Last weekend a group of us headed out to celebrate my bestie's 33rd birthday. Noticing a wine claiming to hail from an Italian region referred to as "EST! EST!! EST!!" our waitress asked if we knew the story behind the unusual name.
Depending on who you ask, sometime between the 10th and 12th centuries, a Catholic bishop was traveling through Italy on his way to Rome. The bishop sent a servant ahead to scout out village taverns with great wine. When the servant found a satisfactory wine he would scrawl EST (Latin for "it is") on the door. Legend has it that the servant was so impressed with the wine being served at a Montefiascone inn that he enthusiastically scrawled Est! Est!! Est!!! on the door.
Several days (and several glasses of wine) later, the story is still sticking with me.
Storytelling matters.
Cin cin!