Panzano in Chianti

Here we are in Chianti, Tuscany. True, we were already in Tuscany when we visited Florence, but now we KNOW we are in Tuscany.  OMG!  We are in love with this part of Italy. Tuscany certainly does not offer the most beautiful vistas we've experienced on this trip, given what we saw on the Amalfi coast and the Liguria regions, but there is something about the combination of the hot Tuscan sun on rolling hills speckled with orchards and vineyards, the shadows, the depth of the landscape, that is so enchanting. As with many parts of Italy, we feel a sense of awe at how the land has been groomed to yield up its fruits... and in Tuscany, this often translates into wine!

View from the gardens of Villa Le Barone ...the mist, we've been told, is the result of unusually large amounts of precipitation the region has experienced this summer

A vista from another garden at Villa Le Barone ...we don't have to go far to see amazing vistas!

Villa Le Barone is a gorgeous spot.  Thanks to George and Elaina for suggesting it!  Your instincts that we would love it were one hundred percent right on.  The property is absolutely beautiful, with lovely gardens that offer public as well as private spaces for guests.  Great food too!

Today, we decided to walk to Panzano, I know, we're supposed to take it easy, but we seem to be hooked on exploring everything we can get our little paws into.  By the time we were half way along, sweating, winded, and wondering what the heck was wrong with us, um...there's a really nice pool at the villa we could have been enjoying instead, we caught up to an elderly woman and her walking companion who had already made the trek down the road from Panzano and were now heading back, uphill!  They were keeping a steady pace, thus having the double impact of both putting us to shame and proving inspirational at the same time.

This elderly woman made us look like spoiled North American wussies!

Once in Panzano, we decided to take the bus to Greve where we enjoyed what has become a staple for us at lunch, a Capresi salad with a glass of white wine, accompanied by bread with olive oil and balsamic, of course, not the real thing however, as we learned a few days ago.   We did make it back to the villa by 2:30 and yes, pool time!

Backtracking a bit, I forgot to mention that we hired a driver, Rosano, to take us to Villa Le Barone, and as part of the drive there, we stopped at a balsamic vinegar factory, San Donnino, and a winery in the Emilia Romagna region, just outside of Bologna. Rosano actually arranged these tours for us. We found him very helpful and informative.  At San Donnino, we had quite an education about true traditional balsamic vinegar.  It is in fact, not really vinegar at all.  The real traditional stuff is boiled down right after the grapes are pressed. The process is quite complex and occurs over a minimum of 6 years, with 12 years required for the silver standard and 24 for the gold!  They have some balsamic bottles that are over 50 years old.  Unbelievable! As the juice ferments, it is passed from the largest to the smallest of six barrels, and repeated each year until the final yield is ready.  In order to qualify as true Balsamico di Modena, the final product is tested by a licensed consortium, where it is bottled and returned to the producers for marketing.  We tasted the 6, 12 and 24 year product and wow...yummy!  It was great on ice cream too, believe it or not.  And Bob, if you'r reading this, yes...we're bringing some of the real thing home for you :)

This girl knows everything there is to know about traditionally produced balsamic vinegar!

Our stop at the winery was also very interesting.  The vintner is a former journalist who lost his job during the financial crisis in Italy.  We've been hearing quite a bit about the negative impact the switch from the Lira to the Euro has had on the everyday worker. His was just such a case. However, Davide's wife's family owns a vineyard which he and his wife have now taken over.  They produce an excellent white wine from Pignoletto grapes.  We loved both the still and sparkling white wine.  Davide, the owner prepared a lovely "snack" of bruschetta, a variety of salumi, prosciutto and cheese as a compliment to our wine tasting.  His Merlot was also quite good.

View from Davide's vineyard..Emilia Romagna Region

Labelling for the wine was inspired by the work of Davide's wife's grandfather, a well known local artist

That's it for now.  Tomorrow we'll be chilling by the pool until 3:00, at which time the cooking class starts.  Really looking forward to that.

Before signing off, is it me, or is Charles starting to look Italian?

Just sayin'