Sanborn Wanders

Great wines, wine tasting class, limoncello, grappa, and digestive liqueurs. It’s a full life…

Yesterday our host showed us around his cave. He’s got 1,200 labels with 9,000 bottles. I saw 1966 champagne and lots of Barolo from the 1980s.

Then we went upstairs and Carlo told us about how the different parts of the tongue notice different tastes (sweet, salt, acid, alcohol, tannin) and he had us test it out with salt, lemon, sugar.

We tested two reds from the same farm, same grape, quite different. We watched the trails form on the side of the glass, we smelled the rich aromas, then took in tiny sips to see how it rolled around it taste buds. Very fun.

Then he talked about how wine does best when it balances out fatty food with acidic wine or olive oil with tannin. Then we ate bits of parmesan and salami and noticed how the wines interacted with them.

He also gave us the history of the region and defined the DOC and DOCG regulations that farmers must work within. For one example, all the rights for grape growing have been allocated already, so if you want to go into the winemaking business, you must buy another person’s rights. That person must then destroy their vines and you have to plant new. Ouch! The Comune tells you how many bottles you can do, when you can start harvesting, and all sorts of other aspects. Very restricted!

Last night we tried a really nice 2004 Barolo. It was deep, rich, tasty!

But we are also drinking other fun beverages. We stored one night in a small hotel in the mountains and they brought out their home made liquers: limoncello, grappa, and two others. One with elderberry and one with chamomile. All zillion proof!

And, just in case that’s not enough, I’ve gotten in the habit of going out with a small group for digestive “amaro” bitter liqueurs. No photo yet, but I’ll update soon with some shots. Great way to end a day.

Tonight and tomorrow we are staying with a famous chef and he’s cooking special menus for us.The tomato soup was subtle and interesting and additive…none of which are terms I usually use for boring tomato soup. My posse drank a 1993 (!!)! Nebbiolo magnum. Also subtle and interesting and we drank it all.The first course was very thin veal with hazelnut sauce. Tasty though. Hmm, what does that look like?!Next was the tomato soup with a puff crust.And dessert, before I fall asleep at the keyboard, was delicious.Then ravaioli with sage and herbs. Delicious to bite into one of the tiny sacks.Finally… The dessert. Very fun!And with that, I’m done for today. Sheesh, I cannot keep my eyes open.

We rode all day along the coast. Sharp deep blue sky, sparkling deep blue sea, pretty towns–lovely! BUT almost got blown off my bike. We’d be riding along, battling the wind okay, and then we’d round a point and be brought to our knees. The wind was ferocious. I could not move the bike forward. Got it and walked 2-3 times. Scary. Hard work! But, yes, gorgeous.

Had lunch at a beach side place. Very lovely to sit at the sand and even walk in the ocean. Had a Nutella crepe and my friend had an amazing zucchini bruschetta.

The beach umbrellas were a fantastic yellow against the dark sea.

More yellow: a church I passed. And the town just waking up…

Uh oh…I can’t stay awake. I first need to apologize for my friends who posted comments. I’m behind but I’m going through them all. Thank you for leaving a note. It’s fun to get your take on the pictures.

I guess I didn’t realize Italy had such craggy mountains. It surprised me today to ride up and over some high passes. We had to go over a watershed ridge to get to where we are now: on the sea coast. Until now, the rainfall has gone to the Po River Valley. Now it falls down to the Mediterranean Sea.

I rode up 8 km and then froze on the way down. The weather has changed and it’s very windy and cooler. Coming over the last summit today, I decided to go off road onto a 2.5km dirt road it to a small chapel overlooking the sea.

Almost blown off my feet. Felt like I was in a hurricane. The trees were loud with leaves crashing into each other. At the chapel, my bike was blown over, in the most sheltered spot. Yikes! I had to sit down on the concrete benches to take photos. The bells were tied down tight, otherwise they would have run non-stop. It was kind of scary being up there. What if I got blown off the trail?!

There was a huge statue of Jesus looking back towards the mountains offering benediction. Impressive but too new to be pleasing.

It was a day of fortress buildings. Castelvecchio Rocca Borgata (I think) and another palace/castle. On hill tops, stark against the sky.

And now I lie in bed listening to crashing waves on the beach below the hotel. Plenty of people taking the sun.

Today we rode right up into the mountains. Feels like Switzerland not Italy. People still delightful but houses less quaint and more “just the facts ma’am” kind of simple functionality.

All morning we flew along a crest. Very fun, amazing views, great road surface.

This is the Napoleonic Route, so…

Then lunch in a small town with plenty of character: Millesimo.

Other interesting stuff I saw:

And, in Calizzano, a monument to the war: tall matchsticks. We thought they must light up at night, but not tonight.

…falling asleep in bed whilst i type…and so to bed…

We’ve stayed in the town of Barolo two nights and ridden all day through vineyards. It’s wine, wine, wine! We had a wine tasting and I bought some good bottles, all pure Barolo. Tomorrow we head into more hills. When we come back I’ll explore the Nizza wines. Stay tuned…My bike has been misbehaving, but still works okay. Might have fixed it now. Hope so. I was quite tired today. Three days of hills was too many. Thank God today was a short day. Done by lunch time. Whew…Went into town for lunch. Great food, amazing wine, cool castle. Rode past another cool castle also… This place is littered with castles, churches, towers.Rode up to this castle. Impressive walls!Tasty lunch, awesome 2013 wine.Barolo has its own castle. I confess I dozed off in the courtyard…lunch was too good!There are art spots here. Very touristic. AND is a full moon tonight.…and so to bed… A wine-soaked day. Not so bad, eh?

Uh oh, I missed yesterday. Rode a while on my own and stopped to take photos, so got in late.

I’ll make up for it today. 🙂

First a couple shots from yesterday: a Wonderful lady cyclist covering the entire side of the Tigliole train station. I think she’s on an old Indian bike. How could anyone resist her?!!!

Then, a vivid road painting just as I got close to the end:

Today began with riding along roads that intersect with a MTB trail, with both “Hard” and “Soft” options (soft is just a bit further up the hill).

We rode through vineyards, over hill and dale, past churches (everywhere), and even on “strada bianca,” which are hard packed blond dirt roads.

When I turned off the main road towards San Giuseppe, there were two signs worth noting. At the split, a hand-painted sign points up to “Libertà” and points down to “Schiavitù” (slavery), and adds “Your choice!” Who knows why…! Then, not 100 metres further along was a beautiful new road side bench with the comment “Violence is the last refuge of the incapable.” Ouch…what goes on in San Giuseppe that they have such signs??

And I finish with my lunch, tasty and timely!

1. Rode 84km across hill and dale.
2. Survived.
3. Enjoyed it.

Not bad, eh? We all made our way across Turin to the tiny hill town of Tigliole. Michelin star restaurant. Swimming pool. Silent secluded countryside: my window is open and all I can hear are cicadas. OMG.Suddenly this huge, fairly modern, cathedral complex looms up.Stopped in the tiny hill town (so many tiny hill towns!) of Cinzano and discovered a water machine that provided chilled or fizzy water. Lots of cyclist and hiker amenities.And, at the first place we stopped for coffee, a couple older men came over to chat. Both avid cyclists, one of them told me his life was cycling and he had a Bianchi that was the official replica of the bike Pantani used the year he won both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France. Then he offered to pop down to his house nearby and show it to us. How could I refuse?! And it Was a beauty! See for yourself…A grand day!!!

Met up with my bike group today. Everyone seems very nice. Whew…

Went into town to wander. Turin is a big city, very grand indeed. Feels more like Paris than Florence. Wide boulevards, endless buildings, impressive statuary. Not my cup of tea.

Gianduia chocolate was invented here. Caffarel has huge blocks of it.

A marvelous pair of women, one playing a tiny harp, the other alternating between flute and vocals. Interesting. Another archway had a young man who played a didgeridoo, cello, and drums. Amazing echo.

And a few odds and ends: a kind of creepy statue and a frivolous painted wall.

Finally, an interesting bas relief of a walked town on a storefront grating and a military plaque celebrating weaponry.

Great relief to meet everyone and chat with them and discover we’ll all get along just fine. Now I have to find out if I can keep up with them on the road. 🙂

…and so to bed…

Heading out tomorrow for a two-week week bike trip, from Turin to the Coast and back. I’m really looking forward to it: new adventures, new friends.This post has odds and ends from the past week: a trip to the beach at sunset. Looking east, looking west…

A lovely piece of sculpture, curves and smooth. Had to touch it. Hmmmm…And the best chicken in the universe! A truck that comes each Thursday to Pietrasanta’s town market day. Salt, rosemary, high heat. Buy some each week.And, just because it’s gorgeous and you haven’t seen it: a piece of my mother’s sculpture in my revamped patio in Redwood City.