I opened the fridge early this morning in search of milk, only to find half a lamb nestled between the shelves. Eyeball, tail and all – literally half a lamb. It hadn’t been there last night when I went to bed and its presence was a shock, but not a surprise. Last night Marco played in a card tournament up on Monte Amiata with his legendary partner, our best man and dear friend, Negus. The game was briscola (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Briscola) and the first prize was a lamb to be divided (on the spot) between the two partners in the winning team. And the contents of my fridge this morning means that, for the sixth year running, Marco and Negus won the first prize – a.k.a. our Easter lunch. Those old men up at Poggio Rosa must hate the sight of them when they roll up ready to play.

Today we will fire up the outdoor forno so that it is white hot and incandescent in time for lunch tomorrow. We’ll dress the lamb with sage, rosemary and garlic, stick in a tray of vegetables to roast, lashings of our harvest 2009 IGP olive oil and that’s  the ten members of my Italian extended family sorted.

I’m thinking of opening a 2001 Riserva to go with our feast. This wine is a generous and savoury creature, with notes of coffee, leather and tobacco, bay leaf and dark cherry. The rich distinctive taste of the lamb will be perfectly matched by this full bodied wine and its polished tannins will cut through the fattiness of the meat….

We are expecting visitors this afternoon; the latest envoys from Naples. We’ll probably taste the 2005 Brunello and something older to give them a sense of estate history. I might open a 1998 which strikes me as the same kind of vintage as the 2005, to show them the potential evolution of our wines. We have a regular flow of visitors from the US community in Naples and I try to give them something different every time. As a group they tend to be very well-informed and there are usually some repeat visitors each time so I am pleased that I have a new nugget of information for them. Yesterday in fact all Brunello producers were officially informed that the US government no longer requires extra certification for Brunello imports which means that the Brunellopoli scandal is finally coming to a close. The TTB circular http://www.ttb.gov/industry_circulars/archives/2010/10-03.html is great news for all of us in Montalcino.

 Easter Monday (Pasquetta) is traditionally a day for being outdoors. We will go to see the Treno Natura – a steam train – that delights the children (http://old.terresiena.it/trenonatura09/treno-vapore.html). The afternoon is dedicated to a long “merenda.” From four onwards we will be eating in a field just out of S.Angelo in Colle, with a band playing and all the village families sitting around perfectly-set picnic tables with tablecloths, real napkins and portable stoves for fresh coffee.

 This weekend Montalcino is pullulating with visitors so we are ready, corkscrew at hand, to receive anyone who ventures up our bumpy road. It's that beautiful season, all blossom and emerald green grass, spring at last.