Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Wine Tasting in Tuscany

On Friday the roommates and I decided to take a trip out to Tuscany for a wine tasting tour. I had been eyeing up signs in our hostel about wine tasting tours and Friday seemed like the perfect day. During the 40-minute bus ride our tour guide Paul gave us a quick “Wine for Dummies” talk. I actually learned quite a bit about how wine is made and a lot about the different varieties.

Our first stop was the vineyard Pietraserena located just outside of San Gimignano. The scene was as about as picture perfect as you can get when it comes to beautiful Tuscan countryside. When we arrived we were sent straight to work picking grapes. It was so much fun! I seemed to have the same problem I have with picking strawberries though, rather than put them in the basket I prefer to eat them. Yummy! I did fill a whole big basket on my own. I wouldn’t have minded picking grapes all day, but the tour continued with a tour through their facility. They do it all there including the bottling and packaging. It was neat to get a walk through of the whole process.

Then it was tasting time! We got to spend a few hours relaxing, sipping wine and eating lunch with a backdrop of rolling hills of vineyards. It was wonderful! The food was delicious and the wine was even better. I really liked their white wine and their rossa wine and bought a bottle of each. I did try a really good Chianti, but it is not my favorite…yet. J We shared a table with a couple from Australia and two girls from Ireland. It was fun to chat with them about their travels. After a few glasses we decided it was time to take some fun pictures with the grapes.

I could’ve lounged there all day, but we had to head to our next stop on the tour. This time it was to an actual wine tasting class. Here we learned the proper technique to wine tasting: how to swirl it in the glass, breathe it in and sip it through your teeth to get the full body. It was pretty funny! I also got to try some really good truffle oil and olive oil. Emily and I really liked the olive oil and decided to buy a big bottle for our apartment. Tasty! I also got to taste so 30-year-old balsamic vinegar! It was so delicious!

Then it was back on the bus to head home. That was when Paul told us about a big wine tasting festival going on Florence that weekend. Vineyards from across the area had tents and for 10 Euro you got a glass and could go tent to tent tasting the different wines. We managed to hit up quite a few tents and got to try even more great wine. It was the perfect way to wrap up our wine tasting day. It literally was a day full of wine!

Sadly this also means I will probably no longer be able to buy the cheap wine at the central market, but I should probably be drinking the good stuff while I am here. J I need to look up what the restrictions are for bringing wine home with me!

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