Lee's Tuscan Odyssey: July 2010

In 2001 I came to live in Italy. I had some fun, wrote a journal and this is the blog of my story...

"Tuscany is a state of grace. The countryside is so lovingly designed that the eye sweeps the mountains and valleys without stumbling over a single stone. The lilt of the rolling green hills, the upsurging cypresses, the terraces sculptured by generations that have handled the rocks with skillful tenderness, the fields geometrically juxtaposed as though drawn by a draughtsman for beauty as well as productivity; the battlements of castles on the hills, their tall towers standing grey-blue and golden tan among the forest of trees, the air of such clarity that every sod of earth stands out in such dazzling detail. The fields ripening with barley and oats, beans and beets. The grape-heavy vines espaliered between the horizontal branches of silver-green olive trees, composing orchards of webbed design, rich in intimation of wine, olive oil and lacy-leaf poetry. Tuscany untied the knots in a man's intestines, wiped out the ills of the world. Italy is the garden of Europe, Tuscany is the garden of Italy, Florence is the flower of Tuscany." Irving Stone from my favourite book " The Agony and the Ecstacy" A fictional biography of Michelangelo

52. Sfuso and Sunflowers

The first two weeks of September haven't been brilliant weather wise, although we have been lucky with the weekends. The forecast isn't great for this weekend, but we take a chance anyway and plan to drive to the coast. We've packed overnight bags, picnic hamper and head off Saturday morning...

First stop is Villa Sant' Andrea. This is the wine estate where our favourite wine that we tasted at last week's wine festival comes from. It turns out to be just up the road! In the Cantina they let us taste the 1998 Riserva we tasted last week plus two other wines, the basic Chianti Classico and a Super Tuscan called Citille. We also spot some huge wooden vats, with the words 'sfuso' written on them... On further explanation it turns out you can also buy wine that hasn't been bottled for 1 euro 55 cents a litre, which works out at 75 p a bottle!!! All we need to do is return with a 5 litre fiasco and fill up! We buy 4 bottles of the '98 Riserva to keep us going!

As we come down the hill, we are greeted by what must be the last remaining field of Sunflowers. Generally Sunflowers are out from late June to early August, so we're lucky to still see some left. We stop and admire one of the symbols of Tuscany and then carry on with our journey to the coast...

51. Cortona

Well I suppose with all the build up to this place, actually coming here for the first time proved a little disappointing.

Cortona is the town where American author Frances Mayes has a house and in her books she waxes lyrical about what an amazing place it is...

Although Cortona is actually a pretty hill-top town which rises up to dominate the
Valdichiana with some spectacular views towards Umbria and just the faintest glimpse of Lake Trasimeno. The spoiling factor is that the small town is crawling with American tourists, so much so that you can hardly move! The once sleepy town has become a pilgrimage for Frances Mayes' fans!

Despite not being able to move we actually have a pleasant enough day here. On the approach up to the 600m town, the huge church of Santa Maria delle grazie dominates. We find a nice spot in the grounds of a 12th Century Monastery to have a picnic and enjoy the warm weather and great views.

Afterwards we wander through the cobbled medeival streets and relax, along with all the Americans on the steps in the towns hub, Piazza della Republicca. The medeival architecture is impressive and the Palazzo Communale especially so.

There are some Piero della Francesca frescoes hidden away, but far too many people are cramming to get in, we'll just have to return on a quieter day... still a pretty town and definitely worth exploring more out of season.

(Original journal entry 13/9/02)

50. Greve Wine Festival

So nearly a year after my first wine festival in the centre of Florence, we discover that Greve has its very own wine festival and it's held every September. So I must have just missed it last year as we didn't arrive until November. It is actually only the 12th edition, so it must have only started in 1990.

It's a weekend festival starting on the Friday evening and going on to the Sunday. There are lots of different activities planned and we come down to the square on the Friday evening, where they have set up two huge booths, with the bottles all numbered. We pick up 2 glasses, a ticket which allows us to have 8 tastes and a small booklet where all the wines are listed. I have no idea what I'm looking for! But with about 120 wines on show we're only going to get an idea of what's on offer.

To be honest they are all pretty impressive. I'm tending to go for the 'Riserva' wines as they are usually made from the estates best grapes, aged for 1 year to 18 months in huge Slavonic Oak barrels and then aged for an extra year in the bottle. The Riservas are a little fuller bodied than the basic Chianti Classicos, with some more interesting scents of violets and toasted vanilla. There are wines called 'Super Tuscans' here too, sometimes made with Cabernet Sauvignon grapes instead of the usual 'Sangiovese' which is the local grape variety in Tuscany. I'm still getting my head around all this new information...

My top 7 wines at the festival are:

1. Chianti Classico Riserva 1998 - San Andrea
2. Chianti Classico Riserva 1998 - Carpineto
3. Chianti Classico Cetinale Riserva 1999 - Tracolle
4. Chianti Classico Riserva 1998 - Buonasera
5. Chianti Classico Riserva 1998 - Castello di Meleto
6. Chianti Classico Doccio a Matteo Riserva 1999 Carpasa
7. Farnito Cabernet Sauvignon 1999 - Carpineto

(For my tasting notes on these wines see my wine blog )

We have a few tastes left on our ticket and return on the Sunday only to find that they've almost run out! Thank goodness we came on Friday! However if this happens every year then it's a date that I will have to put in my diary!

(Original journal entry 13/9/02)