Bud break is here. Soon all the vineyards will be crawling with workers
Trying to stay ahead of the vines.

We found a new spot for good food and music (yes Richard its jazz)
in the village of Barolo its name is Rosso Barolo They have a very
cool jazz bar downstairs

The wine program and wine list is top notch

Last week we took Cotta on her first family vacation and train ride to
Lake Como to visit friends from Minnesota. Cotta made about 1,000 new
friends including every train conductor along the way. ( Click for slide show)

We rode the ferry from Varenna to Bellagio to check out the town
and grab dinner, arriving in Bellagio, by ferry in 20 min. (by car 2 hours)

Bellagio is a great town for sightseeing. Hidden down every
side street and ally are neat little shops like this very cool
wine bar, the owner Norberto is both charming and very
knowledgeable about his wines.

Visiting a new area also means checking out the local wine region
Valtellina known for it’s very steep terracing of the vines.

Along with a few winery tours, Here Fabiana from Nino Negri explaining the
giant cask (Botte) behind us which holds 13,000 bottles of wine she gave
a great tour followed by a tasting of their wines. The wines showed very well
a must try if you can find a bottle.

Nino Negri winery has a beautiful barrel room with a ton of wine in it.

Back to our wonderful accommodations to enjoy the sunset with a glass of
vino.

Thanks Chris and Ray for sharing your town and wines with us. We learned
a lot and had a ton of fun.

The sap has started to run bud break is not far behind for this
pruned nebbiolo vine.

Vineyard work is starting to gear up to full speed. That means every
day the weather is nice they work even on sunday.

A sure sign of spring the weekly markets are bustling with town folk
buying fresh fruit and veggies.