Today was a lot of riding to get to a location outside of Venice in preparation for flying home tomorrow. We did have a stop a working orchard with lunch to break up the drive and took a couple photos of the Elephant Hotel interior before we left.
While I zoned out, Jim documented some of the hills along the way.
We visited the Bortolotti Farm, which combines farming with tourism. They have about 35-45 acres planted, but in scattered fields. Where we were, they have apples and cherries. They grow berries and grapes for wine at other locations. They sell all their Chardonnay grapes to a winery, but they keep the red grapes for the father to make wine, which we got to try at lunch. We finally got up close to the Italian style of apple orchards, with trellised shorter skinny trees to make harvesting easier. This family keeps the apple trees for 45 years vs. the one we met earlier who replaced them every 10 years. They showed us how they cut back the number of apples twice a year so that the ones that were left would be bigger. A cluster is typically five apples, and will be reduced to just one so the tree can be more effective.
Their cherry trees were in a couple groups -- a newer area with shorter trees, but bushier than the apples, and an older section where the trees were still trellised but half again as tall. We got to tasted the cherries from the tree, and it was clear that the shorter, newer trees were producing bigger, juicier fruit. This was my first time eating fresh cherries, and I am a total convert. I have always had them processed or pitted them myself and baked them or made them into compote. I have no idea why I resisted the idea of eating them fresh for so long, but clearly it was a mistake.
They walked us to a nearby stream which is a source of irrigation water. We went past normal sized cherry trees and they said they belonged to someone else who was no longer farming them for sale, but only to give the produce to friends and family. It was obvious that the fruit on these trees was much smaller, so maybe the small tree/big fruit theory works.
We had a light lunch (in US terms, not Italian) which included polenta. It was pretty tasty and at the end, Carla showed us the pan they cooked the polenta in and pointed out how good the stuff is that gets overcooked on the sides of the pan.
Then it was back to the bus for two more hours to Villa Contarini Nenzi, a former private home that now has spacious rooms.
As a gift, Davide got us Italian Identity cards -- all we have to do is add our photos -- and we shared a delightful dinner with a singer/piano player (age 17!) and a clarinetist before saying good bye to our new friends, some of whom have to leave for the airport before we even get up in the morning.
While I zoned out, Jim documented some of the hills along the way.
We visited the Bortolotti Farm, which combines farming with tourism. They have about 35-45 acres planted, but in scattered fields. Where we were, they have apples and cherries. They grow berries and grapes for wine at other locations. They sell all their Chardonnay grapes to a winery, but they keep the red grapes for the father to make wine, which we got to try at lunch. We finally got up close to the Italian style of apple orchards, with trellised shorter skinny trees to make harvesting easier. This family keeps the apple trees for 45 years vs. the one we met earlier who replaced them every 10 years. They showed us how they cut back the number of apples twice a year so that the ones that were left would be bigger. A cluster is typically five apples, and will be reduced to just one so the tree can be more effective.
Their cherry trees were in a couple groups -- a newer area with shorter trees, but bushier than the apples, and an older section where the trees were still trellised but half again as tall. We got to tasted the cherries from the tree, and it was clear that the shorter, newer trees were producing bigger, juicier fruit. This was my first time eating fresh cherries, and I am a total convert. I have always had them processed or pitted them myself and baked them or made them into compote. I have no idea why I resisted the idea of eating them fresh for so long, but clearly it was a mistake.
They walked us to a nearby stream which is a source of irrigation water. We went past normal sized cherry trees and they said they belonged to someone else who was no longer farming them for sale, but only to give the produce to friends and family. It was obvious that the fruit on these trees was much smaller, so maybe the small tree/big fruit theory works.
We had a light lunch (in US terms, not Italian) which included polenta. It was pretty tasty and at the end, Carla showed us the pan they cooked the polenta in and pointed out how good the stuff is that gets overcooked on the sides of the pan.
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