We were instructed by Mark that we all had to be up early and in the car to start our drive to the surprise that he and Amanda had set up.
An hour and a half into our 2 hour drive Mark began to explain our surprise. We were going somewhere Shin would have loved to have gone. A half hour later we pulled into Villa Antinori. This was Shin's favorite wine, but the story behind it is incredible.
About a month ago Mark researched the vineyard and found the closest one to where we would be staying. He found out that the family run vineyard does not do tours for the public. But Mark didn't stop there. He emailed the vineyard and told them the story of Shin. Basically who he was, how much he loved their wine and that his family who will never forget him will miraculously be in the area. He asked if there was anything they could do for us. Here is the unreal part...Mark got an email back that said they don't' usually do tours but they would do one for us (they basically said how can we say no to a story like that). They asked who would be there and what the ages of the kids were.
When we walked into the vineyard we were greeted by Lucia. This woman was AWESOME. She set up things for the kids as well as the adults. Oh and let me start all this by saying the day cost us NOTHING (except of course the ungodly amount of wine Mark and Michael bought).
We greeted Lucia in the room in the first and second picture. The kids were watching a movie because I had no idea what the day would hold. To our surprise Lucia told us to go get the car and meet us by the horses and took the kids to see the horses on the property. Guess who was in heaven. It was as if you told Gracie it was Christmas morning and a pile of presents were waiting for her. The kids followed Lucia to see the horses.
Lucia then took all of us to the vineyards to explain the history of the wine, the land, and the vineyard. Unbelievable!!
Next Lucia took us to the glory place!! Where all the wine is in barrels! Oh to just nab one of those...
But the most amazing part was unexpected. Lucia led us into this private room for a private tasting, their homemade prosciutto (from the elite pigs on their property), and cheeses. They even had snacks and drinks for the kids. We tasted AMAZING wines and heard some good stories of the vineyard.
One of the best was one of her favorite visitors. A near by villa owner came to the vineyard and asked if their guest could get a tour of the vineyard who was very important. He wanted to set something up within the next couple of days, however it was holiday for the vineyard. So she gracefully declined. The villa owner said, "but this is a very important person". Lucia replied, "Yes, yes, but we have to say no, I am sorry". The owner said, "this person is from Hollywood". Lucia again said, "Yes, but we can't I am sorry". The villa owner said, "it's George Clooney". To which Lucia replied, "what time will work for him?" She also told us his favorite wine (which he has been seen drinking in pictures) is their Sangiovese. We tasted this one. It's pink so right away I thought...nasty. But oh dear God was it good. A little sweet, but nothing like a sweet wine. Very good! Mr. George Clooney liked this wine so much that he told her a good friend of his sent him a case of what he thought was the best Rose wine which happened to be from France, he told Lucia he was going to send that case back to his friend along with a case of the Sangiovese!
Lucia was amazing and felt like a part of the family. Before tasting the last and best wine she walked over to Carol and told her to raise her glass and said, "here is to your husband" and hugged her!!! Are you kidding me???!! I was bawling like a baby!
At the end we asked if we could buy some wine. Lucia said, that is not necessary, but if you are interested I can call the person in charge of sales and she will be able to help you...And wine was purchased. I think we will have enough to toast Molly at her wedding.
On the way back to the house we stopped at a beach on the Tyrrhanian Sea. I slacked off and slept in the van (wine tasting and cruising in Italy really takes it out of me). Everyone else headed out to the beach to have a good time. And don't worry, I didn't miss the beach, Gracie brought back a ton of it in her swimsuit for me...lovely!
The final picture is Mark rejoicing after all of our purchases from the day...
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