Really enjoyed the Relais

Truth be known we were deeply engrossed in a lovely lunch enjoying wifi when we suddenly realized we should be moving on to the Relais Musella Winery. We had a good laugh, raced back to our flat on the piazza Erbe to pack and were grateful that Musella was only a short drive from Verona.

We were greeted by Pierrot who showed us to our really nice room, a separate living room and most importantly around the winery.  We chose this Relais because of the fact that it produces Amarone, one of our favourite red wines.  Pierrot was kind enough to take us through the production stages and to the barrel cellar.  Along the way he explained that the winery is bio-ethical.  They grow vegetables between rows of the vines. These are, in turn, composted into the soil to strengthen the minerals in the earth for a better tasting wine. They are also doing some experimenting with egg shaped containers to hold or age wine.  He explained that the egg shape has no corners or edges and therefore no sediment would collect and instead the wine would move around as a whole.  Pierrot explained that the owners hope to have the eggs made of wood soon so that the wine can take on the richness that wood provides during aging. 

The gate to the relais' private compound.  

Inside the compound, the olive trees in the middle and our room, first door on the left.

Where the wine is produced- a huge building that backs off the property quite far - hard to see from this picture.

Gate to the fields and to the small river that runs through their land- it remains at 15'C all year long as the water comes from within the mountains. 

Breakfast in the morning before we leave- too bad we didn't have more time to relax here - an ideal location.

Monique complaining that we have to leave...

After settling in to our space we were given the recommendation to head to Sirmione, a little medieval town in the lago di Garda, a short enough drive away.  We headed there for dinner but walked through the town first to photograph the old castle complete with drawbridge!  It sits on a peninsula that juts into the lake.

The Castle and draw bridge in Sirmione. 

Sirmione

We ended our evening with a delicious bottle of Amarone Riserva 2008 in front of the fire place in our private little living room.  After a good nights rest and breakfast at the Relais we packed up and headed for Como.  Our car is beginning to get full as we enjoy some retail therapy, even shopping at the Relais!