Even more fun is when an unsuspecting foreign visitor asks one of the group for advice on the best grappa to try. The grateful tourist smiles, thanks the person for his advice and happily walks back to his table to show the discovery to his companions. There is an agony of waiting from other tables as the word gets round. People hold their breath as glass is brought to lips. Eyes water in sympathy.
Handkerchiefs get ready to be stuffed in mouths.
At first there is no reaction. The restaurant erupts into good natured hoots of laughter. Having been initiated on our first visit, we now sadistically look forward to this as much as the other locals . We once tried to make our own grappa al peperoncino . It was from a recipe Alan got at a MotoKamp motorbike rally he had been to near Modena.