This villa is blessed with a fantastic orchard and a vegetable garden so laden with produce that we feel compelled to pick and eat as much as possible. So far we’ve found vine after vine of fresh tomatoes, all the zucchini you could ever wish for, onions, lettuce, cantaloupe, watermelon, and an herb garden. There are twelve of us here, and of the twelve, seven of us love to cook. So an endless produce patch and fresh Italian air, not to mention the huge kitchen, are incredible sources of inspiration. We spend the morning waxing poetic about lunch and dinner, dreaming of what we’re going to make. It’s the making that consumes us – the eating is almost like an added value, an unexpected dessert.
The first night, that inspiration produced two big bowls of pasta with homemade spicy tomato sauce, preceded by bruschetta made from olive bread topped with mushrooms in oil and a local concoction of truffles, tomatoes and peppers.
And the wine … we alternated between afternoon sips of Rosato (Vallesanto, 2005) and an evening draft of Arnalido-Caprai Montefalco Rosso (2004). I’ll have to do a little research on the varietals*, but rest assured that the Montefalco has the perfect punch for a bit of spicy pasta – enough of a punch that we fired up the iPods and danced the night away to 80’s oldies (inspiring the teenagers among us to go to bed, embarrassed by our formerly hip dance moves).
The Rosato went well with lunch yesterday, as well, which consisted of the leftover pasta and a Niçoise-inspired salad of tuna, olives, boiled eggs, fresh tomatoes, and lettuce, topped with a little olive oil and vinegar. That, a great pair of strappy sandals, and an afternoon spent lounging by the pool, are all a girl could ever wish for.
*Montefalco Rosso is a blend of Sagrantino and Sangiovese grapes, with a dash of Trebbiano. It's mellow and smooth. There's a sister wine, Montefalco Sagrantino, for which we're on the hunt. More later.
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