Wine-tasting in Chianti

I've wanted to visit an Italian vineyard since seeing Diane Lane's rural villa in Under the Tuscan Sun. This is a great film that my older sister enthusiastically recommended and which I too enjoyed for the first time somewhere around the mid-2000s (and probably every other year since then). After spending the morning with David in Florence, we took an hour bus ride south to Castello di Verrazzano near Greve, Italy. We wanted to do an afternoon tasting rather than a whole day excursion and chose this particular vineyard because it was easy to get to and not too expensive... always a plus :)

This beautiful view awaited us when we got out off the bus at the bottom of what would come to be the most challenging 30 minutes of our two weeks traveling together... The website mentions "a 30 minute walk ... through the vineyards of the property" to get up to the castle (if you take public transport). I thought this sounded pleasant and told Angela the 30 minutes was probably more of an overshot estimation because who would walk 30 minutes uphill to a castle for a wine tasting. Well, we did. 

Here's Angela about one third of the way through our hike. It really wouldn't have been that bad except we weren't dressed for any sort of physical activity and it got SO warm as time passed. Oh and it seemed like we would never get there... And about ten cars and one vespa (all heading to the same tasting as us) passed us on the road. 

We did make it though- after an accurate 30 minutes of hiking through the vineyards/forest of the property. The gardens of the castle were absolutely beautiful though and provided a calming welcome upon our arrival. The noise from the fountain above helped mask my uneven breaths as we learned about the history of the vineyard. Giovanni da Verrazzano was born here in 1485. He discovered the Bay of New York along with much of it's coast and the Verrazzano Bridge in New York is named after him. 

Wine has been produced in this location since 1150. I couldn't really wrap my head around that but I knew we were probably going to be sampling the products of some very fine-tuned methods later that afternoon. Northern Italy is known for their red wines and southern Italy specializes in whites so we would be sampling a few reds and possibly a rosé. 

The views from the castle were incredibly beautiful. Tuscany was kind of dreamlike. I could imagine a very nice life sipping coffee as the sun rose, working the fields during the day, drinking the best reds in the evening, and falling asleep in a hammock each night. The hammock just because it's relaxing not because I saw any evidence that this is something people actually do here. 

We toured the castle and cellars before our tasting. The grapes below were picked specially for the vino santo that takes three years of preparation before it is ready to drink. The grapes are picked at a certain ripeness and then hung in the attic of the castle where (with the help of an insane amount of fruit flies) they mature and begin to ferment. After a couple months hanging like this, they are put into the wine casks where they mature for another two and a half years. Although this wine wasn't part of our tasting, Angela and I got to sample it because we hung around after the tasting with our awesome tour guide. It was really sweet and very strong. 

The wine barrels in the cellar were all massive. All the wine there could keep you stocked for your wine and cheese parties for the rest of eternity. I loved the barrel designs but only chose one to feature below. Well, two technically as you got a bonus pic of me modeling next to this year's Chianti harvest. 

After the tour we sampled three wines, a balsamic vinaigrette, and olive oil that is all produced at Verrazzano. The wines were all very good but the vinaigrette is honestly what blew me away. It was incredible. It's typically served with fruits or cheese and we had it with the cheese below (also delicious but that's almost a given). We were taught the official way to taste the wines which I will now describe in detail. 

1. Grab your glass by the stem. Never hold the goblet because that will alter the temperature of the wine. Look at it, observe the colors, think about what you are going to drink. 
2. Smell the wine. Don't just sniff the edge though- no, you place your entire nose into the glass and breathe deeply. What scents did you notice?
3. Now, take a small taste, swish it around your mouth and swallow. 
4. Put the glass back on the table, give it a good swirl. 
5. Take another taste. The wine has been given a chance to breathe and develop in the glass and will have a fuller flavor.
6. No need to continue swirling after each taste, simply enjoy the wine. 

A bit of an extreme process for my unrefined pallet but it was nice to play along... 

As I mentioned, we stayed after the tasting to chat with our guide and a group of Australians that were traveling Italy for a few weeks together. One of the couples was actually a year into a two year trip around the world... something to work towards in life if I've ever heard of one! We sampled the Vino Santo, bought a bottle of rosé, got a ride down through the vineyards (thankfully), and caught our bus back to Florence. We took a train to Pisa that evening so next post I'll share some stories from those few days... hope the suspense isn't too much to handle!

Ang and I sampling some pretty delicious wine. Cheers friends!

Italia: Firenze

We started our last morning in Milan with the routine cappuccino and then made our way to the Central train station. (Have I mentioned yet that I absolutely love traveling by train?) Despite the chaos of the ticket office, the rest of the station was beautiful and I wondered if an aspiring designer had thought to use it for a fashion show yet... **If this happens next year because someone read this blog please at least invite me to the show.**

A few short hours later and we arrived in Florence. We were greeted by warmer weather, winding streets and the overpowering yet still pleasant scent of leather. We had a leather market set up right outside our hotel window actually!

Angela and I walked through the market for a bit and I got a ~kewl~ sunglasses case. I wish I had purchased more. It was all real leather (they did the flame test on each item to prove it) and you could haggle prices to get a better deal. I will readily admit that my haggling skills are dismal but I love a good challenge and would be up to try again :) Just outside the market was a bronze boar that supposedly brings good luck if you rub it's nose. I suppose it is the explanation for my luck these days... 

After the market we headed towards the the Cathedral. Now, I must say that if I've ever considered having a guest blogger describe a place, it would be this post about Florence. My sister Sarah is incredibly well-versed in this specific Cathedral and art/art history so if you would like more information about either, please contact her! I am too afraid to misrepresent any information though so, as per usual, I'll just leave some rambling thoughts and photos here :)

The Cathedral was amazing. I loved the design that decorated the building and gave it such a unique character. The Tower and Dome are two obvious main features of this Cathedral. Brunelleschi's Dome is noted as one of the greatest engineering feats of the Renaissance. The construction of the Cathedral began in the late 1200s but the technology or tools didn't exist to figure out how to construct the dome without external support (Sarah informed me that the Italian's hate buttresses) and there wasn't enough wood in the region to build enough scaffolding to complete the dome. Brunelleschi engineered a way to complete the dome though with movable scaffolding and it was finally finished in the 1400s. So cool!

 

We climbed the tower and the hike was well worth it! Here are a few pictures of the amazing views from the top of the tower. From up here I could definitely see how people fall in love with this city. It was breath-taking. 

We descended the Tower and snapped a few more pictures before heading for some aperitivo. Again, I loved the exterior of the Duomo- so striking and beautiful. Equally as striking is the photo below on the right- me modeling this season's latest grunge-chic travel line in font of the beautiful front doors of the Cathedral. I hear plaid shirts tied around your waist are making a comeback...  

 

I woke up early the next morning and made my way to the Accademia Gallery. I arrived before it opened but still had to wait in line for 45 minutes before getting in. I had a lovely view though (photo below) and also The Goldfinch on my Kindle to help pass the time. (Quick recommendation for everyone to read that by the way... amazing book!)

There was a temporary musical exhibit at the entrance that I perused a bit. Most of the instruments in the exhibit were all that remains from the Medici collection. The Medici's were extremely influential in so many ways to Florentine society and music was no exception. Below are a trio of violins that made me think of my younger siblings. 

Now, I had to make a tough call on which museum to visit in Florence as I knew I only had time for one. I chose Accademia though because I had to see David. I was not disappointed in the slightest. The building itself was constructed to house the famous statue after it was moved from the Palazzo della Signoria in the late 1800s. At just over 14 feet tall, the statue was so impressive. I don't claim to know much about art but this is some serious talent. Well done Michelangelo. You can walk around the entire statue and I took the PG image on the lower right in case nudity isn't your thing. 

David is of course the most well-known piece in the Accademia Gallery but I did see a lot of other amazing work. The hall of sculptures was unfortunately closed but I reached my phone in anyway to snap the below photo. There was a significant amount of iconography and other decorative pieces from churches through the decades in the Gallery. Again though, I was there for David so I didn't spend too much time elsewhere :)

After touring the museum, I met Angela back at the Cathedral so that we could take a tour inside. It is set up by the people of Florence to showcase their town and the artists/works they are most proud of. We had a pretty good audioguide that explained a lot of the pieces inside. Two of my favorites are below. First, is the 24 hour clock that hangs above the main entrance. The hands of the clock move opposite to our modern-day clocks in a counter-clockwise movement. (I struggled to find synonyms for clock in that last sentence... sorry.) The 24th hour wasn't our traditional midnight either. It indicated sunset which was a crucial indicator of time in the 1400s because that was when the gates of the city would close. The bells were synchronized to the clock to notify the farmers when sunset was approaching. My second favorite within the Duomo was the painting inside the dome. Now, as with many things, the picture below really doesn't do it justice. The dome is massive and standing beneath it, craning your neck as you try to take it all in, is something that a camera cannot really capture. I took a picture anyway though to share :) 

After touring the Cathedral we had some amazing pizza at Dante's. If you go to Florence, this is THE pizza place to visit. I would confidently say it was the best pizza I had in Italy. We left Florence that afternoon for a wine tour which I will write about next :) I'll leave you with two of my favorite pictures from Florence though. First, the woman in the apron below. What a character. This picture still makes me laugh when I see it. Second, is an Instagram aided edit from the roof of the Duomo. Such a gorgeous place- I still feel lucky I was able to experience it!

Ciao friends!