Posted under Italy
After a schizophrenic four days of trying to see everything in Rome, we picked up a car and set out early for Tuscany. Having had difficulty navigating the cities in France, we had asked Natty to buy the Italy software for her Garmin and bring it along. With our frenetic pace in Rome, we had failed to MapQuest the driving directions as a backup and instead put our faith in the Garmin. Big mistake! For whatever reason, it had major difficulty picking up the satellites in Rome and also outside the cities. To complicate matters, our accommodation was located in the countryside about 15 kms outside of Siena on winding, nondescript gravel roads. In short, what should have been a two hour drive took more like five hours, with each of us cursing the Garmin at regular intervals. The saving grace for our frayed nerves was the stunning view of the Tuscan hills in every direction.
We finally reached Castello di Selvole on a gorgeous hilltop vineyard property and were greeted warmly by the receptionist who gave us recommendations, excellent maps and the key to an adorable stone house with magnificent views. The place was so perfect that I squealed at the sight of it. It had a thoughtfully stocked kitchen, a large elevated patio, and a pool. The house had so much warmth and character that we all felt right at home.
With a few hours of daylight remaining, we hopped back into the car and drove to Siena to buy groceries and wine for a sunset dinner on our patio. Enveloped in the patchwork quilt of the vibrant wine country, we sipped our wine, talked quietly over steaming plates of pasta, and let the chaos of the day melt away.
The next morning, we lingered over breakfast on the patio. I had made a colossal error by setting out a bowl of milk for the two vineyard wild cats that had appeared on our doorstep the first night, and now the little bastards were relentless – stalking and hissing at us. We spent the next two days chasing them off with brooms. Our plan was to spend the first half of the day tooling around Siena and the second half wine tasting in Chianti.
Siena flourished in the medieval period, as evidenced by its enduring Gothic architecture and narrow stone streets. Auto traffic has been banished from the town center, making for pleasant pedestrian walkways and a frustrating time for tourists with cars. We managed to find our way into one of the parking garages just inside the medieval city walls and walked uphill into the historic town center – the sloping, bricked Piazza del Campo. Il Campo, as it is also called, is Siena’s social center. The extraordinarily large piazza, surrounded by museums, shops and ubiquitous outdoor cafés, is a pleasant spot for a rest, despite the throngs of tourists (mostly Americans) who pour into it like herds of cattle. Italy is overflowing with tourists and we have encountered more American tourists in Italy than anywhere else in the world.
We had vowed to refrain from Siena’s tempting museums to save our stamina for Florence. However, when we saw the magnificent façade of Siena’s Gothic Cathedral with its intricate designs in white pink and green polychrome marble, we had to go inside. The interior was striking with thick black-and-white striped columns reaching up to the tall vaulted ceilings. Natalie aptly described it as the “Beetlejuice Church”, its stripes resembling old style prison garb and seeming eerily comical. The cathedral’s most notable feature was the marble inlaid floor with a series of historical and Biblical scenes: chilling depictions of religious persecution – beheadings, knights tearing babies from their pleading mothers’ grasps. The cathedral visit was an intensely satisfying experience and well worth the price of admission.
Pleased with our Siena endeavors, we set off for wine tasting, heading toward the tiny town of Radda in Chianti with a full itinerary of wineries that I had hastily mapped in advance. The drive through Tuscany’s rolling golden hills, punctuated with vineyards, olive groves, cypress trees, and old stone villas enchanted us all. The leaves on the trees were just beginning to change, adding the colors of fall to the already gorgeous palate of red, green and gold.
The Chianti region, also called Chiantishire, is divided into two sub regions – Chianti Sienese, and Chianti Florentine. Within the region are pretty little stone towns and surrounding the towns are the wineries. As it was already midafternoon, we chose a handful of wineries solely for their geographical location; we knew nothing about any of them. After our frustrating wine tasting experience in Bordeaux, I sent up a silent prayer that the Tuscan winemakers would be a bit more hospitable than the French. The Big Man delivered.
At our first stop, a winery called Vignavecchia, we had a fabulous tasting with a burly, friendly steward. He poured us a generous selection of whites and reds, all of which we loved. We bought a bottle of his Chianti Classico and went merrily on our way, off to a fantastic start! Chianti Classico is the region’s premium wine. Within the Chianti region, a sub-region has been cut out and designated as Chianti Classico. In order for a wine to be labeled as Chianti Classico, it must be made of at least 80% Sangiovese grapes from within the Chianti Classico sub-region.
Next, we pulled into a property called Monteraponi down a winding gravel road. We approached to find a cluster of old stone buildings that all looked dark and closed. We poked around for a few moments before heading for the car. I had seen a man and woman lounging on a secluded sunken patio but they didn’t say anything when we’d first passed by and I took the place for a private family property but, as we passed by again, the woman climbed halfway up the stairs and with a funny smile, said “Vino?” “Yes, please!” we replied and she yelled down the stairs to her husband – a middle-aged man relaxing in his wife-beater on a Saturday afternoon – to go get the wine. He slowly made a move while she gestured us toward the cluster of buildings. There were quaint houses that looked like guest cottages and we wandered around the property, taking photos while we waited for the wine to appear. Eventually the husband re-surfaced, carrying a single wine bottle. Aaron and I exchanged suspicious glances. The man handed off the bottle to his wife – a hefty, slightly masculine woman with short dark hair and a kind face – who led us into a small office at the property entrance. Neither of them spoke a word of English which we found both awkward and charmingly authentic.
Inside the office, the woman set out three glasses on a desktop, opened a bottle of wine slowly and poured. It is always a bit nerve-racking at the tiny wineries where you’re the only ones there and the family owners conduct a tasting just for you. You know you’ll end up buying a bottle out of obligation and you pray that it’s halfway decent and not too expensive. We each took a sip and smiles spread across our faces. It was fabulous! We happily bought a bottle and then one more of her more expensive vintage which she offered to open for us to taste but we declined, not wanting her to open another for just one taste. It turned out to be the best bottle in our booty from Chianti – and it was a big booty! In a matter of a few hours, we had filled the back seat of our crappy blue Fiat Punto with wine bottles from four different wineries and were on our way back to our wonderful house at Castello di Selvole. It was a damp, chilly night so we cooked another decadent Italian feast and devoured it with our bottle Monteraponi Chianti Classico Riserva “Il Campitello” D.O.C.G. in the warmth of our cozy kitchen.
Our visit to Siena, our stay in the old stone house in the country, and our wine tasting in Chianti were among the best experiences that Aaron and I have had on our entire trip. We were bowled over by the beauty of Tuscany’s picturesque hills and valleys and by the amazing Chianti wines. Our wine horizons have once again been expanded to include some of the juiciest reds our California Cab-soaked palates have ever tasted. For the gorgeous scenery, the magnificent wine, and the happy, warm, welcoming hospitality of the Chianti winemakers, I say to Tuscany, “Cheers!” It was simply a pleasure!
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