Brunello in Washington, the centre of the world
A day’s work in the cold in Washington with just a little time for tourism with the Brunello producers
Seen for you by Donatella Cinelli Colombini
Us Capitol in Washington, Donatella and Carlo
We were up at the crack of dawn, and then took a taxi to Penn Station, the enormous underground station next to Madison Square Garden where Nino Benvenuti’s international boxing contests took place. Here we take a train with very large wagons but they are so old that for 2 hours 45 minutes they shake us ‘til we reach Washington. Once out of the splendid Victoria station we are in front of the United States Capitol, what a sight! The small group of representatives of the Consorzio del Brunello and I had planned a day at the Italian Embassy. The building was constructed in 2001; it is square shaped and has a spectacular glass-domed atrium. There are archaeological objects exhibited and a hall dedicated to Falcone and Borsellino with the photos of the two magistrates killed by the mafia.
After a long meeting and a buffet enriched with 20 odd bottles of Brunello, including mine, – which is something that I am particularly proud of- we are finally free to roam as tourists.
First lap, the White House, where they were dismounting the platform used
Stefano Campatelli and Carlo Gardini at the White House
for Barack Obama’s swearing-in ceremony. It was very very cold so our stops are much shorter than we would have liked, but a snap in front of the US Capitol was a must. In the centre of world-power the enormous buildings with facades with columns, come one after the other, all tidy, clean and garrisoned by lots of police officers. Few cars and few pedestrians, the city was beautiful but a little rigid, sad … it reminds me of the most monumental parts of Berlin.
The event organized at the Italian Embassy in Washington
Finally this very intense week had finished, we came back home with a desperate need to diet, but also with lots of successes which will take Brunello’s prestige and commercial appreciation higher and higher.