Olive Oil and Wine Tasting Tour

Thursday, Rosanna had some computer work to do, so I rented one of the available Scott CR1 carbon solo bikes (What a great bike!) and rode on the "Olive Oil and Wine Tasting Tour" with the "Borge e Castelli" group. We had a different leader, Drelli, who is also the expert mechanic at the hotel. Probably because of the subject matter (food and drink), this was the most popular “Borge e Castelli” ride of the week, with ten participants; everyone from Monday plus Michaela, Wolfgang, and a few others. The ride entailed the usual beginning of 10 miles in the flat, followed by a 10 mile climb to about 1200 feet so where we visited the cafe in the fortress of Mondaino for a cappuchino. I wandered around the fortress while the others finished their coffee, saw a paleontological museum that would be interesting to spend some time in someday. After another 5 miles, we deviated from the usual itinerary by stopping again, this time at Renzi Giovanni's olive processing facility in Montegridolfo, where we viewed the olive pressing and refining operation, learned about the olive oil manufacturing process, and had a fantastic lunch. I bought a big can of freshly pressed olive oil and some local wine to bring home. Finally, we climbed a little more before descending back to the hotel.

Aside: The wine made it all the way back to Newark, NJ and through US customs in a checked bag before the sloppy bag handlers at Continental Airlines broke two of three bottles. They also severely dented the olive oil can, but not so much that it leaked. That would have been a mess. Luckily, the broken bottles were white wine, and the other stuff in the bag was not dyed red. Also luckily, it was the bottle of red wine that survived; it’s healthier anyway.