Day 7: Tuscany Wine Tour/San Gimignano

Day 7: Tuscany wine tour/San Gimignano
What a perfect day today was! We met with the tour at the National Library at 8:30, and it was a group of 8. Ilaria (Hillary) took us (she’s the business partner of the woman Rebecca, who runs the tours) and she was really exceptional. Someone on the tour had gone yesterday to the Montepulciano one that I was originally scheduled on and said that overall this was better. We drove through the countryside past Siena and arrived at 10 am for our chocolate tasting. Yes, 9:30 am. Oh, what the hell! We tried a white chocolate with hazelnuts, a light chocolate called ‘latte’, then dark chocolates in 50%, 70% and 99%. Last we had a candied orange peel in dark chocolate. All were great, and surprisingly I really enjoyed the orange peel (I’ve never liked orange and chocolate.) Unfortunately it wouldn’t hold up well in the heat, so I left with none. So sad.

We then headed for our first wine tour at around 10 am. A bit early, but hey, we were all troopers. The vineyard was gorgeous! They have been a family business since 1970, when it was started by the current owner’s grandfather. They went biodynamic in 1987. Organic is when no chemicals are used, but biodynamic goes a step further and does not use any extra intervention, including even water. They are very careful of the weather conditions and totally reliant on them. It was really interesting and Helena, the wife and owner with her husband, gave us quite an interesting lesson. The timing was pefect as well, as they were going to harvest their whites tomorrow, 20 days earlier than normal due to the hot and dry weather conditions this summer. The vineyard covered 7 hectares, so it is quite small.

The house was gorgeous as well, and we were ‘greeted’ by a sleeping Pico, the dog. He was in the path and dead out until he realized he could get belly rubs, and lots of belly rubs. He just laid there though and never followed our tour! The views from the hill that the vineyard is on was also beautiful. There are many shells in the soil, indicating that the area was once under the sea. The house is called by a beautiful italian name (which escapes me) but means House of Dove. They used doves previously for communication, and apparently, it was also served up for special occasions! They also have many fruit trees planted for variety, and it’s believed to be good for the soil. Helena is clearly passionate about her work and the vineyard, and has a very holistic view of nature and the contribution. Oh, the winery is called Columbaia.

She walked us through the fields, then past a lovely herb garden with basil, sage and rosemary scenting the area before taking us through the supply and processing area. They produce 2 barrels a year of the red, storing it for two years, which makes 7,000 bottles. They make 1,050 bottles of the white. During the fermentation process they add nothing, so all the fermentation is purely natural. Someone actually asked if they stomp grapes (like in the ‘I Love Lucy’ episode) and Helena looked a bit horrified. She explained that fermentation begins inside the grape, so it’s not necessary. We walked through the storage and filtration areas and then to a room just a little lower than ground level where the wine is stored, then had machines for bottling, corking and labeling. They do this twice a year. Only Helena and her husband work there, but during the harvest they do hire a few extra people. This room was incredibly cool, both as it was low in the ground but also because there were plants growing on the roof. She said it also keeps the air pure in the building. Pruning is done purely by hand with shears, and they carry bags of the grapes and stems for processing.

This small winery sells to Japan, England, France, Germany and some in NYC. A small amount in Italy as well, and they work with very small producers and distributers. She took email addresses for interested people to send a list of distributors. Then the wine tasting began, and I enjoyed some of the best wines I’ve ever had. And I do so enjoy wine! There were three reds, and she gave us really large pours. The first was a 2007 Vino Rosso Toscano from the first harvest (Vigna Nuova). The smell was nicely fruity and the wine was delicious. A semi-heavy red with legs, but very very smooth and delicious. The second wine was my favorite (and I had to buy a bottle!) It was a 2005 Chianto Colli Senesi, DOCG, which is 80+% sangiovese. It was very smooth, full bodied, fruity and flowery smelling. She said the flowery smell was because they had snow the winter before, so the summer was beautiful with lots of flowers. The wine was very complex and good. The last was a 2003 Chanti Colli Senesi Riserva, also sangiovese. It was very good, but had a tartness to it that I didn’t enjoy as much as the 2005. We enjoyed the wines in a shaded area under a tree and had a great conversation. Helena shared that she only does organized tours with the group we were with.

We left to go to a lunch place called Il Castagnolino, which was also gorgeous with lovely views overlooking olive trees and sloping hills. There were two dogs there, and one actually purred when she got belly rubs! The other, Sara, loved fetch, so several of us played with her a bit. This farm is known for their olive oil and saffron, and they showcased both beautifully with our lunch. We had a white vernaccia which was pretty good (for a white!) called La Marronaia. They served a plate of appetizers with a small eggplant, tomato and mozzerella, two toasts with pesto and tomato, and white beans, a crepe with onions, and saffron rolls. The main course was an absolutely amazing fresh raviolli filled with ricotta, covered in pecorino, saffron and some olive oil. It was one of the most amazing things I’ve tasted. The views were exceptional and the meal memorable. We then had saffron ice cream with small local berries, followed by espresso. Perfect! Sara’s interest in fetching a half-eaten bright orange ball would have put Sonnie, my retriever, to shame, but sadly we had to leave for our last tasting.

This place was the Manizzi Winery in San Gimignano, which really paled in comparison. We had a lot of tastings, and after a while it was too much! Four whites, a rose, and three reds. I liked one of the whites fairly well and the reds were all ok, but had pungency I didn’t really care for. The woman was very nice but not as warm and enthusiastic and really didn’t educate us much about the winery or the wines. We also didn’t tour the grounds (which by the end of the tasting, was quite ok!!) The winery covered 18 hectares, so was much larger in comparison.

We then went to San Gimignano, which was much more beautiful than I expected. We unfortunately only had 45 minutes, so we quickly toured. Kim bought a couple of pictures and a hard carved corkscrew/foil knife for her husband. We walked around with Rhonda from Calgary and Kim from Santa Monica, both of which were really fun. We did trade emails. Kim wants to move to Italy, and I expect we’ll keep in touch. The town was very quaint and nice.

We headed back and the car was very quiet! We said goodbye to Kim, and walked towards our hotel, then dropped Rhonda as well. We shopped a bit, and Kim bought a green amber bracelet and earrings that she saw a couple of days ago and wanted. We then went to a place for dinner recommended by our hotel and had a very good meal. We got grilled vegetables and salami, italian salad, the tomato and bean soup (fagioli) and a margharita pizza with ham and artichoke hearts. A couple from Toronto sat next to us, so we talked to them a bit. They were two more days in Florence then headed to the Turino mountains then Venice, so we gave them some suggestions. We then walked a little bit and headed back to our hotel to pack and relax a bit. We head to the train tomorrow to go back to Venice for another day. We’re staying in a different part of town called Cannaregio in the northern part of Venice, and I’m looking forward to exploring it. It will be nice to be a bit off the main tourist path!