It’s another beautiful day in Italy. There’s not a cloud in the sky when we meet Mieke and Umberto on the terrace overlooking the Adriatic Sea. We’re waiting for Rocco, and spot him ordering a double espresso at the bar so we join him. Yesterday was a great day and we laugh as we reminisce about it. Rocco tells us in Italian that we are going to head back up into the hills within the Masciarelli land.

We thought we’d seen all of the Mascarelli grapes yesterday, but we were wrong, there are more.  Today we have another tour guide named Marco, he’s an agronomist and is responsible for the care and feeding of all of the grapes, olives and land in this family empire – it’s an awesome responsibility.

We get right to the tasting even though it’s before noon, and sample some merlots, some cabernets and more of the prince, Montepulciano. As we roll through the countryside, row after row vine after vine, Marco shows us the method he uses to tell if the grapes are ready. It’s a combination of skin and seed observation, then he uses a brixometer which measures the brix which is the sugar level in the grape. The tool adds to his decision making to determine when the grapes are ready, but for the most part he does it from experience and feel.

As we tour the rolling hills, we begin to see more trees on the property, we notice the leaves are the beautiful silvery green of olive trees and realize we’ve arrived in the olive grove. There are four different types of trees, each one produces olives that create a distinctively different olive oil. Extra virgin olive oil, the spicy flavor-packed liquid gold from the hills of Abruzzo – you can almost smell it in the air. Marco takes one last turn up a hill and we park the cars in front of a large shed. Inside the shed is a press, a processor to clean and prepare the olives for pressing, and several filtration systems and stainless steel storage containers, very much like the ones used to ferment the wine.

The containers are then filled with nitrogen to retard the oxidation process while storing the olive oil. We taste the oil and talk about the process with Marco and when we turn around, we see that Rocco has laid out a spread of prosciutto, three types of salami, and some young pecorino cheese and, of course, more wine. This is all delicious bread, cheese, salami and olive oil all made just steps away from where we’re standing. One of the breads is made from the most aromatic flour called senatore de capelli …it is just flour, but it smells like spice and cinnamon. It’s centuries old and only from Abruzzo and it’s by far the most amazing flour I have ever heard of let alone tasted. It’s made in a brick with natural yeast from the very grapes we are drinking. The Italians have such a respect for nature and ingredients and I’m in awe of this simple but amazing bread. The prosciutto melts in my mouth like butter when it hit my tongue. We soak up the oils with the crunchy, aromatic breads and accent our experience with the bounty of Abruzzo as we wash it all down with the prince, Montepulciano.

This moment is priceless and I wish we could stop it. The view is spectacular and will be indelibly etched in my mind. Rocco takes my chair and moves it to the entrance of the shed and hands us each one last glass of wine. He tells us to look into the hills and feel the wind and remember us. And you know what? I will, forever. I’ll never forget this moment, this trip, the Masciarelli family or the region of Abruzzo. Arrivederci, Abruzzo. Mi mancherá Lei, grazie mille!! Grazie Rocco, Angela, Marco e la famiglia intera Masciarelli per il Suo amore, l’ospitalità e tempo.