Before heading home from Italy, I wanted to share some food and wine highlights from our visit to Perugia, the ancient capital city of Umbria.

I pride myself on being adventurous, but here is a bit of advice for anyone planning to explore the wine regions of Umbria: rent a car with a GPS system.

Umbria as it turns out is not to be “taken” so easily. In fact, I couldn’t help wishing I’d spent a tad more time on the treadmill in preparation for the arduous climbs required to traverse each of these fortified Italian hill towns.

Hannibal invaded Umbria during the second Punic war. This week, it’s my turn.