July 13^th, 2012

Day 55: Florence, Siena, San Gimignano and Chianti, Italy

This morning we had a relatively slow start, hanging out in the hotel until about 11:30 or so. We were ready to take on the town and hit the road for the wine tour when I google mapped the starting point and realized… (problem #1 on Friday the 13^th) it was an hour away in Siena. Oops! I had the front desk help me out a bit and call to see if we could join the tour that was leaving from Florence, but unfortunately there were only spots for the tour tomorrow, and we wouldn’t be here!

Stephen and I decided to hightail it to Siena (about an hour and 15 minute train ride) from the main train station. Cue problem #2: in our haste to get to the train station, we hadn’t eaten any breakfast or lunch and wanted to get at least something to sustain us on the train ride. I bought the tickets and Stephen went to the shop to get some sustenance- our train left at 12:10 and at 12:09 I still had no sight of Stephen. Finally, we met up (after his own little ordeal of running around the shop getting us food) and SPRINTED through the entire station because naturally, our track was impossible to find/tucked away in the farther corner of the station. Regardless, we made it! It’s the small victories…

After a little longer than initially stated, we made it to Siena. You guessed it, cue problem #3.  We arrived, got some powerades and realized that we had 5 minutes to make a 10-minute journey downtown. We didn’t know how to use the bus system properly, so we waited for a taxi. Behind 2 other couples. At 1:57, a taxi for us finally showed up and we hopped in and asked him to bring us downtown! The tickets that I had stated explicitly that they left promptly at 2. And there would be no refunds if you missed it. And you could not join the tour at any point afterwards. We ended up making it downtown on time, yet again, and found the bus with moments to spare before they left.

So off we were. Three potentially day-ruining problems out of the way an en route to our wine tour/tasting/exploration of Tuscany. We took the bus about 40 minutes away to a small medieval town called San Gimignano. When we stepped out of the bus, our first view was of the gorgeous countryside of Tuscany so naturally; I reached for my camera in my bag to take a photo. Yup- problem #4: camera got wet when some powerade from my water bottle spilled, and I think shorted out the connection to the battery. A really big bummer and big deal if you know how attached at the hip I am to that camera. But hey, I’m in Europe and I’ve gotta make the most of my time while I’m here so I’m not going to harp on it! Move on and keep livin’.

Anyway, we made our way into the main area of San Gimignano with a tour guide who had lived there for the past 26 years. We went on a 35-40 minute guided tour through the small town with her, learning about the history, founding and development over hundreds of years. San Gimignano is famous for its towers and its location at the center of the path between Siena and Florence. I forget the exact name of the path, but it was a huge focal point for trade and business as the cities and towns in Italy began to develop, which is why a settlement was created there in the first place. Travelers, businessmen, merchants, etc. all would pass through this area, so churches, accommodations and small shops began to open up to accommodate these passersby. San Gimignano became a very rich place, with many private families moving in. The city is also famous for its towers- at one point there were a total of 72 towers in the town, all built as private ‘defense towers’ by these families and serving as a symbol of status and power. The higher the tower, the more power you had. Eventually, there was a law passed in the area that no tower coulud be higher than the one over the Mayor’s building and all construction was ceased. Now, there are 14 towers in all, the remainder not being destroyed, but being redesigned and redeveloped to become a part of surrounding buildings- you can even still see some of the original tower work/stone work in the middle of new and more modern buildings!

After the tour, we had about 20 minutes of free time which Stephen and I used to wander the town and find a gorgeous scenic view of the Tuscan countryside.

  

We got back onto the bus and were off to Casanova winery, a 25 minute trip away. The winery is privately owned by one man who left his position as a big time veterinarian/businessman, managing over 3,000 people at one point, to buy some land and start his own winery. He also produces balsamic vinegar, honey, olive oil and truffle oil, along with the various kinds of wine. When he was giving us an introduction, it was really incredible to hear the emotional attachment he has to his work- he described his work as art and emphasized that it’s not an exact science- getting the wine, or the balsamic vinegar, or the olive oil right is a feeling. I was quite intrigued and really excited to taste the wine and other products once the time finally came!

We were guided into a larger room on the first floor of his shop/kitchen and sat around tables full of delicious looking samples of all of his products.

The first wine we tried was called “Facile Innamorarsi” which means “Easy to Fall in Love.” The grapes he uses to make this wine were found on the land when he purchased it. It had been out of commission for 70-80 years prior to his ownership and the vines had taken their own course of action and taken over the land. He kept a few of the plants that produced this specific grape because as he called it, the result (in the wine) was as if you were eating a white strawberry- a unique and interesting flavor he’d never captured before. The wine was incredible, very sweet but very light, and 18% alcohol! He said it’s the perfect wine to share with a friend on a sunny afternoon. Or a loved one, judging by the name!

Next, he invited us to try the piece of bread with the olive oil on it. The oil was incredibly tasty and very fresh. Too bad I only have a backpack, I would have brought home a bottle! After the bread came the second wine- a Tuscan Merlot that had his winery’s namesake, Casanova. The wine was delicious, and a perfect way to cleanse the palate before trying our next dish! He came around to each of us and poured his 8 year aged balsamic vinegar on a bean salad that we had on our plates. The salad was made up of cannellini beans, chick peas, onions and tomatoes, and the addition of the balsamic made it absolutely incredible. I love balsamic vinegar, and his organic, 2-ingredient-only homemade balsamic vinegar simply blew me away. I ended up using a spoon at the bottom of the bowl to make sure I didn’t miss a drop!

Next, we tried one of his ‘super Tuscan’ wines. He had us take a sip and then wait 5 minutes before we tried it again. This is the kind of wine that changes flavor as it sits (and is meant to be enjoyed over a long period of time), and when we went back to try it the second time, even with my lack of knowledge of wine and inexperienced palate, I could tell that it was a totally different flavor. While we waited the 55 minutes, he explained to us how he searches for white truffles (the really really expensive ones) on his land as sometimes they grow wild. When he finds them, he slices them up and infuses his olive oil with them, creating an awesome oil that with only a few drops, can create loads of flavor.  He also dictated a recipe to us, which I am working on getting sent to me as soon as possible so I can try it at home! After our super Tuscan, he invited us to sample the truffle oil which was placed, along with a small piece of truffle, on a crostini on our plates. It makes me mad that this kind of truffle is so rare/expensive, because after this sample I wanted to have them all the time!

To finish up our tasting, he gave us a small chunk of cheese and a spoonful of his organic, untreated honey. Honey and cheese- what a dessert! We spent some time browsing upstairs in the store part of the building, and Stephen and I bought a bottle of ‘easy to fall in love’ to split later that evening! This family doesn’t sell their wines to supermarkets or stores, they only sell to the visitors of their winery, so I was happy to support a small family business that was so delicious at the same time!

After we got back on the bus, we made a short stop in a small town in Chianti for about a half an hour just to walk around and get the feel for a small Tuscan town.

When we made our way back to Siena we wandered for a bit and then hopped back on an hour and a half long bus ride to Florence. After a long day, we were finally ‘home’! As we made our way back to the hostel, we stopped for some Doner kebabs and were warned that they were ‘the best kebabs in the whole world.’ By no means was that guy lying! They literally were the best kebabs I’ve ever had, and mixed with a few glasses of the ‘easy to fall in love’ wine, I was in heaven!

Favorite part of the day: The wine tasting. I’ve never been to one, and I think this one certainly spoiled me! I loved the variety of samples that he gave us, as well as the stories and the emotions that were attached to each product. Makes me aspire to own a winery one day!