I always thought chianti was a style or type of vino. Boy was I ignorant. Chianti is actually a region found in Tuscany Italy. So, you can even get white chianti. I learned all kinds of interesting things on my wine tasting tour, like you can buy a $70 bottle of balsamic vinegar, and that it’s pretty hard to hold a yoga pose when you’re a little drunk from all that wine. It was an incredible autumn day in Chianti Tuscany, and it was full of fun, fascinating facts, and new friendships.
Getting Around
The day wasn’t perfect. Even though I thoroughly enjoyed the tour, the lack of organization surrounding the transport of guests was pretty shocking. It was kind of similar to my experience at the Rolling Stones concert in Lucca. It was a great event with lack luster planning. I can’t recommend to anyone using My Tours or GetYourGuide. The shuttle on the way out was 45 minutes late, and the shuttle at the end of the tour was over an hour late. I’ve been told that is just what you should expect as “Italian time”, but really? At the end of the tour, I had to call and pester the guide service to actually do what they had promised, shuttle me and some new friends back to our originating town. It was a real buzz kill, quite literally!
The Wineries
One of our winery hosts explaining the process
Tuscany was everything I hoped for, and the region of Chianti even managed to kick it up another notch. The hilly landscape was starting to show signs of early autumn colors, the grape vines already turning slightly yellow. Mixed in among all the fall foliage were lots of white rocks, which is apparently one of the things that makes the area so ideal for growing flavorful grapes. The rocks are rich in nutrients, so rich that some of the wine vines are many decades old and still thriving. We went two to wineries, Lornano and Poggio Amoreli.
Ancient buildings at the winery
Some of the buildings at the wineries date back to the 15th century, yet they managed to intertwine some nice modern touches while maintaining the old traditional charm. They also served us bread and cheese with real Italian olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar. We tried some balsamic vinegar that was 20 years old and thick like syrup. It was absolutely delicious! We paired that with some truffle infused extra virgin olive oil and a glass of Chianti Classico, and well, I was in heaven!
Monteriggioni Castle
The entrance to the castle
After the wineries we went to Monteriggioni, mid-evil castle. It is the most intact ancient castle I’ve ever visited. It contains an entire active village, in fact you can stay there in very luxurious accommodations. It looks exactly like the typical mental image I had of a walled village. The visual effect from outside is astonishing and we were blessed to arrive right at sunset. Inside there are restaurants, shopping, and astounding views from the towers. It was a perfect way to end the day (except for the late return shuttle that I already mentioned). In summary, I’m so glad I went on a Chianti wine Tour through Tuscany, but I must recommend using a different tour company.
Salute, as they say in Italy