Italy Road Trip Continued - Montalcino
When you drive through Tuscany, there are so many small, quaint looking little towns along the way. Some are just a few houses on the side of the road, others are bigger towns set-up the edge of a hill. I wish I could claim to have stumbled upon this little gem of a town, Montalcino, all on my own, but luckily, a friend of a friend had given us the idea to stop in on our way to Rome.
We almost skipped. it. After a morning of walking around Siena a bit more, we were ready to get to Rome. But, our stomachs didn't want to wait until Rome to eat and as we know, wine goes great with lunch, so we figured, why not eat lunch in a wine town? So, with that in mind, we stopped in Montalcino on our way into Rome.
The city was a cute medieval town (do those two words even go together?) It had a fortress and lots of little winding streets lined with shops with fabulous culinary finds.We sampled amaro, grappa and my personal favorite - chocolate liqueur.
After a delicious lunch, we decided to check out one of the local wineries on our way in to Rome. Paul and I had been to Napa before, but I have to say that this doesn't even compare. In Napa, you have these giant vineyards and wineries that you stop in for a tour and tastings. They're great. I mean anywhere you can drink wine all day is great, right?
But there was just something special about these little vineyards in Montalcino.
The vineyard we stopped at was called La Fornace - it was run by a family. They have 11 acres for both grapes and olives and produce 18,000 bottles a year. While that is still a lot of wine, it seems like a whole different affair than what you see in Napa. We did our tasting in a special room in their home. We got to walk along the vineyard and try the grapes themselves. And we enjoyed hearing their story of how the farm all started. I loved it - and even better, I loved the wine. We made it home with a couple bottles to enjoy for later on!
If you are interested in trying a wine from this region, the two main varieties produced are Montalcino Rosso and Montalcino Brunello. Our favorite was the Brnnello, but I think a wine tasting is in order for everyone to pick out their favorite.
We almost skipped. it. After a morning of walking around Siena a bit more, we were ready to get to Rome. But, our stomachs didn't want to wait until Rome to eat and as we know, wine goes great with lunch, so we figured, why not eat lunch in a wine town? So, with that in mind, we stopped in Montalcino on our way into Rome.
The city was a cute medieval town (do those two words even go together?) It had a fortress and lots of little winding streets lined with shops with fabulous culinary finds.We sampled amaro, grappa and my personal favorite - chocolate liqueur.
After a delicious lunch, we decided to check out one of the local wineries on our way in to Rome. Paul and I had been to Napa before, but I have to say that this doesn't even compare. In Napa, you have these giant vineyards and wineries that you stop in for a tour and tastings. They're great. I mean anywhere you can drink wine all day is great, right?
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| Vineyards and olive trees are everywhere |
But there was just something special about these little vineyards in Montalcino.
The vineyard we stopped at was called La Fornace - it was run by a family. They have 11 acres for both grapes and olives and produce 18,000 bottles a year. While that is still a lot of wine, it seems like a whole different affair than what you see in Napa. We did our tasting in a special room in their home. We got to walk along the vineyard and try the grapes themselves. And we enjoyed hearing their story of how the farm all started. I loved it - and even better, I loved the wine. We made it home with a couple bottles to enjoy for later on!
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| Paul testing out the grapes. They will be harvested early this year to the unseasonably hot summer |
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| Grapes! They are used for the wine, then the leftover skins from the wine making are used to make grappa |
If you are interested in trying a wine from this region, the two main varieties produced are Montalcino Rosso and Montalcino Brunello. Our favorite was the Brnnello, but I think a wine tasting is in order for everyone to pick out their favorite.
I have had great experiences. The food is great in all the countries you have mentioned. I live in Paris,France. If you need any help on choosing places to visit, don't hesitate.
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