Sagrantino Ballooning Trip 2019 - Sagrantino      30th July:

Silent Spectators Below

    With difficulty we emerged from our beds very early and set off to Trevi which we had left just a few hours earlier. We soon arrived at what we thought was Ralph's dedicated launch site, a stubble field, but the access into it seemed steep. Several balloon teams had already inexplicably pulled in by the roadside. We bided our time at the roadside and watched a couple of balloon teams enter the field which we gathered was soggy. Hmmm ..... we were rather nervous of soggy conditions after yesterday's episode. One team set out their balloon, one decided not to, and Dave Bereford, the world ballooning champion, drove onto the field and almost straight off it again; rather encouraging we thought.

Lone Sentinels on the Airfield

    Then, to bring an end to the confusion, a fresh communication from Ralph stipulated that a green field 200m back along the road should be used. We turned ourselves around and went to investigate. We spotted Ralph in the field, gesticulating for vehicles to drive down into the field of regimented weeds. The route onto the field was also down a tricky steep slope. Chaos seemed to rule; the words "headless" and "chickens" sprung to mind. We took it all in, including the tall HV pylons nearby, and unanimously decided no way. We, like quite a few other balloon teams, drove back to Parco Acquarossa to utilise that as our launch site.
    With more room on the airfield, inflating Cloud Nine and the hopper was relatively painless. John hopped off in the hopper while Niall, Liz and I floated off in Cloud Nine. The wind was 1-2 knots variable. In clear, warm air, we climbed slowly, the fickle breeze edging us towards the power station. When almost level with the power station, a mass of steel, coal, and a threatening tall chimney, Niall cautiously burned to allow us to ascend and avoid the menacing obstacle. Sod's Law kicked in; at our new altitude there was no breeze at all, and we hovered motionless over the power station for perhaps 15 minutes.
    Peering down below, we observed balloons at a lower altitude slowly drifting in a direction away from the power station - a clue. So, Niall gingerly reduced our altitude, and sure enough we started to imperceptivity drift away from the threat below us and back towards the airfield.

Going Nowhere Fast

    Once back over the lower extremity of the airfield - it took a while to get there - Niall expertly put the balloon down on a patch of waste land.
    Meanwhile, John had landed in a ridge overlooking the airfield. Unfortunately, he had landed quite close to a power line, and in his haste to get the hopper deflated, a small 45mm hole had been created in the upper third of the envelope.
    Over a delicious breakfast at the airfield, we opted to get a repair done to the fabric as soon as possible. The Lindstrand teams had brought a repair team with them, so we booked the hopper in for immediate repair. Meanwhile we tested out Tony's spare balloon, Puffin, attached to the basket. The idea was to inflate the balloon to get it just off the ground whilst it was tethered to the land rover. The objective was to ascertain how porous the envelope had become. Niall concluded he would not hesitate to fly Puffin with just two people in the basket, but certainly not three.
    All hot and sweaty, we performed our third balloon pack up of the day, fixed a loose bolt on the trailer, and returned to base for some R&R.

Time to Pack Cloud Nine Up - Note the Power Station Chimney to the Right

John Chilling Out with a Beverage During Breakfast

    Ralph had organised for groups of six balloon teams to visit a selection of local wineries in the evening. Our team had been allocated Cantina La Veneranda, not far away on the hills adjacent to Montefalco, and surrounded by several hectares of vineyard. And so we found ourselves being greeted by a couple of young people at the venue, who instantly made us feel at ease and allowed us to choose whatever outside table we wished.
    No time was wasted, and the young woman instantly launched into a finely honed spiel. She explained how the altitude of the vines, excellent water drainage and temperature range (both day and night), together with ideal levels of sunlight, all contribute to the concentration and the finesse of the aromatic elements in the grapes. The vilification phase has a shorter fermentation period than that traditionally used, pumping soft musts, and continues with processes that do not aggravate musts and fermentation residues. This is followed by careful and prudent use of oak barrels of different sizes, all this helping to make the products unique and suitable for long aging.
    We were to taste the six types of wine produced by the winery: four red and two white, and with that information she poured us each a generous glass of one of the white wines, explaining its virtues. No sooner had she given the low down on this wine, when a large plate of cheeses was served to our table. She then progressed to the second white wine which she described in detail, and an assortment of breads was delivered to our table.
    Then the young man launched into his patter on the red wines, some of which were blended. All portions were very generous, and more plates containing several types of cold cut meats, bruschetta with truffle sauce and tozzetti with passito appeared throughout the tasting session.
    During this sumptuous feast, a tall, stocky elderly fellow with a ready smile came up to greet us. He was the owner, and I presumed the young man and women were his grandchildren. This affable host built up the larger picture, informing us that the "farm" distinguishes its territorial production with a unique and unrepeatable identity, producing besides the wines, high quality products from cured meats to truffle-based sauces, cheeses and oil.

Cantina La Veneranda

    The chap then went on to give us a potted history of the vineyard. It all began in 1568 when the Moncelli family purchased and cultivated some land around Montefalco. In 1827 the property passed into the hands of Maria Aloisa Moncelli, a woman of such great culture and wisdom that she earned the appellation of "La Veneranda" ("The Venerable"). During her tenure, she paid great attention and care to the maintenance and production of the land, achieving excellent results in the vineyard and in the wines and olive oil produced. With the same passion and expertise, the vineyard still continues to produce high quality products such as Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG, Montefalco Rosso DOC and Montefalco Grechetto DOC, as well as producing white and red Umbria IGT.
    All our hosts had been delightful, and generous, in fact too generous. Earlier on we had booked a table for the evening at Camiano Piccolo, but the Cantina La Veneranda had well and truly fed us to the brim with their "snacks" between wines. We had to go through the embarrassment of informing Giuseppe that we would be cancelling the booking.
    We departed from the winery with several cases of wine in the boot. With six of us in the car, I had to share the boot with the wine!
    To alleviate the situation, when we returned to base, we all bought deserts and a beer and chin wagged the rest of the evening away.