Grappa Italia

When I came to Italy for my first time ever in 2015, I certainly did not expect to fall in love with so much. There were many opinions offered by friend and foe alike regarding Italy and the people of Italy. That being said, I also had made some wonderful Italian friends so it was not entirely a blind trip and my expectations of the people were already high considering how great my friends were. To say the least, the people don't disappoint, the food and drink surprises, and the great work that has been done by the government and the locals to preserve such a rich and precious chunk of history surpasses any expectations I had.

At every turn around the various cities I visited on my first trip were pleasant surprises; 

• The numerous frescos that are visible from the street down below if you peer into oft open windows in Florence
• The sistine chapel's Michael Angelo vibrant colored paintings that cannot be done justice by pictures
• The local folklore in Bologna that there were 3 robbers who were intent on killing a rich man when they got distracted by a gorgeous girl in the window and ended up shooting their arrows upwards into the ceiling of portico - there remain 3 arrows in the ceiling, city of arches as well as it seems no sidewalk is without it's own gorgeous arch
• Venice was not the damp, swampy smelling city I had been told it would be but rather a gorgeous city full of life and beautiful architecture
• Pompeii was much grander than I could have imagined - even though you read and hear so much about it, it doesn't explain the magnitude and magnificence of the place - likely the worlds first "beware dog" floor mat made out of intricately styled tile is located here, and while it's very sad to see where people and animals were encrusted in place by volcanic ash, it also thoroughly entertained me to see the fast food area, bath houses with hot and cold pools, and the brothels
• Cinque terre and Sorrento not to be left out with the best sunset I ever saw
• and... Tuscany! Lovely Toscana where the wine flows and sun kisses the olive trees

Again, I remind myself this is not a travel blog but rather a wine blog. The point of all the above is to say, Italy also gifted me with my first ever taste of Grappa. Grappa is an Italian liquor or rocket fuel if you will, made out of grapes. It's definitely an acquired taste and not the faint of heart - the bottom shelf stuff can seriously make you wish you were never born (in fact, some of it was used for medicinal purposes), while the really good stuff is pleasant smelling and great tasting. For my brother who doesn't ask for much, I got a bottle of the best stuff I could find. This rare 20 year old aged bottle is 50% acv, and there are so few bottles of it in the world that it comes with a number on the bottle. In case you thought grapes were only meant for wine, meet Grappa - wine's big bad cousin.