No visit to Italy is complete without a quick wine shopping trip to push the limits of my baggage weight allowance. Any thoughts, suggestions, notes, and/or observations would be most graciously appreciated.

Above: La Braccesca (Antinori) – Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2006

- Marchese Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva 2005

- Bersano Nirvasco Barolo 2006

- Masi Brolo di Campofiorin 2006

Tasting notes to follow, eventually.

And no, that’s not an original by contemporary Chinese painter Yue Minjun, whose works have sold for as much as $5 million. It’s a rip-off I bought in Shanghai for about 30 EUR.

La Braccesca (Antinori) – Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2006, originally uploaded by pirano.