Well I swore last year would be my last, but Annette is working today and so rather than sit at home and twiddle my thumbs I decide to go anyway, surely it can't be as bad as last year, can it?
Oh yes it can! At all the other wine festivals in Tuscany you pay an entrance fee of between 5 and 10 euro and you can taste whatever you want... Everybody is serious, nobody gets drunk and goes home happy. Here in Greve you buy a card for 8 euro, ok, sounds fair. When I enquire, the assistant assures me that you get eight tastings, ok so that's 1 euro per taste, not too bad. When I ask whether that includes all the wines, she again assures me it does. When I go to start tasting the sommelier punches a hole in my card. The only problem is, at the 'riserva' tent, they insist on punching two! Thereby giving you a miserely 4 tastes and when I say tastes, I mean a mouthfull... That's 2 euro a sip... On the ticket there is an extra row of circles that nobody seems to know what to do with! When I return to the 'cassa' to ask her why they are punching two holes she looks at me like I've gone completely mad! A few other people have noticed this too, so I stay by the cassa and listen... they are telling people that they have 8 tastes, "or 4 if you have riservas" I add! So basically people are being tricked! Playing on the fact that most people are tourists and won't really notice...
Greve - Shame on you!!!
The Cappella della Madonna di Vitaleta on the road from Pienza to San Quirico d'Orcia
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