March 2020 - Italy Comes to Vegas (still publishing in 2021)

Looking down from the city of San Gimignano - September 2017

In the year of our 30th anniversary (2017) we went to Italy and Croatia with the sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law. Fabulous trip. I didn't post in this blog, but maybe I will someday. One of the very fun adventures we had in 2017 was a wine tasting trip at Tenuta Torciano in San Gimignano. We met a fabulous wine tasting enthusiast, Marco. He told us he could arrange a wine tasting event in the U.S. for us at our home and he would bring the wine!

We'd already had too much wine

All we had to do was invite 25 people who liked wine. That was the important part AND THE HARDEST PART because I have a lot of friends who like wine.  I immediately starting talking to Roger about how I wanted to have Marco come to our home with our friends and family. I think everyone in our group of six thought I was a little crazy since our home is not huge. But, as I stated in my 2020 Christmas card, one of my childhood homes was living in a one-bedroom with seven people. Every home I've lived in as an adult always seems huge. Even that evening, I posted on Facebook this picture of Roger, Marco, and me and asked who wanted to come to Las Vegas and meet Marco. Friends from near and far said, yes! Well, Tenuta Torciano called my brother-in-law to host in the U.S. We also were invited, but I still wanted to have it in Las Vegas at my home. Finally, a few years later, I convinced Roger and we booked the event. 

As hard as I tried I couldn't book a weekend in Las Vegas for our event so we settled on a Monday night. I also tried to book Marco but we got Andrea, they are all fun and know their job. This was at the beginning of the lockdowns and Italy was being hit hard by the Coronavirus. I can say we were a little nervous but we managed to make it through with no problems. I highly recommend the adventure~especially if you can go to Italy.

The wine arrived and we are ready with our appetizers

They also ask you to provide a charcuterie (not sure if they just say salami and cheese in Italy), bread, and lasagna. The thing is, I couldn't use my dining room because the wine instructor has to be able to talk to everyone at the same time. 

The six of us plus Andrea (in case you hadn't guessed, the sisters-in-law are Roger's sisters).

Proof to my husband that we can have a sit-down dinner for more than 20 people. My grandson made it even though he wasn't quite 21 and my granddaughter came as soon as she finished work (not pictured).