Return of the Pig and wine fetching

30 June
To recount the story of the return of the pig. I finished serving breakfast to our guests and then loaded the baby pig food into the Doblo' and took the cage which is about pekingese size to the "pig area" and tried to get Bacco inside. Unfortunately in 4 days under my expert feeding program, he had just about outgrown said kennel, so i had to take the top off, put him inside and then relatch the top. Poor thing didn't have much room during the 4 hour drive to Culatello country, but he arrived safe and sound and his previous owner unceremoniously grabbed him by the hind legs and tossed him back in with his bro's and sisters and cousins. This being near Colorno site of my university, I drove over to break the bad news to all our wonderful classmates who brought the pig down to us and then since it was Betsy's birthday in the other master's class, several of us visited the old haunts in Parma on via Farini and I caught up with my old amico Diego at his enoteca "Tabarro" , a must stop for anyone who visits Parma. The following day was for wine fetching and I bought 45 wines on ebay italy from a private cellar but failed to notice that they wouldn't ship them, so I drove to Venice to pick up the wines and they took the pig's spot in the back of the Doblo' On to Peschiera for lunch with la mia amica Claudia and then 5 hours back to Nascondiglio di Bacco. All told for those who lament the cost of driving in america, I filled up the car with 14 gallons twice for a cost of 160 dollars. The tolls for the roads came to 100 dollars. That for the equivalent of driving from KC to Estes Park.
On the way back, being Friday, the roads were packed as everyone escapes to the sea here. I saw an accident ahead and hit the brakes rather abruptly and thereafter i could smell wine in the car. Sounds like a terrible thing except when I got back to Nascondiglio di Bacco, I found the culprit bottle was a 1967 Barbaresco with a hole in the shoulder. I strained the wine into a carafe and after 40 years, I must say, it was INCREDIBLE. My reward for all that driving. I shared with Raffaele and his fidanzata, Elsa, of course. The other wines are from 1959 to 1977 and include Barolos, Barberas, Brunellos, and a few French thrown in. Can't wait to try some or serve them to guests with interests in old wines.
I am off to work in the vineyard. Have a wonderful weekend! d

The Return of Bacco

28 giugno
It is with of course a heavy heart I must report, after a lot of thought by the 2 proprietors of Nascondiglio di Bacco, our mascot will be returning to the peaceful forest where he was born to spend a short but sweet life gamboling about beneath the oak trees, eating acorns and playing with his brothers and sisters and waithin for our amico to open up the electric fence so they can eat up the corn field, stalks and all! He is of course quite cute now and has learned that I am his key to the food sack, so he runs after me squealing and making a general nuisance of himself until he gets his baby pig food. He eats 3 times a day and if not fed on a proper schedule will start eating my computer, my shoes, my belt, my watch, my elbow, etc. He can now jump up on the outdoor chaise lounge to really get my attention. When he weighs 200 kg in 7 months, I am not sure my computer can handle that. My friends who have raised pigs have all warned me about the days ahead and I thank them for that. We feel certain Massimo Spigaroli will do a better job of raising him than we will. He has promised us another Bacco in the future when we are a little less stressed with getting the B&B started and can have a little area perfect for porkers built under the oak tree at the border of our property.
It was a wonderful idea and a great present from our friends from the Master's program! We are sorry to let them down, but promise to seriously consider Bacco II in the future.
I am already starting to pack for the trip home and plan what to bring back to Italy, I am sending a container back to Italy with things like my bed, and various furniture and stuff for the walls here to spruce up Nascondiglio. Then, off to Estes Park with a load in a UHaul I imagine and the rest is for sale. I am sure you all can provide me with lots of empathy and stories about horrendous moves, but I need hands and strong backs, not empathy!!! Come on over and we can make a dent in the 400 bottle wine refrigerator (for sale} and then afterwards relax in the hot tub (for sale). Ahh,, you get the idea.
the pictures are of the Adriatic coastal town of Grottammare and furthur San Benedeto in the distance and Nascondiglio di Bacco from the hiill to our east.

Offida, Rosso l'Offida, cute town, good wine

26 Giugno
As you have followed along may know, we are located near the cute little town of Offida which is inside the province of Ascoli Piceno and of the many DOC wines from here, the one we are primed for 1st is called Rosso l'Offida which if I am not mistaken, requires 50% of the grape Montalpuciano d"Abbruzo, 30% Cabernet and 20% other which could be Sangiovese or Merlot. We had set up an appointment with an enologo but he has rescheduled for next week. Hopefully with an eye to our climate and soil, he can give us good recommendations how to proceed with our planting this winter. We have a permit to plant 3 hectares or a little over 8 acres this year and then hope to plant the other 3 next year. The wines from our little zone "Ciafone" hopefully will be famous someday; there are wineries nearby who make some nice wines!
Offida is a little town where we officially have an address and it has many ancient structures (in US terms). There is Santa Maria della Rocca which is a church seemingly perched on a cliff. Many of the older ladies pracitce lacemaking and make truly incredible works of art and if you can afford them, they might even make you a custom outfit. It would probably take a year to make and cost a year's salary for most of us. They have many wonderful festivals including a sort of running of the bulls like in Spain except with a man with a bull's head on ... evidently it is a hoot and a little like mardi gras in New Orleans as to the partying. That takes place during Carnival which is really big there. As I may have written, they had a really neat little event where there were 13 different spots in the city where one could try the traditional sweets and desserts of the region and at the same time see the museums, private gardens and churches on the little private streets where you might miss them otherwise.
The week ahead we are getting a little busier which is nice.
I am trying to figure a way to sneak Bacco back to his mother, hopefully day after tomorrow! I have arranged movers for Italy, but need to do the same for Estes Park and I still have a 400 bottle wine refrigerator for sale, a wonderful hot tub which I have never used and a beautiful jacuzzi which will go to Estes if I can't find a buyer in KC.
Now, tell me, why are there NO COMMENTS under my pig postings. Isn't he cute? The picture today is of Offida at night from the mayor's office before a thunderstorm. d

Bonding

25 June
The pig "Bacco" or is it Arnold or Babe? and I are bonding big time! I bring the food and water, he moves out of my way, he dumps the water out, I bring more water, he moves out of my way, etc. He is pretty low maintenance at present, but I forsee the day when he will weigh more than me and will have more requirements. There is a lovely 50 y.o. oak tree at the border of our property which will be perfect for him with a water trough, some food, an electric fence... in other words, all the comforts a pig could want including shade.
Our friends all left last night leaving a quiet void here. It was great to see all who could come down and I hope those who couldn't make it this time will try and find us soon! It is almost less work for me when everyone is here, because everyone pitches in to cook, clean, rearrange, etc. We got good suggestions from all the "girls" about how to make the place more cozy and elegant and will begin that transformation soon.
We enjoyed a great bbq, lots of good wine, and special foods from Campania, Parma, and Tuscany including pastas, sauces, cheeses and wines! Time to get on the bike and ride off the calories!
We have a couple tonight and will cook dinner for them and then this weekend we will have 4 rooms rented which will be our personal record, not counting this weekend when we were completely full. One couple will have a little girl who is bringing her pet rabbit and I think we can set the rabbit up with a potential mate from our property as I have seen some telltale signs indicating their presence!
Last night I went to bed listening to the sounds of the Italian version of a Whip-or-will which here is a succiacapre (goatsucker). Very peaceful and relaxing
Finally, off today to finish up our brochure and hopefully we are getting close to a complete website at NascondigliodiBacco.com or .eu or .it! Stay tuned! d

Senza parole!!! Without words!!

what day is it?

i told you there would be chaos and fun when the gang came to visit. I am going to save the foto for the next posting, but imagine this city boy's surprise when my friend brought us a Pig!!!! as a present... we all know not to bring our nieces and nephews and grandkids a bunny for easter, right. Well now I am the somewhat reluctant father of a suino nero baby, who must be fed baby pig food at present and is expected to eventually weigh around 180-200 kg... that is not pounds, folks that is kilograms, which is 2.2 lbs/kg. i will leave you with your computer's calculator to figure that one out... I am thinking big feast for xmas if anyone of you wants to come to Italy for Natale!
We have had a nice quiet weekend otherwise and the highlight was the outdoor cookout on our built-in bbq grill tonight. Helped unbelievably by the garlic, onions and zucchini provided by our gardener! unbelievable!!!
Good bruschetta must have quality garlic and tomatoes.
We had 28 people tonight for dinner so it can be done, with patience from all involved.
I come back to the US the 5th of July which of course interferes with the pickup of my car from Rotterdam. I asked Delta if I could change my flight originally scheduled from America to Ancona, to a flight from KC to Rotterdam and 1300 dollar tickets are evidently not changeable!!! I then said, well I will just get off in Rome instead of flying to Ancona and take the 1st plane to Rotterdam and the response was" that is not allowed" I then asked what the punishment was and they just kept saying, "we must tell you that is not allowed".. Since I will probably not be put in prison and since Delta needs my business, I will disembark with just hand luggage at Rome and fly on up to Rotterdam. See you there! dds PS, fotos to follow, stay tuned!

20 giugno

Time flies when you are working or having fun. Kim, my sister-in-law, told me to get my butt in gear and post another update, so here goes. My friends, perhaps you wouldn't have recognized me tonight wearing blue jeans , and ORANGE t-shirt (but with a pocket) and eating bologna and cheese on crackers and drinking a 2 euro red wine for my dinner. Granted, our bologna is really mortadella from Bologna where the industrial meatpackers got the idea for US bologna and the cheese was a wonderful Gorganzola, but still the idea is the same.
Today, my photos were finally framed and ready and we hung about half of them in the rooms.. they really did a nice job and I hope you can come visit and enjoy the views, everything from Mill's Lake in RMNP to the Grand Canyon, Venice to Genoa and a few nice cows and flowers and of course grapevines thrown in for good measure.. we also started hanging full length mirrors in each room for the girls and put ecological shampoo and soap in each room. The big shopping day at IKEA left me somewhat poorer and I have been putting together all the furniture ever since. TV table, 2 bookshelves, work table for the kitchen and 2 cushioned seats. Also candles for every room and vases and nice bathroom extras.
This weekend will be a time to relax as many of our classmates and tutors are coming to the Marche to celebrate a kind of grand opening. We will be full! Hopefully not for the last time!
We cooked a dinner as a trial for our guests from South America and will do that now and again for guests who request it. 4 courses , antipasti, pasta, 2ndo and dessert with wine. and a bargain at that!
What pictures should I put today? my classmates, forse! Take a look at these faces and you will understand the havoc and chaos which will ensue this weekend. d