Wine and Cheese and Oh yeah, Bread

Not many things stick to human memory like food. The smells, tastes, appearance, and of course, the memory of where you consumed it. A lot like falling in love.
A year after entering Orvieto, Umbria, in Italy, the experiences return, in memory and action. Sensory input from that visit plays out in the food I prepare and the care I give the brick ovens I've built since then.
The wine and cheese tasted on that journey have redefined my palate.  The town itself is unique, set atop a cliff made of 'tufo' a soft volcanic rock that has been burrowed into since the time of the Etruscans. There are as many rooms below the street as above and nearly every house has its own wine cave.
In much of Europe, bread, cheese and wine are referred to as the 'holy trinity' of foods, no slight to the other trinity.

When I pull a fresh loaf of bread from the oven I try to have the red wine at room temperature as well as the cheese. Sharing them with friends completes the picture. We travel.