Tours of Umbria Italy

Chocoday at Caprai

Yesterday, 12^th October was Chocoday in Italy. Chocoday is a day dedicated to “pure chocolate” (obtained from cocoa without additional fats and vegetable oils) And is supported by the Italian government. It is an important prelude to the upcoming Eurochocolate in Perugia which is now less than two weeks away. This year, Montefalco wine producer Caprai were presenting new wine-themed chocolates in conjunction with Brucocioc (a well-known chocolatier from Le Marche who creates il Cioccolato Di BruCo) so we decided to head to the Caprai winery and check it out. The chocolates treats were made of dark chocolate and had two fillings. One was filled with a type of grappa cream and reminded me a little of the whiskey chocolates that you get in Ireland and the other was a praline filled with Montefalco wine and also included a piece of Sagrantino grape and a very small (deliberately) inserted grape seed. The chocolates were served up with Sagrantino passito and grappa. It was a very pleasant way to spend a beautiful October day with temperatures in the mid-20s in the elegant surroundings of the Caprai vineyards. Unfortunately for everyone who wasn’t in attendance, I think that the guests pretty much consumed the entire first run production!

               

Chocolate in Norcia

Last Thursday we went to Norcia to visit a new hotel (or more correctly a “historical residence”), Palazzo Seneca (www.palazzoseneca.com), that has just opened and which we had heard good things about. Right in the centre of Norcia it is an impressive place which has taken the local Bianconi family over a decade to restore. The style is clean and slightly minimalistic but it also has something of a gentleman’s club feel to it, right down to the inclusion of an impressive reading room.

While we were in Norcia we stopped in at the Vetusta Nursia chocolate shop (http://www.norciaciok.it). Vetusta Nursia have been making chocolate in Norcia for over 20 years. The owner explained how, unlike many other chocolate manufacturers, they use only the finest cocoa which makes for a tastier chocolate bar (albeit slightly more expensive -but as with most things -you get what you pay for). We bought a bar of 99% Cacao which I am looking forward to and a tub of delicious spreading chocolate (similar to Italy’s famous Nutella) to make merenda for our children. We will be back in Norcia next week on a tour and so might stop in again to stock up!