Last week I went to the Tuscan countryside (just south of Siena, around Montepulciano and Montalcino). As soon as I got out of the car to get a coffee I started sneezing in continuation, and didn't stop for the next few days. The lady at the cash register said something about the kind of pollen in a Tuscan accent, which I did not understand at all. Apparently she was saying "
acacia", but it was pronounced something like "ahasha". I never knew I had allergies before coming to Italy, but this was the worst! At times I felt like crying and scratching my face. The highlight of the trip (aside from the great dinner we had in
Montalcino, which is famous for their red wine) was when we stopped at a great winery to get some wine we had bought by chance last year at a local products market in
Pienza. We were buying some "
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano", which is another famous wine from that area, and the lady in the store suggested trying this kind which was very similar but not famous yet and thus half the price. It was great! So we called the producer on our way to Pienza and went to get some wine directy from him this time. He was extremely kind and friendly, and we ended up chatting with him for over an hour. First, he insisted on meeting us in town so we wouldn't get lost on the country roads. He told us all about how he got into making wine, and then he even gave us another bottle which wasn't on sale anymore because he had practically run out of 2003 but wanted us to try it.
Tags: wine, pollen, tuscany, montepulciano, vino, Pienza, vino nobile di montepulciano, montalcino, brunello di montalcino, countryside
