I loved it with some of the spicy Italian dishes, but most of all, at home I found it to be the perf

We were invited mainly to tour the wine producing areas in the province of Benevento, which is situated roughly about 50 miles north-east of Naples. virginia beach hotels  Here we had an insight into how the Italians produce amazing wines to satisfy varied taste buds that complement not only Italian food, but also many international cuisines.
These inland areas are strikingly beautiful, and the vineyards instantly reminded me of rolling tea plantations in Assam.  It was a unique experience to be able to actually touch a bunch of grapes where the vineyards spread virginia beach hotels acres of sun-kissed land and the grapes are so juicy, vibrant looking and wonderfully succulent.
There is indeed much more to Italian food than pizza and pasta.  On our first day we were taken to the beautiful ultra-modern virginia beach hotels UNA Hotel il Molino and were treated to a gourmet lunch and that was the first time I tasted this classic Italian bread called virginia beach hotels Ciambialla with a dense texture and an intense crunchiness. virginia beach hotels Excellent extra virgin olive oil was provided to dip the bread into, and frankly, I could have made a meal of it!  I also tasted this exquisite dish called Paste (pasta) Cece (pronounced cheche), which was pasta with chickpeas (kabuli channa), chilli and rosemary, virginia beach hotels and of course, cooked in beautiful locally produced olive oil.
Chillies are grown and consumed quite freely in this area, and they are also considered virginia beach hotels to be a symbol of good luck.  I was really happy about this, for chilli is one ingredient that can liven up any food.  Thank you Columbus for introducing chillies virginia beach hotels to India!  Like Indian food, Italian food is full of flavour, mainly because of the extensive use of fine olive oil, garlic, black pepper, fresh herbs like basil and oregano and most of all, sun-ripened juicy and sweet vine tomatoes which are also grown locally.
Parmigiana di Gamberi is one dish I will always remember.  It is a simple dish made with prawns, mozzerala and basil sandwiched between sliced zucchini (a popular summer squash) and dipped in a tempura-style batter and deep fried to glorious crispness.
Italian breadsticks make our British version pale into insignificance, especially the two varieties which became my firm favourites!  They were flavoured with fennel and parmesan cheese, and were light and crispy, with an incredible taste sensation on your palate.  They are the perfect snacks to accompany the wonderfully aromatic Falanghina wine, which is the typical white wine produced in this area. Falanghina is a deliciously light, fresh and fruity white wine which is wonderful with cheesy Italian dishes.
When I returned home to England with samples of different wines, I tried Falanghina with Indian food and was pleasantly surprised to find how our flavours married so happily with this famous Italian wine!  It is now a firm favourite of mine with Indian food.  We tasted one that was 10 years' old with a delicate amber colour which was dry yet soft and very pleasant.  It went down very well with bread made with the winery owners' own olive oil and delicious sausage-type salami and local cheese.
The olive oil was very special as it was made from olives picked in between the time when the fruit turns from green to black.  It had a wonderful deep flavour with a lovely forest green colour, which is how pure extra virgin olive oil should look like. We were told that the 10-year old is not made anywhere else except at this particular winery (Torrecuso – Guardia Sanframomdi – Castelvenere – Solopaca).
Here, we were greeted by warm and friendly senior members and were shown the wine-making process from weighing the grapes, cleaning and crushing them, separating the skin and extracting the juice. This is in the Campania virginia beach hotels region of Italy where 80% of my favourite Sangiovese, which is the most prominent red wine in Central Italy, is grown. This particular wine has a savoury taste and a spicy note.
I loved it with some of the spicy Italian dishes, but most of all, at home I found it to be the perfect virginia beach hotels accompaniment to tomato, onion and chilli based Indian virginia beach hotels dishes! Try it with Rogan Josh, you will never have any other red wine after that.
After the grapes are weighed, they are chosen according to quality and divided into different groups of wine.  The grape varies in different regions as it depends on the condition of the soil, its mineral content and where there is no rain and very strong sun, the sugar content in the grapes is high, which in turn makes stronger virginia beach hotels wines.
It was interesting to see how a truck, full of grapes, was placed on the scale to get the total weight virginia beach hotels first, then the truck unloads the grapes in the pressing area. The truck is then weighed on its on own, which is deducted virginia beach hotels from the total weight, in order to find out the exact weight of the grapes. The grapes are pressed immediately after weighing and the grape must is separated from the skin.  The grapes are processed in vats, nitrogen from a huge balloon transfers to the vats with grape juice.  Nitrogen is essential to avoid oxidation of wine.  For red wine both must and skin have to be in contact with the juice, and in order to produce rose wine red grape skin is left in contact with white grape juice, just long enough to stain the wine with the pink hue.
There is no wastage of raw material here, for the skin and seeds left behind after processing are used in making virginia beach hotels the strongest Italian liqueur Grappa.  Here I also learned that table grape (the variety we generally eat) is different from wine grape which are specifically grown for making wine.
After we saw the process of making and storing wine, we were treated to the most amazing lunch with a tasting menu.  As soon as we entered the dining hall, my eyes went straight to bright orange cactus fruits on bright green cactus plants, known locally as Indian gooseberry!  Later, I saw rows of these bright and beautiful Indian fig plants virginia beach hotels on many of the Italian roads in this region and felt quite at home!
It was also interesting to learn how in the olden days the Italians recognised whether the grapes were ready for harvest.  They grew rose bushes around the vineyards and when they were attacked by fungus it was a definite sign that the grapes must be harvested, a far cry from modern technology indeed.
The tasting menu consisted of 26 courses, with different wines to accompany, and lasted over 4 hours!  Warm rays of Mediterranean  sun filtering through to the dining room, beautiful fruits, flowers and sweets displayed on the table, languishing over several courses of home-cooked Italian food and sipping special, locally made wines, created a magical atmosphere!  The wives of the co-operative members of this particular winery, went to great lengths to produce hearty home-cooked food which was a joy. The only downside was, we had to visit two more vineyards and taste more local wines with cheese that afternoon!  Of course, none of us complained about it!
We visited a small wine producer, a family virginia beach hotels concern for generations, called Antica virginia beach hotels Masseria virginia beach hotels Venditti where we were given tutored tasting which was invaluable.  The organic wines produced by the Venditti family had an amazing body, wonderful colour and a beautiful aroma.
Santim Artini was another winery we were taken to and sampled some truly superb wines.  Every winery we visited, we were given generous gifts of wines to take home!  This was really good, because personally, it enabled me to try these wines with different cuisines including Indian.
Our wonderful Italian guide Duly Torrecilla accompanied us to the next vineyard, Vigneto Storico Mirabella (Vineyard of Mirabella).  This area is known as Campi Flagrei, meaning virginia beach hotels burning land, because the area is volcanic and it's eruption virginia beach hotels made the soil rich with minerals, making it ideal for growing grapes.  We sat under a fig tree and tasted Falenghina Campi Flagrei doc, clean and crisp taste with a touch of softness.  The red, Piedroso had a good body and you could feel the sensation for several minutes later.  In this area, we could also see the Temple of Apollo overlooking lake Lago d'Averno with it's shimmering water under the strong Mediterranean sun.
One intriguing factor of this entire tour was the story of the Witches of Benevento which was explained to us by our tour guide.   Italian virginia beach hotels folklore virginia beach hotels says that the witches danced around virginia beach hotels a walnut tree thousands of years' ago on 24th June, which was known as the Sabbath virginia beach hotels of the witches.  Apparently, virginia beach hotels in order to get rid of the witches, the Bishop had the tree cut down, but a snake with a golden cup appeared and made the tree grow again!   Even today, 24th June is considered to be Sabbath of the witches.   They believed that the witches used a magic oil to fly at night and met under the walnut tree where they danced around! virginia beach hotels In Italy, the saying 'you are a witch of Benevento' still exists.
The blood miracle of San Gennaro (St. Gennaro) is another fascinating story of Italian religious belief.  San Gennaro was a Bishop of Benevento who was nailed to death during the Roman Empire.  A woman collected his blood and brought it to Naples and placed in the Cathedral of Naples.  The blood is normally a solid mass but it turns into liquid three times a year at the same time both in Benevento and Naples.  This saint is believed to be a kind of guardian angel of Naples, protecting the island from natural calamities.
The Neapolitans wait impatiently for this miracle as everyone desires that the blood should liquefy, as if it does not, it is considered to be a bad omen.  In 1944 the blood did not liquefy and Mount Vesuvius erupted, followed by 1982 when this miracle did not happen, the earthquake killed thousands of Italians.  It appears that India is not the only country where legends and myths exist.
The most exciting virginia beach hotels part of this visit was the Grape Festival at Solopaca, a small town at the foot of the Taburno mountain, in Campania.  This was an amazing experience as huge floats are paraded in the streets with different wine producers' own logos, completely covered with