Saturday, September 7, 2013

Italy 2013 Day 4

After our breakfast we could paint or go on a walk with the owner, Lorenzo, through the vineyard.  I went on the vineyard tour.  Lorenzo has an excellent command of the English language and we learned a lot about grapes, wine, how the vine grows, how it is cultivated, how important the sun is and how it is planted (north to south for example) how close it is planted, how it is pruned, how it is picked, how it is checked by the authorities, also that the roots go down about 50-60 feet, how many make a bottle, how much it costs for him to buy a plant, plant it, how much land costs, how they say how old the wine is, how old the grapes are, how old the vineyard is, modern methods vs old, and a little bit about olive oil production.  The earth here is mostly basalt, a white material, similar to limestone.
After returning from the vineyard walk, I painted for a while, then we went on another walk to a now defunct ancient monastery which had its beginnings in the 7th century and heard a lot of stories about it as well as stories of local lore.
We were expecting to go on another unofficial trip, this time to see wild horses, but the transportation couldn't be arranged because more people decided to go. 
Dinner tonight will be served (not buffet) and I'll try to take pictures.

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