The Hills are Alive Part Duex.....Montalcino
Lining the northwest border of Umbria is Tuscany and on our last full day at the Villa de Tenuta Le Velette in Umbria we ventured North to the Tuscany region and the sun-kissed hilltown of Montalcino. The town of Montalcino is set high at the top of one of the many regional hills surrounded by vineyards growing Sangiovese grapes. The town is famous for their Brunello di Montalcino wine made from a hybrid Sangiovese called Sangiovese Grosso grapes grown in this area. The warm, dry climate allows the grapes to ripen almost a week before other Tuscan wines. The wine has become so popular with the number of producers growing from eleven in the 1960s to more than two hundred today. The wine has been said to have single-handedly reversed Montelcino's economic downturn into an upswing. We arrived at Montelcino after an action-packed van ride (let's just say we went around a certain roundabout like it was a merry-go-rou...