The daily diary of a wandering restaurateur
May 21 - Montepulciano
I will let Montepulciano speak for itself. The word that struck me today was "texture" -- rough stone, brick, ironwork, old doors, flowers -- every surface has texture. You feel this town as much as you see it.
Are you starting to understand what I mean when I talk about "texture?" :-)
Being in the heart of wine country, there are wine shops all over town, many owned by the wineries whose products they feature. Francesca presides over the Enoteca Poliziano (hidden behind a construction fence at the moment) in the upper square. Their 1999 Vino Nobile de Montipulciano Asignone won a top award from the Italian wine press -- and Francesca was charming -- so Marv and I were each compelled to add a bottle to our cellars. She said the wine would continue improve for the next 15 years. I wonder what the odds are that we can wait that long? Lunch was outside in the main piazza. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it) there is a lot of restoration going on and the place was half historic, half construction zone. Lunch was good, though!
Looking east to Lake Trasimeno from the top of Montepulciano, you can really see the difference between Tuscany and Umbria. The Tuscan hills are low, rolling and grassy. The Umbrian hills on the other side of the lake are larger and steeper with many more trees.
© 2003 Restaurant Doctor
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