The proprietor of the Del Mare asked me what kind of wine I would like to drink.....'red or white?'
I told him that I have what is considered a juvenile palate and would love a sweet red wine, but had never yet found one that was sweet....so I would opt for a sweet white wine...he shook his head and said he had a very sweet red wine that would be 'perfect'........he brought me out a small glass to try......it wasn't like red wine, it was more like a tawny port.....lovely and sweet......he asked me if I liked it.
I told him it was lovely, so he brought me a much bigger glass which was full to the brim.
He told me that this wine was a speciality of the Greek Islands.
The growing conditions for grapes are not the best...the volcanic soil being very sharp, the grapes are grown in wicker collars......to protect the grape skins from being pierced by the sharp volcanic soil when the winds blow......the grapes for this wine were allowed to bake in the sun untill they were almost like raisins......this practice concentrates the natural sugars and produces a very potent wine called VinSanto.
Anne and I ordered a meal......and we both continued to drink our wine and chatter away.......when my glass was finished I ordered another one...just as large as the first one.
We were having a lovely time, eating drinking and getting a little bit merry.
Anne had pancakes and ice cream with brandied apricots as a dessert....I had another VinSanto....then we argued over who was paying for dinner.......I made an attempt to get up and go to the till, but my legs felt like they were made of spaghetti...so Anne won that one.
it was a good job that we were not too far from our room........it was a very wobbly walk for me back......and I was giddy and giggly.
when we got back to the room we nattered and Anne started to do a crossword puzzle....she said that I knew the answers better when inebriated than sober.......I don't really remember it much......I only have Annes word for it, and the fact that I wrote down what she told me in my travel diary.
I felt sure that I would be paying for my pleasure by the morning.
I slept the sleep of the dead, and by all accounts snored my head off.
I awoke quite early the following morning with a bit of a thirst and a mild headache.......which was sorted by a couple of paracetamol, some strong coffee and fresh baked bread and jam.
VinSanto was going to be my drink of choice while I was there......though I was going to try to be a little more moderate in my consumption the next time......but it would be hard.
I told him that I have what is considered a juvenile palate and would love a sweet red wine, but had never yet found one that was sweet....so I would opt for a sweet white wine...he shook his head and said he had a very sweet red wine that would be 'perfect'........he brought me out a small glass to try......it wasn't like red wine, it was more like a tawny port.....lovely and sweet......he asked me if I liked it.
I told him it was lovely, so he brought me a much bigger glass which was full to the brim.
He told me that this wine was a speciality of the Greek Islands.
The growing conditions for grapes are not the best...the volcanic soil being very sharp, the grapes are grown in wicker collars......to protect the grape skins from being pierced by the sharp volcanic soil when the winds blow......the grapes for this wine were allowed to bake in the sun untill they were almost like raisins......this practice concentrates the natural sugars and produces a very potent wine called VinSanto.
Anne and I ordered a meal......and we both continued to drink our wine and chatter away.......when my glass was finished I ordered another one...just as large as the first one.
We were having a lovely time, eating drinking and getting a little bit merry.
Anne had pancakes and ice cream with brandied apricots as a dessert....I had another VinSanto....then we argued over who was paying for dinner.......I made an attempt to get up and go to the till, but my legs felt like they were made of spaghetti...so Anne won that one.
it was a good job that we were not too far from our room........it was a very wobbly walk for me back......and I was giddy and giggly.
when we got back to the room we nattered and Anne started to do a crossword puzzle....she said that I knew the answers better when inebriated than sober.......I don't really remember it much......I only have Annes word for it, and the fact that I wrote down what she told me in my travel diary.
I felt sure that I would be paying for my pleasure by the morning.
I slept the sleep of the dead, and by all accounts snored my head off.
I awoke quite early the following morning with a bit of a thirst and a mild headache.......which was sorted by a couple of paracetamol, some strong coffee and fresh baked bread and jam.
VinSanto was going to be my drink of choice while I was there......though I was going to try to be a little more moderate in my consumption the next time......but it would be hard.