The town of Cessole--which does not have a post office, interestingly enough--is in the region of Asti. For anyone who drinks sweet wine, you'll recognize Asti from the labels of your Moscato bottles. Moscato grapes are native to Asti, and it just so happens that I'm farming in the region where my favorite dessert wine flows naturally in excess. Perfect. Barbera and Dolcetto grapes are also commonly grown in the region, and I'll be harvesting those for wine within the next couple weeks.
Our host Pia invited us WWOOFers to accompany her to an annual wine-tasting event in Asti town called
Douja d'Or, and Michelle, Miranda, and I had the pleasure of joining Pia and her husband last night. It was so fun! I honestly wasn't expecting it to be that fun. Maybe it was the impromptu wine tasting that Mauro led for our table at dinner. Maybe it was the fact that Pia wanted the three of us around when I was under the impression that she and Mauro were having a date night. Maybe it was the night's total cost was less than 10 euro. Any of those factors could have contributed to my night being so great. No matter, two facts remain: I had a great time, and I drank Moscato d'Asti in the town of Asti. How cool!
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| Miranda at dinner |
I learned a few things while I was out. Jorts for men and platform sneakers and skin-tight pants for women are in right now. I love panna cotta with hazelnuts and chocolate sauce. When Mauro drinks, he gets a bit more talkative and ends up telling you that there is a hidden stash of gelato in the guest house (which we found tonight!). Pia is always "on business," as she was able to network and learn more about selling her wines at this event next year. Driving through the hills of Cessole are worse than driving in West Virginia back country. Michelle is a modern-day
MacGyver. (She yanked out a hair on her head to slice off a piece of chap stick containing aloe so that Miranda could contain a wasp sting that she got in the car, after Miranda told us that she might be allergic.)
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| The history of the festival |
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