Another reflection on Italy...
While my Dad was visiting Italy we went on a “Day in Chianti” tour. I had been looking for a wine tasting for us to do as a day trip from Siena. I had already been on three organized wine tours while in Italy and per the usual I started with TripAdvisor when looking for the best company to sign up with. My options were very limited because I wanted to a) leave from Siena which is kind of small and b) wanted the tour on one specific day. This criteria basically left me with one option. The company had availability and good reviews so I was comfortable signing us up. It was the best one I did! I usually thoroughly read the fine print and know exactly what I’m getting and therefore what to expect. In this case I didn’t and I’m glad - because they day turned out to be quite a surprise!
Our tour guide/driver picked us up in Siena along with a mother and daughter from Toronto. The first surprise was that we had such a small group. After stopping briefly at the weekly outdoor markets in the towns of Castelli in Chianti and Greve in Chianti it was time for lunch. To our surprise, what we had signed up for was a lunch and wine tasting with a family on their farm/vineyard. I hadn’t expected something so small and intimate. After driving up a long, narrow, rocky road lined with hundreds of olive trees, we were greeted outside by our host Marco. He brought us into his home and over the next few hours shared his life stories with us. He had so much character and was quite a jokester. His English was surprisingly good and we learned that he had lived in the United States for a few years in the early 60s. He had a cousin who had immigrated to Michigan so he went there to learn and work. The walls of the home were lined with paintings he had created over many decades of being an artist - he is 78. He even showed us his studio where he still paints every day.
His wife prepared us lunch which was paired with Chianti, Chianti Classico and a Super Tuscan. We had so much delicious food! Salami and Pecorino, Crostini Toscani, Crostini with “Philadelphia Cheese” and Pears, Marco’s homemade olive oil, and pasta with sausage. All super tuscan and super delicious! Everything was fresh from their farm. After lunch somehow our tiny group got separated and my Dad and I found ourselves together with Marco in his wine cellar. He showed us his small production and poured wine right out of the aging cask for us to try. I’ve visited many a vineyard before and have never tried wine right from the cellar and had the winemaker take us around personally! A blog post can’t describe how special this experience was but maybe the pictures will help!
Jesslyn