farmer bringing in grapes to weigh station

 We went out for dinner in the wine region last night to celebrate our 23rd anniversary.  We stopped to buy some wine for the mother-in-law at a co'op and timed it with the arrival of tractors full of grapes.  First they weighed their loads and then dumped them in a masher like a giant underground meat processor.  The smell was amazing.

check out the ladies on the back wall

 Our restaurant, (pic above), was great but for the fact that the owner's son, a long haired, '70's dressing coke-head, was waiting on us and was a complete asshole.  First GP asked which of four bottles of wine was the least "oak barrel aged" and the guy answered snidely as though talking to an ignoramus, "They are very different wines!".  K.  But that doesn't answer the question does it?  Then when our pasta dishes arrived, mine with mushrooms, I made the mistake of asking for Parmigiano!  What was I thinking?  He stopped dead in his tracks and turned to me and said, "But that just isn't done!"  meaning Parmigiano on mushrooms, and may I just mention that in fact, it IS done.  The guy was higher than a kite.  Apart from that, the food was wonderful, the wine was wonderful and the place is charming.  We even had naked breasted ladies stomping grapes to look at.

Monforte

The restaurant is in Monforte, one of my favorite towns in the region.  It is becoming more and more popular with tourists however and that's both good and bad.  Good because it has brought a lot of money to the local folks and they have restored all sorts of gorgeous old buildings that were literally falling to pieces.  But bad because as is always the case' it is at risk of becoming more Disneyland than a real village.  It has loads of restaurants, bars, bed and breakfasts and wine shops now, and very few "real" shops for the locals.  Many of the old farms have been turned in to hotels and big moneyed people are buying up land and building mega homes.  I must admit I resist change.  GP says I am anti progress but sometimes progress is at a big cost.  Heavy sigh.  xxoo me