Wine Country

As mentioned in the last post, we had some issues with getting a rental car. The solution was to switch our reserved wine and food tasting to today and take the bus. We were told to call the winery this morning to learn if they could accommodate us with the change of dates. Through the morning, calls were either unanswered, received busy signals, or reached only non-English speakers. We finally made progress at 10am and learned that they had rebooked us. We quickly walked to the bus station and paid 7 Euros for a 10:30am bus to Greve in Chianti, stopping at Greti.

Due to traffic in Florence, we arrived in Greti at around 11:35. The winery bus instructions told us to follow the signs and walk up the hill to the Castello di Verrazzano, which would take 20 minutes. This was a dirty, dirty lie. If you've ever seen a postcard or movie clip with a Tuscan villa high in the hills above a town, that's what we had to climb. It was steep, hot, and dusty, but we made it up only a few minutes after 12:00 and caught up with our tour group.

The tour was enjoyable, and we got to see the vineyards, olive groves, the Castello itself, and learn about the specifics of Chianti Classico. At least for me, the most interesting part was seeing the barrels they use. Instead of the classic barrel, theirs are 6-8 feet in diameter, are used up to 15 times, and can hold upwards of 4,000 bottles worth of wine. Jessica liked seeing the old wine bottles from the early 1900's in their museum. But for both of us, the best part was the tasting.

We got to sample their Rose di Verrazzano, Chianti Classico, Chianti Classico Riserva, a single vineyard Chianti Classico Riserva, their Super Tuscan, and their Vin Santo white dessert wine. With that, we had bread with their own olive oil, many different types of salami and proscietto including head cheese (like salami, but made from meat and fat from a boar's head), penne pasta with a delicious tomato sauce, white beans, green salad with olive oil, ham, and finally a cheese plate dessert. With the cheese, we received a small spoonful of 10 year old aged Verrazzo balsamic to add. It was heaven.

We were also encouraged to dip biscotti into the dessert wine, which we found accentuated the alcohol flavor. Without the biscotti, it tasted more like a port wine. We found that preferable. In the tour, we learned that the Vin Santo dessert wine was made by hanging the grapes and letting them dry for three months after picking. This concentrates the flavor and sugar, leading to the high alcohol wine that is on par with fortified wines.

We also enjoyed meeting the other three couples around the table. As it turns out, all three had driven by us in our hike up the hill, and all three offered us a ride back down. We took one couple upnon the offer. Towards the end of the meal, I went to go pay, and the lady with whom we would soon be enjoying a ride down the hill presented us with a bottle of wine as a honeymoon gift. It was incredibly nice of her and her husband, and we plan to enjoy it in Siena.