2009
Friday:
Today was the final crushing with white Vermentino grapes for Sada so we were busy helping them out, getting on top of all the pumpovers and whatnot and then we got back to Villa Vallone to shower, change and have Giorgio and Francesca pick us up for our journey to none other than Roma! We are spending the weekend there as there’s a degustation on Sunday for Giorgio’s distributor San Pellegrini and he’s been kind enough to bring Greta and I along too to enjoy the ride.
It was a two hour car ride or so and we went straight to a pizzeria in Trastevere called La Gatta Mangiona and met up with two of Giorgio’s friends. I had a lovely zucchini and pomodorini with mozzarella pizza with a perfectly crisp, light base. Sitting opposite us was a giornalisto that Giorgio knew and over the course of the evening he gave us bottles of wine to try from all over Italy. Some were good…an 04 Le Trame Chianti Classico in Castelnuovo, Berardenga with an equally cute label. Others were quite ordinary.
Afterwards we headed off to our sleeping headquarters which was to be a lovely apartment in Trastevere of Giorgio’s Zia Christina. She is a tall, early 60’s lady I’d say who always smiles and is extremely hospitable. Her house is amazing and although it resides on a busy street Via Trastevere, there are silver birches and greenery outside her window and she has a small terrace on one side and a courtyard overlooking the street on the other. Her house is filled with artifacts from her travels and life experiences which make her all the more interesting. Insomma (in short), she’s lovely. Guess it’s the name…
Back at her place we set up camp with Greta and I sharing the pull-out bed. We chatted til midnight or so in the lounge and tried to think about a possible itinerary for our free day tomorrow but weren’t quite sure so have put it off to look at the map til tomorrow morning.
For now, buonanotte e benvenuta a Roma!
La Donna del Vino 
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