Monday 8 April 2024 

Once James, Lucy, Ernest and Olive were safely on board the 12.27 train from Empoli to Pisa Centrale, David and I headed north east by train, which left a few minutes later, via Florence, Bologna, to Mestre. After a 30 minute wait, we continued on the same train (heading for Trieste) to Portogruaro, on the Piave river, north east of Venice, and close to the coast (literally the ‘improved or better port’)

The station was a kilometre or so from the modest hotel Spessotto close to the river, and the remarkably smart if small town centre. It was clear from the architecture that this place had a prosperous past, and we learnt later (from a barman) that the reeds from the low-lying marsh-like hinterland had produced high quality arrows, and this early form of arms trade had contributed to its wealth. Today the town houses a small department of the University of Venice, which accounted for the fashionable bars and high quality shops. The working water mill was hundreds of years old, and is maintained routinely. 

Supper had been organised for us by the consorzio in a small unremarkable ristorante on the edge of the historic centre. Our host the next day, Stefano Quaggio, its director, was apologetic that a more typical place hadn’t been open but Monday is clearly the main giorno di reposo.

Tuesday 9 April – Ralph’s and Pia’s birthdays

Stefano and Agata Castelletto arrived in the hotel foyer on the dot of 08.30, and then drove us all day to the different wineries, beginning with Borgo Stajnbech where daughter and mother showed us around, and hosted a tasting. 

Our 10.30 visit to Tenuta Polvaro was rather a shock; our hostess, brought up in the States had a very loud, high pitched voice whose americanisms really grated and assaulted our ears. And she knew it!
She warned us at the start… Nonetheless, she was very hospitable and friendly.  

Our lunch in Menegaldo on the via Pralongo in Monastier di Treviso was remarkable! We were treated to a local speciality that is only available for a couple of weeks each year : tempura-coated small crabs, which having shed their too-small shells in the local lagoons, await the hardening of the replacement tissue; a process cruelly interrupted by local keen fisherfolk and restauranteurs. And the choice of olive oils took our breath away!

At 14.30 we visited the large De Stefani Winery, and were shown round the plant, the cellars and treated to an excellent tasting,

as well as a very helpful artist’s impression of the River Piave and its environs.

At 16.30 we moved on to Cantina Ornella Molon, where Alessandro Traverso, the son of Ornella showed us round both the winery, the cellars, and the parkland (complete with peacocks) around the fine Villa Giustinian, one time the summer residence of the aristocratic family of Venice whose ‘town house’ of the same name is one of the jewels of the Grand Canal, and who travelled there largely by boat through the complex web of the waterways of Piave. 

Ornella, originally a seamstress, wife and mother was the person who made the wines in a very small family setting, while her husband made a living in the building trade, and for this reason the present very successful business carries her name. It is an amazing story!

 They are slowly restoring the large house, bombed in the first world war, and converting the out buildings into a very superior hospitality business.

 After a very warm and relaxed tasting with Alex, Stefano kindly drove us to Treviso soon after 18.00, where we stayed almost opposite the railway station in the functional Hotel Continental, 15 via Roma on the edge of the old centre of this handsome historic town. 

Stefano had recommended Trattoria Toni del Spin for our supper. In fact, we ate there on both evenings! It was excellent, and our short walks through the centre hardly did justice to the elegant arcades and massive structures, as we crossed bridges and followed the water courses that have made this region so distinctive and prosperous in the past.

Wednesday 10 April 2024

On the dot of nine o’clock, Umberto Cosmo, the eldest of three brothers who own Bellenda, collected us from outside our hotel, and drove us to their property, in the foothills of the dolomites where the land begins to rise. He drove us around their land, and showed us the winery, before tasting his wines. He was an exceptional host, whose English was excellent, but who occasionally switched to Italian for a few sentences, and then back again. Soon we were all doing it! 

We lunched in a local ristorante whose proprietor is very keen on wine, and with whom we tasted. Umberto returned us to our hotel in Treviso shortly before five o’clock after a very interesting and enjoyable day. He was so generous with his time in what is a busy run-up to Vinitaly, and after a long drive earlier in the week to Germany. Such kindness! 

Thursday 11 April 2024

Breakfast improved a little this morning, and soon we were en route to the nearby station to travel to Verona. We arrived at 12.15, shortly before Guilia Trazzi, from Monte del Frà arrived in the station car park and swept us off to the winery. We ate lunch in the cellar with Guilia (whose green jacket was very striking) until Marica Bonomo arrived to taste her wines with us. 

She was a charming host, courteous and very knowledgeable. A large group of Danish sommelier students arrived, and ate their lunch and tasted  in an adjoining space (above) All very organised. 

After lunch Guilia (and her glamorous jacket, below) quickly showed us around the site, and pointed out the adjoining vineyards, before she once again drove us back to Verona, dropping us directly outside our apartment, Avenue Rooms, scale B, in 127 corso Porta Nuova opposite the hotel Firenze where we had stayed last year. Thank you Giulia!