Crisp, sunny, clear. Early rise today, guys going to the beautiful Umbrian town of Todi to meet their tour guide meant I was up early to make breakfasts. Today the tour is of the vineyards of Montefalco, that beautiful town famous for its Sagrantino, robust elegant Umbrian wine. The guys are meeting their guide in […]
Tag: sagrantino di montefalco
In the vineyard, lesson one
A chilly blustery morning finds me and Isis, my neighbour down in the vineyard being given our first lesson on how to prune the vines. March is the month for the initial pruning, and my neighbour and good friend Martin demonstrates how the vines should be pruned and tied. Martin is one of the few […]
On slopes
For those of you who have been to Bellaugello Gay Guest House you will already be aware that the house sits on a south facing hillside, a slope, commanding big views over the Chiascio valley and down the Apennines towards the neighbouring region of Abruzzo. The position is, in my humble opinion (and the opinion […]
Good Friday at Bellaugello
A mass exodus from Bellaugello Gay guest house to the beautiful medieval city of Gubbio yesterday evening – the motive? The guys wanted to experience the amazing and most atmospheric Good Friday procession of Christo Morto which I blogged about the other day. This year the guys carried away by the atmosphere actually participated, and […]
On the Sagrantino Trail part two: Montefalco
A drive along a narrow road south of Bevagna passing well cultivated vineyards brings you in less than ten kilometers to Montefalco, the home of the Sagrantino di Montefalco, Umbria’s rich, deep, intense and utterly divine red wine. How I adore Sagrantino, since moving to Umbria it has become one of my very favourite red […]
Aaah bliss!!!
This afternoon snow arrived, Bellaugello Gay Guest House is blanketed in white, an excuse to light the fires and open a decent bottle of the exceptional local wine, Sagrantino di Montefalco, and snuggle up for a romantic evening
Sagrantino di Montefalco
After the storm has arrived sunshine, clouds scud across azure skies and the greens for which Umbria is famous are ever more intense and verdant, the air feels fresh as if it has been washed (as has my car for once!) and luckily the garden has survived with only minor damage. For once I had […]
BBQ
Last night here at Bellaugello Gay Guest House in Umbria, Italy we decided on a barbecue. Stephen loaded our bbq with fragrant wood, and I busied myself with making salads and baking potatoes and sweetcorn. The fire stubbornly refused to provide us with the necessary embers first off so it was a late start, however […]
Montefalco Rosso
Gubbio is already preparing for the upcoming annual Festa dei Ceri or Race of the Candles held on 15th. May. Last Sunday the Ceri were brought down to the town from the church of San Ubaldo which sits atop the hill behind Gubbio, a procession that kicks off the weeks of celebration which culminate on […]
The local food markets – tempted to self-cater?
Italy abounds with fine produce, and to my delight it remains very seasonal. Melons are not to be found in the winter,only in the summer when they are sweet and fragrant, currently peaches and apricots abound, much grown in the south of Italy. The same is true of most fruits and vegetables, Spring is the […]