Team 96 Italian Job 2017

Last night we had the Charity Auction Dinner which comprised the usual excellent 3 course meal, lubricated with a plentiful supply of fine Italian Wine. The auction raised £4,000 with some very competitive bidding from the sufficiently inebriated audience, though we were paragons of sobriety and didn’t compete having donated a couple of items to the Auction – A model straight eight Bentley from the “Bentley Boys” era, which fetched £200, and a set of 4 Ferrari signed designer drawings, which fetched £250 – that takes our fundraising to nearly £3,500.

The aim of eating less today soon evaporated as we tucked into the scrambled egg and bacon. An early start again at 8.30 took us along the same stretch of Autostrada as yesterday, finishing in Modena at the Acetaia Malpighi. There followed an excellent presentation of the production of traditional Balsamic Vinegar, a far cry from the normal supermarket product. The delightful Monica, granddaughter of the 96 year old proprietor, proceeded to explain how the traditional product is made from both white and red grapes and is matured in barrels of various types of wood, for anything between 5 and 25 years. It can take up to 130 litres of grape juice to make half a litre, this of course being reflected in the quality and price.

There followed a tasting of several varieties and levels of maturity culminating in the 25 year old vintage. It was obvious from the initial taste, that this was something pleasurable that most of our taste buds had never experienced. An excellent and enjoyable morning in which we felt priviledged to have been invited.

A four course lunch at Ristorante la Quercia di Rosa in Modena did little to keep us on track for minimal calorie intake but was another excellent experience for the palate.

After a few more driving skill exercises we proceeded to the Pagani Factory and Showroom. The display of Pagani Zonda’s was an outstanding example of Supercars and one man’s imagination. (see photos). The new factory was also a magnificent tribute to the designer having been inspired by Leonard de Vinci. Unfortunately photography was not permitted in the factory but we were all impressed by the cleanliness and space in which 50 cars a year are currently being made.

With a three year waiting list for these 230 mph cars, and an asking price in the order of 2.5 million Euros, all Bob managed to come away with was a 1/18 scale model. Hey ho, on to another day…