| Grape Occasions |
| Your guide to everything wine, spa, travel and you. |
We’re off for two wonderful weeks in Southern Italy…Positano on the Amalfi Coast and across to Puglia! Lots of exploration to be done, wine to be drank, and spas to be enjoyed.
Check back 10 June for lots of great insights and stories from our journey!
Cheers! 
Virginia now has an official state wine grape… Viognier! The Virginia Wine Board recently voted it so.
Viognier, a grape and wine variety that originates in the French region of Condrieu in Northern Rhône, grows very well in Virginia’s climate and soil. Typically a dry or slightly off dry white wine with a lovely bouquet of tropical fruit, pear and honey in nose and taste. Virginia Viogniers tend to be closer to the French versions than the often heavier California versions.
Horton Vineyards helped put Viognier on the map in Virginia with its first vintage in 1992 which received many accolades. Since then Horton and many other Virginia vineyards are producing great wines from the grape. Horton continues to be one of the largest producers of Viognier in the U.S.
Last weekend at the Mount Vernon Wine Festival, I tried Horton’s Sparkling Viognier, their Dom Virginion as they call it. It’s a very nice bubbly, dry (Brut style) with tropical fruit flavors. Pick up a bottle for a cheers to Virginia Viognier!
This weekend George Washington’s home in Alexandria, Virginia hosted the Mount Vernon Spring Wine Festival & Sunset Tour. You can enjoy candlelit tours of the Mansion including a peek into the rarely seen cellar where Washington stored his wine, live jazz music and the main feature of the evening… samplings from Virginia wineries.
Under the big tent in Washington’s backyard, we worked our way around this social event talking to vintners and tasting little samples. I tried sixty wines from twelve wineries (there were seventeen total) including seven I hadn’t tried before (Rockbridge Vineyard, New Kent Winery, Hiddencroft Vineyards, Gray Ghost, Fabbioli Cellars, Chatham Vineyards, AmRhein, Château Morrisette). My favorites from the night?
Wine is available for purchase by the glass or bottle to enjoy that evening from each winery (or buy a bottle to take home).
Sitting on the lawn sipping a glass of wine with a fruit, cheese and a baguette baskets as we enjoyed beautiful views of the Potomac River … it was a perfect evening. Especially after our toast with George and Martha on the Mansion’s piazza. Cheers!
Nestled in the heart of Southern Tuscany surrounded by the rolling hills of Val d’Orcia, you’ll find Adler Thermae Toscana just outside the tiny medieval spa town of Bagno Bignoni. This spa town was the perfect respite along the Via Francigena, the ancient pilgrim way that once led from Canterbury to Rome, for many including Medici Prince Lorenzo and Pope Pius II. Those same waters now feed Adler Thermae.
I arrived at this idyllic oasis after a train from Florence (90 minutes to Chiusi) and a taxi ride (35 minutes) through the bellissimo countryside. It was mid-March with Spring springing… fresh growth green made the rolling Tuscan hills glow! The stunning setting flowed into the spa. The whole spot exudes tranquility! Everywhere you look there are giant windows and sliding doors framing the amazing countryside, from the gym and restaurant to the guest rooms and quiet rooms. As you stroll the beautiful grounds there are big rocks perfect for quiet meditation as you peer out on Pienza in the distance. Or lounge poolside and enjoy the sun shining down between the clouds upon the 11th century Castle Vignoni perched atop Monte Amiata and a back drop of blue skies and birds soaring.
That’s just one of the many reasons Adler Thermae is a MUST GO...
The Water… located on the site of a former travertine quarry, the waters that feed the spa spend ten years collecting valuable minerals and sulphur compounds on their journey through the bowels of the earth before rising from 1,000 meters deep and emerging at 50˚celsius in the resort pools. The waters benefit your entire body, especially your skin, bones and joints. Soak in the 1,000 meters of indoor and outdoor thermal pools with water features and the many therapeutic steam baths, Grotta del Filosifo (steam bath in the travertine grotto), Salino (Etruscan brine steam bath), Argillae (Estruscan clay steam bath) and Grotto Saline (subterranean brine bath). There are even serve yourself water stations around to keep you hydrated.
The Spa Treatments… from Thalasso (water based) to Ayerveda (ancient healing methods) each treatment uses their own Tuscany organic body-care products. I pampered myself with a few ‘new to me’ treatments…
Mud Wrap: Covered in warm healing mud, you’re wrapped in plastic and a heavy heated ‘blanket’ then lowered into a water chamber… but you don’t get wet! Perfect purification.The Restaurant…is simply fabulous!
It’s designed to make you feel like you’re sitting in an Italian courtyard by a giant olive tree. Windows peer out to the rolling hills topped with cyprus trees. The roof is a giant sun/moon roof so you can dine under the stars no matter the season. The amazing staff serves fresh, delicious small portions. And the food is incredible! Dinner favorites included Panzanella (Tuscan bread salad), Pumpkin flowers stuffed with swiss chard, Fussili pasta served al dente with a hint of pecorino cheese and diced mushrooms and peppers, Risotto with chanterelle mushrooms and fresh sprigs of oregano. Save room for dessert… the best tiramisu I’ve ever had or try the yummy semi-sweet chocolate bread cake with butterscotch sauce and chocolate chips. Yum! Retire to the Cocktail Bar after dinner for piano music by the fireplace or a cocktail on the patio under the stars.
The Wine… you’re in Tuscany so you get the best! Dinners are paired with local Montalcino, Montepulciano and Chianti wines. The cozy Entoca offers local wine tastings a few times a week. I had a great tasting of four paired with bread, cheese and salami. As the sign above the entrance says, “In Vino Veritas”, in wine their is truth.
The Fitness Programs…it’s not all relaxing and eating. I’d be happy to workout in this gym anytime… well equipped, stunning views and a water fall running through it! ADLERFIT is their weekly fitness program. They also have special weekly programs like Yoga & Orient week which was on during my week. The yoga classes were okay and in Italian but still fun. The Adler Balance programs are also offered tailored to your specific needs around weight, stress, cleansing, beauty, prevention.
One small note about my visit … it was spring break so about 20% of the guests were there with children. Good news for families though is they have a Kids Club!
The rates are extremely affordable for everything you get including the very personalized service from their 120 member staff.
All of this AND you’re in TUSCANY! It was the perfect four day escape to, as their motto says, Let my Soul Fly!
The land of Southern Tuscany is one of quintessential hilltowns, grape vines, olive trees and big Tuscan red wines. Montepulciano is my favorite town to explore!
The walled town on a high ridge thrived in the 16th century and is full of Renaissance palazzo like Piazza Grande lined with the town’s unfinished Duomo. We arrived on a rainy afternoon excursion during our Easter Under the Tuscan Snow just in time for siesta. It was a great opportunity to roam the quiet streets and grab a bite.
While vineyards dot the landscape surrounding town, all you need to do to explore the wine is visit the walled town. Montepulciano exudes wine unlike any other town in Tuscany…streets are lined with enoteca (wine shops) ready for tastings AND there is a network of cellars under town with huge barrels of aging Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. You can do a tour of them or just visit Pulcino (Via di Graccinao nel Corso, 102) where the basement was an Etruscan tomb. Find barrels of wine among some of the artifacts they’ve discovered in the stone.
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is a fabulous red wine and was the first DOCG (the Italian wine quality assurance label) in Italy. It is less complex and more versatile than neighboring Brunello di Montalcino (the biggest of the Tuscan reds). The wine is made of 70% minimum Sangiovese grape, up to 20% Canaiolo Nero and up to 20% other (the Mammolo grape is most often used which gives this wine a scent of violets). It must be aged two years years in oak or chestnut barrels, three years for those labeled Riserva.
In addition to visiting Pulcino and its underground caves, MUST GO’s include:
Il Greppo: This was my favorite red of the trip (just enjoyed a cellared bottle a month ago). Their tasting room is in town (Via di Gracciano nel Corso, 71) and they have an agritourismo and restaurant outside town.Montepulciano has lots of summer festivals like Bravio dell Botti, the last Sunday in August, a competition where 80-kilogram wine barrels are rolled up the narrow streets of town. Visit Strada del Vino Nobile di Montepulciano for more information on everything in the area. And visit the gallery for photos from our trip.
