Marco saw the first swallow of the year yesterday but the saying that “una rondine non fa la primavera” (one swallow does not make a spring)[1] is definitely true this year. We’re certainly far from the summer scenes of swallows swooping about like Ginger and Fred, and in spite of it being San Benedetto today[2] and officially the first day of spring, today was a dull, windy, chilly day.

The last of the snow is yet to melt. Here and there on the shadier slopes of the hills are little islands of white, reminders of the 90 cm that confounded us all on the 9^th March. The old gimmers of Montalcino, the craggy types that you might spot walking along the road towards S.Antimo of an evening or sitting on the wide wall at the curvone, claim that we are still in February's moon (i.e. a month late weather-wise) and that when the snow takes time to melt in this way it is because it's waiting for more to join it (“LA ASPETTA,” pronounced in ominous tones, with the additional warning “so don’t plant your garlic yet”).  

I do hope we're done now as far as snow is concerned although the gimmers have an irritating habit about being right about these things (so no, of course we haven’t planted the garlic). This has been the second snowiest winter in the northern hemisphere since weather records began. Here at Il Palazzone all our fruit trees are yet to bud, and the vines are still dormant. The snow splayed or broke nearly all of the cypress trees that line the drive into the estate and we have spent the weekend trying to get them back into shape.

It feels like we are all poised, like the trees and vines, waiting for spring to come. We’ve elections, Easter and Vinitaly ahead of us in quick succession. The 2009 Brunello will be going into wood shortly, we will be planning the 2006 bottling and the composition of the 2006 Riserva (to be released in 2011). And of course as soon as the temperature begins to rise the vines will be off and all the field work will be in full swing. The warm weather signals the start of visitor season and I will need to get my spittoon ready for action.

My most pressing concern is to get our phone-line back. We were thrown back into medieval telecommunications after a storm at the end of February. I’ll admit to being curious regarding the how Telecom Italia will evaluate the economic and psychological damage of being without phone or internet connection for over a month….

 Surely no one thought my being so silent of late was a choice?

[1] Pronounced by Aristotle and repeated ever since.

[2] In Montalcino the saying is “San Benedetto, una rondine sotto il tetto,” i.e on St. Benedict’s Day a swallow will be under your roof beams. No sign of the delightful creatures yet, I’m afraid.