The daily diary of a wandering restaurateur
May 19 - Montalcino/Montepulciano

Today was the only day of the Umbria stay that was even close to being planned in advance. Several months ago we made reservations for lunch and a tour at Castello Banfi winery outside Montalcino in Tuscany. The winery won European Winery of the Year honors in 2000 (much to the chagrin of the Italians since it is owned by Americans) and has been named Italian Winery of the Year for several years running. I know of it because the owners are Cornell Hotel School alumni. One is even a subscriber to my e-letter!

The original plan was to come here before we went to Umbria, take the tour, have dinner (5 courses, 5 wines) and spend the night. Since people were arriving in the area at different times and from different directions, the dinner proved too difficult to coordinate, so Plan B was lunch (3 courses, 3 wines), the tour and head for home.

Castello Banfi (Banfi castle) is outside the town of Montalcino, justly famous for the Brunello di Montalcino wine that is produced here. It is generally considered the finest wine in Tuscany and battles with Barbaresco and Barolo for the title of the best wine in Italy. Much as with a wine like Cabarnet Sauvignon, the quality (and price) vary considerably. You can find Brunello in the local shops for anywhere between 26 and 96 euros. For the money, I can be very happy with a Vino Nobile de Montepulciano for 12-30 euros. ("Let's see, I can have one bottle of Brunello or four bottles of Vino Nobile. What to do, what to do?) Just a heads-up: 1997 may prove to be the best year for Italian red wines in recorded history.

Lunch in the Tavern (the ristorante is only open for the evening meal) was pleasant. I personally would have appreciated a little more information on the details of what we were eating. It is one thing to know that you liked something, entirely another to know what it is that you liked so you can repeat it again. I was very impressed with their Sauvignon Blanc and Centine, a very drinkable blend of sangiovese, cabarnet and merlot. The 1998 Brunello was a disappointment, however. Perhaps it was just young (it has just been released) and perhaps because I had sampled other vintages that drank better, but it seemed a little unrefined. Time will tell how the 1998 will stack up. The 1997 sold out completely within a month of its release last year. The 1997 Brunello Riserva has just been released (it has to age an extra year) and will also be gone quickly, even at $70+ a bottle. This one could be an investment if you are into that sort of thing.

Marv, Mike and I took the winery tour while the ladies checked out the Museum of Glass. While the Castello is ancient (dating from the 1300's) the winery was built new twenty years ago and has been upgraded since. They produce 8 million bottles a year from this facility -- pretty impressive by any standard. Apparently the glass museum is also unusual, featuring glass vessels from as far back as Roman times.

We stopped briefly in the walled city of Montalcino for camera batteries and gelato, then headed to Montepulciano for a break before heading for home. For as much as Perugia is not compelling to me, Montepulciano is. I really like the feel of the town ... and I have yet to get very deeply into it. We always seem to get there late in the day and today was that scenario all over again. We did take a break in Caffe Poliziana, a favorite from our first trip. We got there as the sun was setting and were lucky enough to find a table on the back balcony looking over the Tuscan hills. Sitting there with a bottle of Nobile watching the shadows move on the hillside is about as good as it gets!

Lunch at Castello Banfi

The Winery, Montalcino and Montepulciano


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