Italian Holiday, Part 2

 

.  



After a short drive from Antinori's Tignanello, we arrived at the historic 11th century abbey, Badia a Passignano. The 223 hectare estate surrounding the abbey was purchased by the Antinori family in 1987. The 50 hectares of Sangiovese planted here supply the estate's Chianti Classico Riserva and Marchese Antinori. There are a couple of little tavernas in the hamlet, but the Michelin starred  Osteria di Passignano is well worth the splurge.

Here, we enjoyed a fabulous light lunch with a glass of the ripe and lush 2007 Badia a Passignano Chianti Classico Riserva. The plates we ordered were delicious, beautifully presented and served. The staff and chef are warm and welcoming, the ambience elegant, yet unpretentious, Osteria di Passignano is certainly worthy of it's reputation.
   



We bought a bottle of the Chianti to take home with us from the well stocked Enoteca, where all of Antinori's wines are available to buy and many to taste. Winery tours and cooking classes can be booked ahead of time online. At 3pm on Sundays there is a tour of the abbey, but it is important to note that both the restaurant and wine shop are closed on Sundays.



American cactus transplanted in Tuscany



Back at Spannocchia, we toured the villa and tower with owner Randall. He shared with us the history of Spannocchia and the romantic story of how his wife's grandfather, Delfino Cinelli, met her grandmother aboard an ocean liner in the 1920's. Delfino was returning from representing his family's Florentine hatmaking business in New York, while the young American woman was setting off on a holiday to visit the Continent with her mother. Thus began the Italian American connection that exists today as an essential part of what makes the Spannochia Foundation successful, with roots in both countries.

We were very relaxed at Spannocchia, some nights dining in the villa with the interns, employees and other guests, some nights in our apartment, enjoying local cheese, salumi, produce and of course, a good bottle of Chianti Classico!

We spent a day touring Montepulciano, wandering the streets of the city, exploring the old duomo and town square, tasting wines, enjoying our first meal al fresco in the warm spring sunshine. The very plain exterior of the duomo is deceptive, as the interior holds many treasures and is well worth a look inside! Also fun was the old Contucci winery  just off the square, amazingly, they still make wine there and Adamo Pallecchi makes for a very entertaining host.

One of the highlights of our trip was our visit to Castello di Brolio, Italy's oldest winery and the birthplace of Chianti Classico. We had tasted the delicious 2006 Castello di Brolio, the top scoring Chianti Classico to date, on the last night of the 2012 wine club, a few weeks earlier. I had done a little research into the wine and the history of the winery, so I knew this was somewhere we really needed to visit. We had our visit graciously arranged by the wine agency in Canada, but unlike the Antinori wineries we visited, anyone can book a tour there. I highly recommend planning to do a tour and also enjoy a meal at the winery's restaurant with a bottle of their excellent wine, as we did. The Ricasoli family business is the 4th oldest in the world, second oldest in the wine world. There is so much important history connected to this family, an excellent article by wine journalist, Treve Ring , tells their story with a Canadian twist. In fact, we spoke to a gentleman at the winery who had worked there during the dark days of the Seagram ownership in the 1980's. He took us through the cavernous winery building that was constructed during that time, a warehouse so large it is now also used to bottle and store wines from neighboring wineries. He told us of the fiberglass tanks employed by Seagrams to store the oceans of poor quality wines made then and how since regaining ownership of the winery, Francesco Ricasoli has worked hard to improve the wines and reputation of the winery.

 

We had a wonderful tour guide, Suzanna from Germany, who really made the stories of the castle and family come to life. We toured the old castle tower, which Bettino Ricasoli had spent two years remodeling into a guest house for a visit from the newly crowned Italian king. No expense was spared, from the handcarved furniture to elaborately painted walls, only to have the king arrive, spend the afternoon and leave the same day, never staying in the guest quarters. Bettino was so upset, he closed up the tower and it went unused for decades, until the family decided to turn it into a museum. The decor has remained untouched and is as stunning today as when it was completed over 140 years ago. The ancient armour and weaponry, in addition to the fabulous collection of Bettino's scientific research makes this a fascinating tour.

The visting king drops by for an afternoon visit, never to stay in the guest tower

Suzanna also told us of  more recent World War 2 history. Though the castle was restored after the war,  evidence of artillery fire remains on the walls of the castle, left as a reminder of the of wartime destruction. She also recalled the older gentleman from South Africa who had been on one of her tours a few years ago, telling her that he had been to Brolio before, in 1944, as part of the Allied troops chasing the Germans. 

Due to the efforts of the current generation of this family owned company, Ricasoli is once again synonymous with quality and at the forefront of innovation in Italian wine . This winery is a must-see for anyone travelling to Tuscany, not only for tasting the wines and enjoying the restaurant, but to experience first hand the history of Chianti through a family owned winery spanning 32 generations.

On our last day at Spannocchia, we spent the day exploring Siena, spending a good portion of it in the famous Duomo, a spectacular treasure trove of art and history, not to be missed!



looking up



the ceiling in the library



a scene from the inlaid marble floor, Routa della fortuna (Wheel of Fortune circa 1372)

We said goodbye to Spannocchia and our daughter, Kathleen, who was to spend the next 4 months living the Italian farm life in Tuscany and Sicily, then two weeks on the beach in Portugal and capping it all off with a week in London cheering for the Canadian Rowing team at the Olympics (oh, to be young and carefree...).

Exhausted after a final afternoon of exploring Florence, dinner at the lively L'Osteria di Giovanni was a wonderful way to end our trip. The hospitality was incredible, even though the place was packed and we showed up without a reservation, the gracious staff looked after us, serving us prosecco and snacks while we waited for a table. When they sheepishly offered us a table in the wine cellar to shorten our wait, we happily accepted and followed them down the stairs. Spending a good portion of my former life in the wine cellar at Hastings House, I was very comfortable among the bottles and boxes and interested to see what was housed there. I was surprised to find it a real working cellar, but enjoyed the surroundings with the 3 or 4 other dining parties sitting at the two long tables, with service that was as superb as anywhere we have eaten. The food was unassuming but very enjoyable, typically Florentine and well prepared. I thought of those poor cooks upstairs in the kitchen on such a busy night and our young server, who was so pleasant, running up and down those stairs with undoubtably another section upstairs and was happy to have already decided to retire from my own restaurant career! Been there, done that! We enjoyed a bottle of the Guado al Tasso Il Bruciato, with it's soft tannins, pairing perfectly with the chicken dish we both ordered, a fitting way to wrap up our Italian holiday.

Italian Holiday, Part One

Our first Wine Club event of 2013 gave me a chance to revisit the trip that my husband Paul and I took last March, exploring the wine and culture of Tuscany. Telling the story of our tour through Bolgheri and Chianti with the pictures of the places we visited while tasting wines from our winery visits, paired with some lovely small bites prepared by Bruce, brought all the good memories of the trip back to life. Click on the place names in bold to go to their websites.

Our Italian adventure began in Florence. After a restful night catching up on missed sleep, we woke early, took a morning stroll through the city and toured the Uffizi Gallery. Gazing out the upper floor window at the gold shops lining the Ponte Vecchio over the Arno River, we overheard a story being told about the WW 2 German commanding officer, who, during the retreat in advance of the Allied troops, ordered all the bridges to be destroyed save that one. Apparently he and his wife had honeymooned in Florence and despite the orders he had been given to cut all lines of transportation, he couldn't bear to see that bridge destroyed. It is the only bridge over the Arno to have survived the war.

We stayed for the next two nights just outside Florence in Chianti at a beautiful little agritourismo,  Podere Dell'Orto in San Casciano. At the quaint and quiet hilltop farm, our little suite in the refurbished 15th century farmhouse was charming and very comfortable, with all the modern conveniences and a fully equipped kitchen. Our hosts Simona and Roberto were incredibly kind and helpful, giving us maps and directions to some great spots in the area, even making phone calls for us, trying to help us sort out a traffic violation (one of many challenges we faced with driving in Italy!).

 Simona was the one who told us about the village of Montefioralle (the birthplace of Amerigo Vespucci), an adorable little fortified town just above Greve-in-Chianti, and of a superb little restaurant just outside the village wall, Ristorante La Castellana. Here, we found three generations of women producing and serving some of the best local food we enjoyed in Tuscany, in very cosy surroundings. We dined there twice in the few days we were in the area and highly recommend this place to everyone. One of our most memorable dining experiences in Italy!

There is so much to explore in this area, we stopped at a few majestic historic wineries; Castello di Gabbiano, Castello di Verrazzano, (the ancestral home of Giovanni da Verrazano, for whom the New York City bridge is named after) and just over the hill from Montefioralle, Antinori's Badia a Passignano. We would return to Badia a Passignano a few days later, to dine at the fabulous Osteria di Passignano, more on that later...

.

Early on day 3, we drove west from San Casciano to Bolgheri for the first of the winery appointments that I had set up through Canadian wine representatives weeks before. What started off as a cold and foggy day in Chianti, cleared and brightened into beautiful sunshine as we reached the coast and the Antinori Guado al Tasso estate. The vegetation and open landscape here was so different from Chianti, reminding us more of coastal Southern California.

Turning into the tree lined drive at the entrance to the estate, we knew we had arrived at very special place. Originally part of a 4000 hectare estate owned by the Della Gherardesca family since 800AD, the 1000 hectare Guado al Tasso estate was inherited by the Antinori family in the 1930s. We met our guide, Luisa, at the winery office and spent the next couple of hours with her, touring the estate,  meeting with the agronomist in the vineyard and the winemaker (Luisa's husband) in the winery. Luisa told us the details of the Antinori family history and how this property came into the family through dowry and inheritance. We learned about the relatively recent plantings of Bordeaux varietals and how despite beliefs to the contrary, they have done very well in this coastal terrior. 300 hectares of the estate are planted to vine, the other 700 hectares of the estate are set aside for wheat, sunflowers and olives. Cinta Senese pigs forage in the forests while Mrs. Antinori's race horses exercise in the vineyards on a customized track, all part of the Antinori family's holistic approach to viticulture.  

 

We enjoyed incredible hospitality, tasting through a flight of the estate's wines, paired with house made salumi and bruscetta in the comfort of the Antinori family's hunting lodge. The wines were all delicious. From the beautiful mineral and citrus of the 2010 Vermentino, the lovely crisp berry flavours of the 2010 Scalabrone rose, the dark fruit and bramble of the very approachable 2009 Il Bruciato to the powerfully elegant 2008 Guado al Tasso, tasting the terroir in these wines gave us a new understanding of this region. The care and expertise in viticulture and wine making that goes into producing these outstanding wines, continuing the legacy of this historic Italian wine family, is matched by the warmth and obvious dedication to excellence by the employees. The wines we tasted and the people we met here won a special place in our hearts. Luisa's young daughter and husband joined us as we said our goodbyes and headed off to find our own daughter, Kathleen, an hour and a half inland, at Spannocchia.

Kathleen had already been in Tuscany for two weeks, fortunate to have be chosen along with 7 other young budding food and wine aficionados to intern for the spring season at Spannocchia. Nestled in the Tuscan hills, not far from Siena, this beautiful, historic property offers warm hospitality and a glimpse of the rustic farm life enjoyed by people here for centuries. We found staying a week at Spannochia an excellent way to gain a better understanding of the food, culture and history of Tuscany. It's close proximity to Siena and Chianti Classico make it a good home base for exploring the region. The salumi production from the estate's own Cinta Senese pigs, along with eggs from the chickens, olive oil, wine, honey and garden produce, with authentic Tuscan preparations by the cook who was raised on the estate using her mother's and grandmother's recipes, makes dining here a locavore's dream. The rambling trails on the grounds of the estate provide opportunities to experience first hand the natural abundance and interesting history of the property. Conversations with the owner and staff gave us a great appreciation of it's historic significance and the importance of preserving properties such as Spannocchia, as an opportunity for visitors to understand this way of life so connected with Etruscan history and sense of place.

 Click here for slideshow,       click here for website.

From Spannochia we visited two very important Tuscan wineries. Our private tour of Antinori's Tignanello estate provided us with fascinating insight into how modern technology and tradition have been brought together here to produce not only the best wines in Italy, but to search for ways to continually improve through advancements in viticulture and winemaking techniques.

The winery tour was a great example of how Antinori has literally built on their past to improve their future. The tour of the cellars took us through the recently completed ultra modern new winery down the cellar stairs to the centuries old cellar, still in use, cleverly incorporated into the heritage footprint the company was required to observe in renovating the facility.

The Villa Antinori, Chianti Classico Riserva Marchese Antinori are made here, as well as the Super Tuscans Tignanello and Solaia.

In the vineyards surrounding the winery, rows of grapes destined for Tignanello and Solaia are rooted in white limestone, dug from deep in the soil beneath, providing the plants with additional minerality, drainage and warming the soils to advance the harvest. Antinori leads the way in working to constantly improve Italian winemaking. The winery partners with the nearby university to study ways to improve grape quality and production, not just for Antinori's wines, but for all Italian wines.


We finished our tour of the Tignanello estate with a tasting of 4 wines, the 2009 Villa Antinori, 2009 Peppoli, 2007 Marchese di Antinori and the 2007 Tignanello. Although we were already familiar with all of these wonderful wines, tasting them at the source, in the house of Antinori was a fabulous experience. Topping our already great morning off in style, we said goodbye to our gracious hostess and headed down the road just a few minutes to Badia a Passignano and lunch at the renowned Osteria di Passignano.... to be continued

Setting Sail on the Virtual Sea

Today I am launching myself on a new voyage of exploration!

The world of wine has been beckoning to me for some years now... From my first taste of Blue Nun as a teenager in the 70's, to the herd of little black plastic bulls from the numerous bottles of Torres Sangre de Toro that accumulated on the window sill of the kitchen in the first North Vancouver home I shared with my husband Paul, the many bottles of Donini Trebianno we shared with friends ( because it was cheap, came in big bottles and was very palatable...) to tasting really good wine once I started working at a Relais & Chateaux in 1991, it has been a delicious voyage of discovery for me. Wine has always fascinated me. The more I learn, the more I want to know. Sharing my discoveries has been the best part, whether with guests at the restaurant where I worked or with friends at wine pairing dinners where we choose wines to pair with the courses we each prepare.

Over the years I have had the good fortune to travel to a few wine producing regions and taste wines at the source, giving those wines a sense of place and new meaning. Two years ago, in the course of  taking the French Wine Scholar program, learning about the regions and tasting the wines while seeing the visual images in the online portion of the program as well as during the class, I realized how important these visual images are to developing a better understanding of the wines. Short of being able to visit the region in person, watching film clips, learrning about the terrior, history and winemaking of a specific region while tasting the wines, could virtually transport you there and give you the sense of place to identify the wines by. Pairing with foods of the region at the same time completes the picture, as wines are often best when paired with their regional foods.

Thus the idea for the Wine Club was born, and for two winters a small group of tasters met for a few weeks in the winter to explore different wine varieties, regions and food pairings, learning a little about the world of wine along the way. After a trip to Tuscany in the spring of 2012, I realized the importance of focussing on a single region at a time. Tours of two Antinori Estates and Barone Ricasoli provided me with a unique opportunity to learn first hand about the history and wine production of the iconic wines produced there. The Wine Club has given me a platform to share these discoveries and the incentive to continue my explorations of the wine world.

In this blog I will share what we discover about the wines and regions we journey to, in the virtual world we see through the videos we watch and the sensory world through the wines we taste. I hope you come along with us!