Saturday 8th October

Slow start today and we sat outside and just writing stuff up and checking out places to go. Then we took our walk around the block, down the street, Cesura, turn left at the small lane and down the steep hill and up the other side to the road running more or less parallel to Cesura, where we can see La Fattoria across the valley. Here’s we met a lady who knew Stefania and whose father was friends with her and be changed pepperoncini with her! The lady was taking lunch to the workers who were picking olives on an impossibly steep hill. We chatted to her for a few minutes and then she went off down the hill and we continued on to the stony track which leads back up the hill to Cesura and La Fattoria. 

When we returned, inevitably a ‘light’ lunch was ready. 'Light' is a very relative word in respect to food! We had small croquettes which contained olives, cheese and potato, Pecorino cheese, Gorgonzola and also some 3 year old aged Parmesan. Then some non-meat meatballs which were very simply made in a tomato sauce. All washed down with some beer and finished off with coffee…..a light lunch!!

After a short rest, we drove to Tiberio which is the nearby winery owned by Christiana Tiberio and her brother which makes excellent Abruzzo wine, Pecorino, Montepulciano and Trebbiano. Here we admired her beautiful new iron staircase up to her roof deck with stunning views all around to the mountings and valleys. Then we cut some of the Multipulciano grape using scissors, a trickier operation than it seems. The grape harvest had been completed that morning so production will start soon on this years vintage which will be sold in one or maybe two years. This year, 2022, being very hot and dry has made the sugar content of the grapes very high. Christiana explained to us that rose bushes are planted at the end of every row of vines as the pests attack the roses before the grapevines and this gives the grower the chance to control the pests before too much damage is done to the vines.

Some cloud photos...just for the hell of it!!

Christiania's new spiral staircase to the roof of her house where the views are to die for.

Some strange small apples 

Stefania marching to the vines!!

Rose bushes at the end of the vines to attract the pests and divert them from the vines.

Getting ready for the picking

Some serious pickin' goin' on

Our two favorite ladies.

Our trove of grapes

Gran Sasso

The vineyard residence

Christiana's large Abruzzese dog.

Across the valley, olive picking was in full swing.

More cloud pictures just for the hell of it.

We left with a big bag of grapes and also some rose cuttings which Stefania and MAC will try to root back at La Fattoria. I later found out that Tiberio produces a special wine called Fonte Canale which is very limited production of only 250 cases and distributed to special customers including Maria in New York. I decide that we had to try this and managed to find a couple of bottles of 2018 vintage on line and ordered them for delivery when we get home. They are expensive, but…….

When we got back, we stood and watched the guys across the valley finishing picking olives for the day. They use a special machine which shakes the tree and the olives fall into nets spread out below. Working on these steep slopes must be very hard. As they finished, their small tractor chugged back up the steep hill pulling a trailer full of olives for pressing and turning into oil.

We managed to persuade Stefania that we did not need dinner, which was a great feat in itself and we retired to our small house, ate some fruit and watched TV for a short while. Tomorrow, we set off for Roccascalegna and the honey festival at Tornareccio about an hour or so away.