Massamiliano –

How we know him – He is the owner of our favorite local restaurant La Vecchia Betola.

What he does – I love the way that “Massi” runs his restaurant. He stands in the front behind the counter and carefully selects wines for his guests, who know to go directly to him if they want an expert opinion. He is also in charge of handling all of the appetizers for his guests, whether it’s freshly carved prosciutto with melon or several varieties of pecorino cheese along with sliced pears in the season, Massi runs the show!

Our Friendship – Massi, has been really kind to us. He was slow to warm up to us in the beginning (I think that Anna nailed it when she said, “I just don’t think he knew what to make of us Americans that kept coming in for dinner!”) but after we went to watch him and two of his waiters fun in the marathon last year, he opened up quite a bit.

In February he took us to the Brunello Wine Festival in Montalchino and when we countered by having his family and several of his friends over for lunch on a Sunday in early March, the friendship was forged!

In addition to being a lover of wine and running, Massi loves horses and travel.

Interesting Quip – He is one of the few Italians that I know that has been all the way to Hawaii, having gone in February to run in the Honolulu Marathon!