Conversation over lunch in the home of the Nonino family (the first family of Italian distillation) ranged from encounters with Marcello Mastroianni, Claude Lévi-Strauss, and Luigi Veronelli to the (literal) renaissance of native grape varieties in Friuli. I was THRILLED to be invited for lunch in their home, a fascinating family with a fascinating history. That’s daughter Cristina and father Benito above. They served an aperitif of Amaro Nonino on the rocks with a slice of blood orange.

There’s so much to tell about our confabulatio and there will be time for that… in the meantime, the bean and potato soup — with barley, chestnuts, and bits of melt-in-your mouth bacon fat, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with freshly cracked pepper — was an amazing confluence of flavors and textures. A rustic, powerfully sensuous dish…

Stewed goose thigh was o so tender and delicious with polenta and cabbage. Benito thanked us for coming, noting that they feed him better when there are guests. They’re a very colorful bunch and the hours we spent together were literally marvelous.

This was definitely one of the most fascinating visits so far but the tale of what was told yesterday will have to wait…