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Winetasting in Benevento
2007.11.24
One of the Ocone vineyards.
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One of the Ocone vineyards.
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I waited too long to post these pictures and now I can't remember the name of the mountain. I believe it is Ponte, from which the province takes its name. It is not volcanic; rather, the hills of the Appenines are made of limestone. Indeed, the calcium in the water in Naples helped protect many of its citizens from lead poisoning over the years. While Nero was getting loopy in Rome, Neapolitans managed to stay happy and healthy because their lead pipes had a nice coating of calcium building up inside. Go Appenines! ;)
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I waited too long to post these pictures and now I can't remember the name of the mountain. I believe it is Ponte, from which the province takes its name. It is not volcanic; rather, the hills of the Appenines are made of limestone. Indeed, the calcium in the water in Naples helped protect many of its citizens from lead poisoning over the years. While Nero was getting loopy in Rome, Neapolitans managed to stay happy and healthy because their lead pipes had a nice coating of calcium building up inside. Go Appenines! ;)
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A cloud-dappled view of one of the valleys.
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A cloud-dappled view of one of the valleys.
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More Ponte.
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More Ponte.
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Oak barrels for that special flavor!
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Oak barrels for that special flavor!
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Some of the bottling equipment. Most of it, actually. It's a small winery. They have their own vineyards and also buy grapes from local farmers, but still small and family owned. In fact, the family name appears on all kinds of businesses around the valley, but I don't think Mr. Ocone, whom we met, is the one guy behind all of that. Just a big family.
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Some of the bottling equipment. Most of it, actually. It's a small winery. They have their own vineyards and also buy grapes from local farmers, but still small and family owned. In fact, the family name appears on all kinds of businesses around the valley, but I don't think Mr. Ocone, whom we met, is the one guy behind all of that. Just a big family.
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Labels. We were told to take as many as we liked, just not to take them off the bottles, lol.
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Labels. We were told to take as many as we liked, just not to take them off the bottles, lol.
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The new family crest / logo. Aldo, our guide, prefers the old one. He says this looks like an ad for Boeing, ha! On the other side of the cork is the name of the cork maker.
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The new family crest / logo. Aldo, our guide, prefers the old one. He says this looks like an ad for Boeing, ha! On the other side of the cork is the name of the cork maker.
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They make their own olive oil, too. I bought some!
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They make their own olive oil, too. I bought some!
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Ah, the old crest! I have to agree with Aldo. I like this one better. He's right -- the goose is fat and happy, representing luxury and well being. Much better than the Boeingoose.
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Ah, the old crest! I have to agree with Aldo. I like this one better. He's right -- the goose is fat and happy, representing luxury and well being. Much better than the Boeingoose.
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Spiral staircase from above to the cask / lunch room.
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Spiral staircase from above to the cask / lunch room.
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Marble is everywhere here, I love it. Beautiful bottles, too.
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Marble is everywhere here, I love it. Beautiful bottles, too.
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Such a gorgeous rainbow.
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Such a gorgeous rainbow.
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Where the magic happens.
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Where the magic happens.
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The first taste -- an apéritif! It was sold in sets of two with its twin, a dessert wine.
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The first taste -- an apéritif! It was sold in sets of two with its twin, a dessert wine.
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Even the view from the loo is faboo!
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Even the view from the loo is faboo!
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Just so beautiful I couldn't stop taking pictures.
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Just so beautiful I couldn't stop taking pictures.
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Even the oranges are beautiful here.
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Even the oranges are beautiful here.
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The whole valley is switching to organic farming practices. Wonderful!
We went to the Ocone winery, which doesn't actually have public tours. Only because our guide, Aldo, discovered the place and bargained delicately with the owners do they open it up once a month. We tasted somewhere in the neighborhood of 12 wines and had a scrumptious lunch. Brilliant!
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Comment
Beautiful pictures! I fee like I had a nice little trip to the sunshine. Thank you!
