't find it truly 'ready' so I moved on to the Pinot Grigio Reserve, 2006. The description they provided was: "Fermented in new French and Hungarian oak barrels, aged in stainless stell tanks. This wine has intriguing flavors of melon, passion fruit and caramel. Enjoy with seafood and white meats."

Also wanting to take home a simple red, I went with their Rustico (roostico) 2005, "A 'Ripasso' style wine made from dried Corvina grapes and Cabernet Franc. A spicy fun red wine to enjoy with antipasti, polenta, an risottos."

I still have two bottles of their dessert wine, Raspberry 'Beret' which they describe as: "The ultimate wine with anything and everything chocolate, but also good with cheesecake and ice cream."

Folks were buying their wines by the case, many of them from a distance away. Me, three bottles, that'll do it until we head up there again. They have several events planned for this fall season; visit their web site to find out what is going on at http//www.villaappalaccia.com.

What a lovely way to spend a beautiful fall day. They also encourage visitors to bring their own picnic lunch if desired; you can sit for hours at an umbrella table in the open courtyard, or on the grass, or up on the covered patio.