I traveled to Italy recently to check on our new casks and to see dad (pictured here in front of one of our 5,000 liter casks, which is now 80% complete). For the curious, a cask of this size will hold enough wine for approximately 6,666 standard 750 ml bottles.

You can see one of these giant casks for yourself here at the winery in Temecula. We’ve got six so far, all full of wine.

After I left Dad’s house, I traveled to San Pietro to visit an old friend and business partner.   I stayed at the Hotel Pamela, rated #1 by TripAdvisor. This is the hotel I joked about in a previous blog:  “The room was so small that I woke up thinking there was someone in bed with me, but it was the doorknob,” etc. Read about that here.  Some of you did not believe me when I said that my feet were in the shower when sitting on the pot.   Well, for those of you who doubted me, here is the photo evidence:

More photos of Hotel Pamela. No, these aren’t from 1981. But hey, it’s the best place in town.

Quaint, isn’t it? And very pink. But at $95 a night, what do you expect? Like I said, it is rated #1 on Trip Advisor (there are only 3 places to stay in the entire town). Can you imagine what the others look like? No complaints though; the staff is kind, the place is clean, the plumbing worked, I slept soundly and I suppose I can now call myself a regular guest there. Highly recommended if you’re ever in San Pietro.

Our winery hotel, Ponte Vineyard Inn, also happens to be the #1 ranked hotel in our area. Now, we’ve never been big on awards or rankings or medals for our winery, but to be at the top of the list on a site like TripAdvisor is a huge honor for us since the site is ranked by guest’s reviews. What this means to us is that those who stay overnight at the Inn are very satisfied and comfortable, and feel they are getting a fantastic value for the price of their stay. We couldn’t ask for more than that. As for our #1 rated bathrooms, let’s just say they aren’t small.   And our toilets are enclosed in their own little room.

If you haven’t experienced a stay in the country with us yet, book your room or suite today. We have wonderful packages available right now, including a brand new New Year’s Eve package.

See you soon,

Claudio