Great Meal Moment: "Feed me! Feed me!"

Folks who know me know I’m not a BIG MEAT kind of guy. I’ve been steadily progressing back to my hippie days in the ‘70’s, when the life was simpler, more natural and meatless. But in Italy, that’s a different story.

After a harrowing couple of days in the Langhe, what with the snow and ice and the hassle of getting down the hill we made it to Franciacorta-land. Wonderful respite from the cold. I missed a couple of meals too. So when our host, Alberto, recommended we go to their Tuscan styled restaurant near the hotel, my colleague and I were game. And what better way to unwind from a whirlwind trip through the frozen tundra of the Langhe than to share the classic steak of Tuscany?

At the place we went to, La Mongolfiera dei Sodi, specializes in Texas sized steaks, called La Fiorentona. The photo was my segment of steak for 3 (6 would be more realistic). And we ate it (all of it!) with the wines from La Badiola and Petra in the Maremma, sister wineries to Bellavista and Contadi Castaldi (our hosts).

Of course we started out with a little Bellavista Gran Cuvée Brut. But then we went right into the Big Wines to go with the Big Meat. Big Love, baby, living large in Italy before the Big Winter Freeze that was (and still is) bearing down on Italy making for a winter the country hasn’t seen since the mid 1950’s.

And yes, later that night in bed I did say more than once, "I can't believe I ate the whole thing!"

written and photographed by Alfonso Cevola limited rights reserved On the Wine Trail in Italy