Under the Tuscan Sun

Rich:

The hardest part of living in Tuscany is WHERE DO YOU START??
When you have done a little research on the towns and villages of Tuscany it becomes overwhelming in deciding which to visit. Each has its own unique food, wine, historical elements and charm that figure into the mind numbing choices. Then you whittle down by distance, bus and train availability, or automotive feasibility (not to mention the economic considerations of Rental cars and fuel) and you realize even a Local hasn't visited the majority of these Italian treasures.
We will just have to return,  I believe we could spend March-May in Italy for the next 10 years and still have places to visit. Italy has 49 UNESCO World Heritage sites, no other country comes close.

Siena's most beautiful Duomo, maybe the nicest in Italy.

The Baptistery in Siena, the Font sculpted byDonatello 

Views of Voltarra, San Ginminagna ( stunning village of towers) and the obligatory Gelato,
These guys won the World Championship.

Wanda:
A wonderful day Under The Tuscan Sun for me was June 2, 2014.  It just happened to be a national holiday in Italy know as Republic Day or Festa della Rebubblica in Italian.  (It celebrates the day when Italians voted to abolish the monarchy in 1946 so their country could become a republic).

Florence was going to be crowded and busy - so what a great day for us to be invited to hang out in the country with our new friends Harpert and Elena:

The first stop is lunch in the country outside of Poggibonsi - Castellina in Chianti.  Elena's mother prepared a wonderful lunch of Ravioli stuffed with ricotta and spinach with butter and fresh sage from her yard, and of course topped with parmesan!!  2nd course was rolled chicken with mortadella and olives, a tomato salad (I helped with), and for dessert, gelato and biscotti with Vin Santo.  

Un pasto meravigilioso!  Vi ringrazio tanto!

Our next stop is a visit down the road to Elena and Harperts friends - Allesandro and Otello.   They own Tenuta Villa Rosa, a winery in Castellina in Chianti.
This was definitely a treat for us.....

We are introduced to Allesandro, as you can tell he and Elena are very close friends!

We are captivated by Otello, as he introduces us to the winery.  
(I think Harpert was looking for the Black Rooster)

We get our own private tasting and you can tell Otello is a very proud Papa of his Chianti Classico 2010 vintage!

 Rich gets the first taste...

Thanks for the tour Otello!  We need more than a tasting now, bring that wine outside....

....More tasting to Allesandro and Otello means a meal with your wine - and not just one wine! - The Chianti Classico Riserva  was just a start. and the ending was Grappa - Molto Buono!  
The Tuscan sun was warm today, so sitting outside with a wonderful meal including fresh fry bread, home-made spicy sausages, BBQ chicken and lettuce fresh from the garden was perfect. 
This day of Tuscan wine and new friends is something we will always remember.

Evviva! to Otello and Alessandro - Grazie!!  
Also, Happy Birthday to Otello, we had a wonderful evening singing birthday songs to Otello!

...and that is the story of Under the Tuscan Sun! 

Thank you Elena and Harpert for helping make our stay in Tuscany a memorable one!

ARRIVEDERCI  ITALIA!!

Wanda's Birthday Week In Italy

Richard:

32 years ago the start of many family traditions began, including celebrating our May birthdays with as much gusto as possible. Swine and Dine International was also initiated and when you combine the two it creates a fantastic culinary month.  Buon compleanno!

Take out Food in Florence! 
Generous slices of porquetta, mushroom sauce (unbelievable sauce!), pomodoro and arugula with olive oil on a just-out-of-the oven foccaccia bread.  A much needed break after climbing the 400 steps of the Santa Maria del Fiore - Duomo!
 We read Calvin Trillin's book "Alice, Lets Eat" (a very good read) 32 years ago and live by many of its principles regarding eating while travelling, including when it is time to stop looking at monuments and start enjoying the local food. Thanks Mr.Trillin.

Wanda:

Yes, birthday celebrations for us are always longer than the day we were born - we usually stretch it out for the entire month of May since Richard's special day is in May as well. 

A visit to the Chianti region in Tuscany. 
 If the bottle of Chianti Classico you are drinking does not have the black rooster on it, it's not authentic.

Wine tasting in the Chianti Classico region.  
The longest established viticulture area in Italy marked out in 1716 by the Grand Duke Cosimo III de Medici.  The bottles are marked by a Black Rooster logo which sets it apart from standard Chianti.
I'm not sure if this is true of every winery here - we shared 3 bottles among 4 people, so we got more than a taste!

Jenifer and Jacopo of Colorado are honeymooning through Italy - 
Jacopo's dad is from Venizia -  so he looks right at home here.
Salute to your new life together!

Richard leads us all into La Toppa to end our wine tasting tour with more wine and food

Our wine tasting group enjoyed a TipicoTuscan meal of 2 types of pasta - penne with meat sauce and tripolini with pomodoro, sausage and Tuscan beans, pork loin and potatoes, topped off by my birthday cake of the best Tiramisu.  (Sorry, pictures of this wonderful meal were too blurry to use- I wonder why?) 
 Fellow Oenophiles were from Canada, Sweden, Australia, and USA

Grazie mille, Suzette and Carl!
From the Land Down Under- this delightful couple celebrating 40 years together shared a very special bottle of wine with us.  Felice Anniversario!

We were not expecting (but very happy) to be invited to dinner with Elena and Harpert.
 Richard Messina, a founding member of  Swine and Dine, and whom you may remember from our earlier Amsterdam post, introduced us. Richard was always good with pairings.

The Tuscan meal Elena, prepared for us was a Panzenella Salad, Pear and Gorgonzola Pasta,  fresh artichoke Frittatta, and for dessert Panna Cotta topped with a homemade blackberry sauce! 
Welcome our newest member of Swine and Dine International, Italian Chapter.

Harpert, a wine connoisseur, was saving his extraordinary 2003 Chianti Classico Riserva for a special occasion - well when he opened it,  he sure made us feel special!
(How did he know it was my birthday? : )

After a wonderful meal from chef Elena, we were ready for our Grappa lesson from Harpert.
We were feeling europhic at the end of the evening or I mean wee hours of the morning!
Grazie Grazie mille!!!

Thanks Richard and Renata!
I have to say this was one of my best birthdays - it was a great week and the month just started!!