Tuscany 2

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Wednesday Nov. 17

With a busy day ahead of us, we got an early start to visit the weekly Certaldo outdoor market. We thought this would be a farmer’s market, but it was really more like a flea market with a variety of wares from clothing to knick-knacks to local crafts and produce. We planned to stock up on picnic foods, and buying them was certainly the highlight of the market trip. I brushed up on my Italian phrases before arriving and did a sufficient job of communicating with the merchants in very poor Italian, supplemented by slightly-better Spanish (which is similar to Italian in that they are both Romance languages, but the similarities end there). The merchants were surprisingly empathetic and helpful during my poor attempt to speak their language. We managed to purchase tomatoes, celery, chicory, apples, sharp provolone cheese, pecorino cheese, bread, and a delightful assortment of four different olives. We also got a sort of stuffed pizza for breakfast that was filled with sautéed chicory, cheese, and olive oil.

Next we headed to Castello di Brolio for a wine tasting. Unfortunately we underestimated the amount of time required to navigate the small country roads to

get there, so we missed our scheduled tour. We had lunch in a tratoria while waiting for the next one, where we tried roasted pigeon and a butternut squash ravioli, both local specialties. The winery tour focused on the history and development of the centuries-old wine-making techniques. Brolio is where Baron Bettino Ricasoli invented the Chianti formula in 1872. It is supposedly the oldest winery in Italy, the second oldest in the world. Today it is the largest winery in the Chianti Classico area. We were surprised at the unpretentious, industrial feel of this winery given its location on the grounds of a medieval castle and it’s reputation for producing some of the best wine in the Chianti region. The tour emphasized a quality wine-making process, not the bells and whistles. We were able to see every aspect of wine production, even the bottling and distribution warehouse, which is usually excluded from American winery tours because it is not as “sexy”. After the tour we tasted Brolio’s reserve wines in the private tasting room. A friendly and knowledgeable Florentine university student joined us for the reserve tasting; he was working on a senior thesis concerning the co-evolution of viticulture and social culture in the Chianti region of Tuscany, and was more than willing to share his knowledge. What luck!

Next we took a tour of the castle. Castello di Brolio dates back to the middle ages, but castle passed into the hands of the Ricasoli family due to an exchange of lands in 1141. On the border between the territories of Siena and Florence, Brolio soon became the stage for all the disputes of the period, protecting Florence from the fearsome Siena. Through the centuries the castle has suffered attack and destruction in numerous historical battles, mostly recently during bombings and artillery attacks in WWII. We observed the difference in the color and texture of stone between the original stone of the castle, built around 1000 AD, and the “new” stone used to rebuild the castle after Sienese battles around 1300 AD (if I recall correctly). The newest addition to Brolio is a manor house built in the 19th century, which is closed to the public because the current Baron still resides here!

We were escorted up a long flight of stone stairs to tour the portion of the castle that Baron Ricasoli used as his home. The

chirp-like vocalizations of bats set and erie mood during our ascension, which made our quirky guide quite nervous since she recently had an encounter with a bat stuck in the castle during a tour! Baron Ricasoli’s private quarters were very much intact. We were able to see the original furniture, layout, and artifacts of his bedroom, parlor, guest rooms, armory, and laboratory (used for researching wine and cataloguing local flora and fauna). Nate was quite enamored with the castle architecture, and of course, the ancient weapons! After our tour, we explored the castle grounds on our own and watched the beautiful Tuscan sunset from Brolio’s ancient walls.

We left Brolio to try, once again, to dine at Osteria del Carcere in the medieval town of San Gimignano which supposedly sold the infamous local goat cheese – and, once again, we failed. This restaurant is apparently closed on Wednesdays, which is not unusual, as Tuscan restaurants may be closed on any night(s) of the week or even just whenever they feel like it, as opposed to American restaurants which are typically closed Sunday or Monday, if ever. We ended up at Ristobar Antica Macelleri on a local’s recommendation. This casual,

down-to-earth restaurant was (to our delight) devoid of tourists and served wonderfully authentic food. Everything we ate was delicious and had a comfort-food feel. The waiter barely spoke enough English to take our order. The service was slow but this somehow added an extra element of relaxation. We shared:

Primi:
1) Zuppa de Cereali (cereal soup), lentils, white beans, barley (I think), and potatos in thick chicken broth topped with a generous drizzle of yellow-green olive oil
2) Tagliatelle al Capriolo, homemade tagliatelle pasta (shaped like fettucine) with venison sauce (a brown sauce with finely ground venison)

Secondi:
Coniglio alla Vernacia, baked rabbit in a Vernacia (white wine) sauce with minced onion and carrot; rabbit tasted a lot like dark-meat chicken

Contorni:
Grigliate, grilled vegetables, drenched in olive oil and lightly seasoned

Vino:
Vernachio de San Gimignano, the local white wine that San Gimignano is known for

After this fabulous meal we headed back to the Villa where we had a romantic fire-side desert. A wonderful end to another wonderful day!

Thursday Nov. 18

Today we went to Castello di Verrazzano, another ancient castle-winery. It was quite an adventure getting there (as

usual) as our GPS routed us down miles and miles of windy, flooded dirt roads lined with olive trees and vineyards. I have a feeling there was a more direct route, but the scenery was worth it, and we stopped several times to take it all in. I was determined to taste an olive straight from the tree, so on one of our stops I plucked off the blackest, juiciest, most beautiful fruit I could find – which was extremely spicy, bitter, and terrible! No wonder they cure these things!

We finally arrived at the winery and began our tour where we learned about the history of the Castle. The vineyards and olive groves at at Castello di Verrazzano date back to the 14th century. Giovanni da Verrazzano, a celebrated navigator who discovered the bay of New York and the majority of the east coast of America, was born here in 1485. The famous bridge in New York was named after him in 1964. The important Florentine family of Ridolfi succeeded the Verrazzano after the death of the last descendant and initiated great work in agriculture and culture. In 1958 the Cappellini family took over the Castle and restored

it to its former glory by renovating the Villa and rebuilding the agriculture according to an ancient model. Now Castello di Verrazzano is undoubtedly one of the most reputable wineries in the area. The name Verrazzano is derived from “verres”, the alpha male wild boar. Therefore Verrazzano means "land of wild boars", which are raised on the grounds and have become a kind of mascot.

After the tour we opted for a “light” wine-pairing lunch over the heavy lunch option, which was still more than we could possibly eat! It is considered tacky to ask for a doggie-bag in Italy unless it is actually for your dog, but we had enough wine by the end of the lunch that we really didn’t care, and we took home quite a bit! We had a vast selection of antipasti, cured meats, cheeses, fresh fruits and vegetables, olives, bread, house-made olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and honey from the vineyard hives…and, of course, wine! We even tasted “Coppa di Testa”, a type of Italian head cheese made from the wild boar with a surprisingly pleasant flavor. We dined for a couple hours at a community table, making fast friends with Allison and Cisco,

a young pair of honeymooners from Texas. Still on my determined quest to find that damn goat cheese, I asked our host if they had any. She said they didn’t carry it now because it is out of season, but that the goat farm where it is made was just down the road. Although the farm is not open to the public, she knew the owner and phoned the farm to tell them we would like to visit and taste the cheese. We were soon on our way to another adventure, accompanied by Allison and Cisco.

More bumpy, dusty, muddy dirt roads... I wouldn’t say the goat farm was “just down the road” as it seemed to take about 45 min to get there. The sun was low in the sky when we finally arrived and it was time to herd the goats in for the night. We even got to help! (see videos) After the herding and feeding the goats, we were able to sample the last of the seasons goat cheese. It was unlike any goat cheese I’ve ever tasted. Instead of the soft chèvre we’re used to, this cheese was firm and had a very sharp

and surprisingly spicy-hot bite. We had no idea what adventures awaited us Italy, but we certainly never imagined that herding goats on a rural Tuscan farm would be one of them. What an experience!

We left the goat farm and headed towards Panzano where we had reservations at the restaurant Solociccia, locally known as the Butcher’s. This landmark restaurant, owned by the local meat merchant Dario Cecchini, is known for serving a set menu of no-less-than 6 meat courses. We were seated at a round communal table with an Italian family of 8 who were celebrating their grandfather’s birthday. They were very open and social, including us in the birthday festivities, with the more fluent English-speakers translating for the rest. To our embarrassment, their 16 year old grandson seemed to know more about both American politics and sports than we did, and nonchalantly said that when he thinks of Americans he thinks of Playboy, as if that is the most natural association in the world. The waiters brought the menu, which began with the message “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here, for you are in the hands of the Butcher” and continued to describe our six meat courses

(see the photo of the menu) served with House-made red wine, the sides of Tuscan white beans, raw vegetables served with olive oil, and local bread, and a desert of olive oil cake with coffee, grappa, and a variety of digestif liquors. Dishes were served family-style on big platters that the whole table shared. We ate it all and left with very full bellies. This was unlike any meal we had experienced in Italy thus far. All dishes were delicious, although the braised beef and vegetable salad and the roasted pork really stood out. The entire experience lasted over 3 hours. What an amazing day! 57 Photo(s): 21 Displayed : Extra Photos: « Back 1 2 3 Next » 57 Photo(s): 21 Displayed : Extra Photos: « Back 1 2 3 Next »