It’s now 8pm and we are 2 hours late for our last appointment at an olive oil company. It has been 12 hours on the road and we look it. The brother and sister size us up and apologize and say they will make it quick, taste and go. I blink and now there are 35 bottles of oil on the table. Luckily we only have to taste 4-5.she opens the second one and the room fills with this aromatic herbal scent. Everyone perks up and the questions start coming. What olives do you use, in what percentages, how do you decide the blend. They show us the oil producing room and you immediately see three huge stones tied in a circle.they do have a higher tech machine, not the latest as the last place, but it suits their needs. As we say good bye 3 little girls start running around. The sister, who works the farm has 5 children. If she was bigger her grip would crush your hand. She works the land and you know the next generation will know about their heritage.
Still two hours late we had to go dinner. We are stopped on a road no lights in sight, lost again. The driver makes a call hangs a right down a pot holed dirt road. Out of no where we are at another farmhouse inn. The wine group has been here for 1 1/2hours. They would not serve them until we got there. They convinced them to set up a table of meats and bread all made there. They just went on how good it was. First course fresh buffalo ricotta made that day, great start. Three great courses later the wine guys still talking about the meats and say there is a great slab of black pig lard over there I should try.Ok I can’t resist lard from black pig, I’m going in before the 4th course.the meats were fantastic as I work up to the pig lard. Cut, chew, really good! Well take that off my bucket list.
Four more great courses later the owner is showing us his 100 year old chapel with 1720 bones of St Francis. Then he shows us a 1600 year old olive tree, amazing. 2:30am 18 1/2 hours later we are in our hotel. Tomorrow on the road at 8am. Ciao. Ed