Day 9: Chianti Wine Safari

 Day 9

Tina gave us a lot of knowledge about wines and the guidelines for production. Today, we get to go to the vineyards to see where it starts and how it's done. Our first stop was Villa Le Corti, an estate where Principe Corsini wines are made. This is still an estate where the Prince and Princess of Costina live. 

Our guide today is Sara. She really knows everything there is to know about wine! In the vineyard, we learned that most of the vines are sangiovese, at least 80%. The rest are made up of merlot, cabernet sauvignon, and a few others. Sara told us that more sugar in the grapes means less acidity in the wine. We also found out that tannins are in the seeds! Waiting until the grapes are fully mature gives the wine fewer tannins. Did you know there are more tannins in a can of Coke than there are in a whole bottle of wine? Sara said organic is key. To be a DOC or DOCG wine, the grapes must be organic, and they must NOT be watered. Sara said when they are watered, they get a little lazy, but the best, most flavorful grapes are the ones that struggle a little. When the grapes are ready, they are picked by hand. All of them. All those little grapes.

Wine tours are great to see the process, but they are also perfect for standing in the beauty of God's creation. I truly can't think of a place more beautiful than the Tuscan Countryside!

After picking, the grapes go through a visual selection one by one by one by one by one, then they go through a destemming machine. Now they are ready to be squeezed. Sara said even today, the best way to squeeze them is with your feet, and smaller wineries still do that! But wineries that produce thousands of bottles of wine a year don't have the capability. Principe Corsini produces around 90,000 bottles a year.

First stop, the fermentation room. After the grapes are pressed, the juice, skins, and seeds are put into these giant vats to ferment under careful observation.

Next, they are transferred to the barrels below for aging. 3 types of barrels can be used: wood, cement, and terra cotta. Each one can influence the taste of the wine. The smaller barrels below are French oak barrels. It's so funny when Italians talk about the French - they don't like them at all, and it was even hard for Sara to admit that the French oak barrels give the best flavor to the wines. 😂

You can't see them well, but the black containers on the left-hand side are the cement barrels. The ones in the middle are the French oak. Darn those French! To be considered an official Chianti Classico, the guidelines state that the wine has to be aged for at least 1 year. To be a Chianti Classico Reserve, the wine has to be aged for 2 years. To be a Chianti Classico Select, it has to be aged 2 1/2 years. As you can imagine, the longer the wine is aged, the flavor becomes more full-bodied and smooth.

This is the room where labels are added to the bottles.

We got to explore the estate's beautiful garden before heading to the olive oil production rooms.

                                       

Just another day in Tuscany. If you've seen
one garden, you've seen them all. 😂

The olive oil production process was every bit as fascinating as the wine was! The olives are also picked by hand, and then brought in to be pressed. They press the entire olive, seed and all. Well, that just saved a lot of time! The first time the olives are pressed, the oil is extra virgin. The 2nd press gives virgin oil. The last press is called Sanza; it cannot be eaten. Italians don't like to waste anything, so it is used to heat the villa. 

The first picture above is how olives used to be pressed. The second picture is of an old olive press used long ago. 

Now for the tasting! Sara gave us a quick tutorial on tasting wines like an expert. First, you look at the color, tipping the glass sideways to see the depth of color in the deepest part. You're also looking for sediments that may be present. Next, you smell the wine, swirling it in your glass to get the full scent. This is where you detect fruity, nutty, or oaky notes. Finally, you take a sip of the wine paired with the food it pairs best with. For the first time, I was able to see how wine can enhance your meal! 

We were able to try a Chianti Classico, a Chianti Classico Reserve, and a Chianti Classico Select, in that order. You could tell a big difference between them! As expected, the Select was both of our favorites! We also tried their extra virgin olive oil with bread. It had a deep, rich flavor that we fell in love with! 

This next video is a minute of our drive through the Tuscan countryside. You can hear Sara funneling her knowledge to us in the background. You're welcome.

Fattoria Di Rignana was our next stop. We tasted their wines and had lunch on the patio overlooking the countryside. The symbol of the estate is a hedgehog to honor the noble Florentine family, De Ricci, who previously owned the estate and had a hedgehog on their coat of arms. In Italian, the word for hedgehog is il riccio. We were talking to one of the employees who told us that story. He ended by saying there are hedgehogs everywhere! We told him Malachi had a pet hedgehog when he was younger and asked if Italians kept hedgehogs as pets. He said, "Uhh, no" as if to say, why would we do that? We laughed!

The first wine we tasted here is a Rosato. They call them orange wines because of the orangish color. In Italy, it is illegal to mix red and white wine and call it rosé. If you think about it, without the skins, all grapes would actually produce white wine. The skin is where the color comes in, and how long you leave it in affects the depth of color. In a Rosato, the red grape skins are left in for only 24 hours, then removed, which gives the wine a lighter color. 

Sara also had us do a "blind" olive oil tasting. See the two bottles covered in aluminum foil in the background above? One is grocery store olive oil and one is DOP, the government stamp of approval for olive oil. Again, to get a DOP label oil makers need to follow strict guidelines. And you can taste it, too! The DOP oil went right down and had a little burning sensation in the throat. The grocery store version sort of coated the mouth with an oily film. Sara said both oils are necessary. The DOP wine is so expensive that you wouldn't want to use it in cooking - that's what the grocery store olive oil is for. But you do want to use it for bruschetta, dipping bread, salad dressing, etc. Another interesting fact Sara told us is that olive oil does not need to be kept in the fridge. Italians do not keep their olive oil in the fridge, but they don't keep it on the counter, either. It's kept in a dark glass bottle or in a tin and then stored in a very dark place between uses. Well, shoot. I've been doing that wrong!

 

For lunch, we started with an appetizer. All of our meals have started with an appetizer here! We had four different types of bruschetta, some are traditional Tuscan favorites that were different for us: 

1. Tomato, Basil, and Onion
2. Chicken liver pate - a Tuscan favorite, it was everywhere. We gave it a taste, but it wasn't our thing. 
3. Cannolini beans, Sara said, Tuscans are obsessed with them! We saw them on every single menu.
4. Prosciutto

All of them were drizzled liberally with Tuscan olive oil!

We had 2 pastas for lunch. The first is a ricotta ravioli with a white truffle and peccorino cheese sauce. They just slice the truffles on top, because cooking ruins them. When done properly, the truffle pasta is delicious! Next, we had pappardelle with a wild boar ragu sauce. It was also delicious! Boar is delicious; they cook it like a roast and add it to the sauce. Apparently, wild boar are everywhere in Tuscany, and they taste good, so it's an inexpensive, easy dinner. Something I've noticed is that all of the red sauce we've had has some kind of meat in it - either ground beef or boar. At home, we've never made our sauce with meat, so it's really different for me. I was talking to one of our guides, and they said that a meatless sauce comes from the south of Italy, which makes sense because that's where my Dad's family comes from, and that's the sauce we make.

By the way, this is our off-roading vehicle for our wine safari! It's ginormous! Did I mention that I forgot my mecclezine at home? Super fun.

Our final stop was at the estate where Porggio Torselli wines are made. This is a much bigger winery, producing about 150,000 bottles a year. 

The driveway lined with Cyprus trees was stunning!

Viola, one of the wine makers, gave us an in-depth tour of the production. You can see how much bigger the fermentation vats are compared to Principe Corsini, our first stop. 

The cement vats looked impressive! A staircase to the top allows employees to check on the wines throughout the process.

The fermentation cellar was similar to the previous one we saw, with large and small oak barrels. The smaller barrels can only be used 3-4 times, then need to be discarded. The larger one have 2 inch thick oak walls. After the wine is removed, someone goes inside and scrapes the edges to get all the skins, seeds, and sediment out and ready for the next batch. Some of the oak from the barrel wall comes off with the scraping; that's why the 2-inch-walled barrels can last a year longer.

Once the tour was over, we went to enjoy the garden. Oh, the gardens! I felt like I was in a Bridgerton episode. Even more so when we stepped into the ballroom! 

It's finally time to mangiare and bere! (eat and drink)

Viola introduced us to a rosato, Bizzaria, that is served chilled. By this time, we were exhausted! We tried 4 other wines, but I didn't write them down. They were all good and not surprisingly, our favorite was the Grand Selectizone.

Needless to say, we rested well once we got back to the room! Another fabulous day in the books!! 🩷

Day 8: Market and Eating Florence Tour

Day 8

We slept in and made a quick trip to the Market to explore on our own, then later on had a walking food tour of Florence to get tips on foods unique to Florence and where to find the best of the best! You need to get a handle on the food scene right away if you're going to blend in with the Italians. Although I'm fairly sure walking around with my phone in my had and Bry with a backpack pegged us as out of towners right off the bat. 🤔

Tina was our guide with Eating Europe. We loved her! First, she took us to Pasticceria Forno, where we met the owner, who was 97 years old. She ran the pastry shop for over 60 years! Tina said that every day she dresses to the nines. We loved her! 

Next, Tina took us to Zanobini's wine bar. The Zanobini brothers have been making wine since before 1944. Now Mario, one of the sons, is running the business. We were able to meet him and sample the award winning wines in his private wine cellar, an opportunity only open to us because of Tina's relationship with the family. We were honored! 

The gentleman at the beginning of the video in a blazer and glasses is Mario Zanobini himself! We spent quite a bit of time talking to him at the end of our stay. He's genuine and down to earth and answered our questions sincerely. 

We have learned so much about Chianti wines, so now is time for me to regurgitate what we've learned. Chiani Classico is the wine from the best grapes in the region. The dark orange on the map is where the grapes grow best - it is between the towns of Florence, Pisa, Sienna, and Arezo. I didn't realize that Chianti isn't actually a grape, but a blend of grapes. The government regulates the wines, and to be a true Chianti Classico the wine must be made from at least 80% Sangiovese grapes produced in the dark orange area, and then the rest can be made up of one or more other wines from the region such as merlot, cabernet savignon, etc. As sangiovese is my favorite, it's no wonder that I enjoy CC wines!

Cocoli were served with the wine at each stop. Cocoli means to cuddle, so cute! In this case it is a cured meat, cheese, bread, or cracker appetizer - typically whatever the wine pairs well with.

We were able to sample 5 wines at this stop, three made by the Zanobini brothers, and two others. Each wine falls into one of the categories below: 

• Vino da tavola, or basic table wines. 

• IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) is an Italian wine classification created in 1992 for quality wines that do not meet the strict regulations of DOC/DOCG, allowing producers more freedom with grape varieties and techniques. Known as "Typical Geographical Indication," IGT wines are often high-quality, international-style, or "Super Tuscan" wines. The wine to the far left was a Super Tuscan and it was delicious!

• DOC stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata ("Controlled Designation of Origin"), an Italian wine classification ensuring quality and authenticity. These wines are produced in specific regions using strict regulations regarding grape varieties, yields, and aging. It indicates a regulated, authentic Italian wine, often considered superior to table wine (IGT) but below DOCG.
  

• DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) is Italy's highest quality classification for wine, representing prestigious, strictly regulated wines. It guarantees the geographic origin, traditional production methods, and superior quality, marked by a numbered government seal on the bottleneck. Examples include Barolo, Chianti Classico, and Amarone. 

If you look again at the bottles above, on the bottle 2nd from the right you see and band on the neck of the bottle with the DOC band. On the two bottles to the left of it you can see the DOCG band. Tina had us try the Super Tuscan to show us that superior wines can be IGT - it gives the wine makers more freedom to try new blends or processes and be creative. 

The wine on the far right is a Rosato. It is a lighter color because they remove all the skins just 24 hours into fermentation. This produces a lighter color because the skins provide color. It also produces a lighter flavor that is delicious. 

We gained so much knowledge in just the first two stops! But there is more! Next, we head to Simbiosi, and an organic pasta restaurant. 

We loved getting to see the chef preparing the food! Tina is showing us the type of truffle that will be used in our angel hair pasta. Did you know there are several types of truffles?

The first pasta on the menu was angel hair with truffles and a pecorino, olive oil sauce. It was fantastic! Did you know that truffles cannot be cooked or it ruins the flavor? I had no idea! The second pasta we had was potato ravioli with wild-boar ragu. Also, delicious! We have been so surprised at how much they use potatoes. They have potatoes as a side for pasta dishes, inside pasta, on top of pizza - they're everywhere!

Next stop, Cantina De'Pucci for Florentine Steak. We stopped at a wine window on the way in! Our first one was so fun!

A little history, Emilio Pucci (1914–1992) was an Italian aristocrat and fashion designer known as the "Prince of Prints". He revolutionized 1950s-60s fashion with vibrant, kaleidoscopic, geometric patterns and lightweight, stretch fabrics. Famous for sportswear, silk jerseys, and luxury swimwear, he became an icon of Italian jet-set style worn by celebrities like Marilyn Monroe and Jacqueline Kennedy. 

Pucci operated from his family palace in Florence, and members of the 

family still live there today. Cantina De'Pucci is located in the basement 

of the palace.

Traditional Florentine steak is made with a T-bone. It is thickly cut - the one above is about 3 inches thick! They bring it to your table for you to approve, then they cook it up. Florentine steak is made rare. They cook it on a grill, 5 minutes on one side, 5 minutes on the other side, and 5 minutes with the flat side on the grill. Once cooked, they bring it back sliced and on the plate.

Tina told us it's a sign that you appreciated the meal if you eat the meat off the bone at the table. Team Hill stepped up to the plate!

Our final stop was at La Strega Nocciola Gelateria for the best gelato I've ever had! I chose lavender, and it was divine! I wish I could show it to you, but it went down too darn fast!

Thank you, Tina, for a lovely day! We get to go to bed with full bellies and happy hearts! 🩷