The city of Viterbo is divided into neighborhoods, much as our home city of Springfield. The most famous of them is undoubtedly San Pellegrino, the Medieval Quarter. Between San Pellegrino and the city wall, separated by a deep valley, is the Pianoscarano. Each fall in mid-September they have a four day long grape festival. There are concerts and booths, but the highlight of the festival takes place on the final night when they run new wine through the fountain in the middle of Piazza di Pianoscarano. When we arrived in the early evening there was a cake baking competition being judged. Amy said I should have entered if only to demonstrate the superiority of American baked goods. In the piazza they have a display of specially decorated wine barrels next to the fountain.
The fountain itself has been emptied of water and several of the spouts outfitted with spigots.
The wine is gravity fed from a large barrel perched atop a pole off to the side of the piazza.
It is transferred through a plastic hose into the top of the fountain and then served free to anyone who holds out a hand for a cup.
It is definitely a new wine, not meant to be cellared for long periods of time. It is light and certainly drank easily. The second cup was better than the first, the third tastier than the second, the fourth superior to the third. I think you get the picture. We had a fine time with our friends Keith, Steve and Pam, then rolled home.
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