Chianti Wine Hills
The next couple of weeks were super chaotic with moving and falling in to a new routine. But thanks to some dear friends who took care of our son we managed to slip out for an adult adventure and a day away! We took an early Saturday morning train to meet with a wine sommelier… who I may or may not order from often… for our first Tuscan wine experience! Tom DeVries (Sommeliers Choice) showed us gorgeous views of the city before driving us around the hills of the Chianti region; tons of wine, tons of information, and one helluva lunch at Dario Cecchini’s (the famous Tuscan butcher)!!
Our first stop was Principe Corsini. Tom showed us around the vineyards, explaining their method of viticulture and types of grapes and wines. Then we checked out their cellar and grounds before enjoying a wine tasting along with some of the Corsini’s olive oil with bread.
The Corsini family boasts nine centuries of history, is one of the few Florentine family with illustrious ancestors including a Pope, Clement XII, and a saint, Andrea Corsini bishop of Fiesole. Corsini family members held positions of primary role in the commercial, financial, political, ecclesiastical, and agricultural fields… The wines and oil from the Principe Corsini estates are produced with total respect for nature and seasonality. Thanks to the uniqueness of the vines, each wine is a true expression of the territory of origin. As well as oil, still worked in the traditional way in the old mill owned by the Corsini family.
https://principecorsini.com
Next up was a pretty exciting moment and bonus part of this trip: eating lunch at Antica Macelleria Cecchini, restaurant of famous Tuscan butcher, Dario Cecchini!! AND, the big man himself was there!! We met him and shook his hand (insert girl squeal). Dario has been well known in the region, but recently took to more fame when he was featured in a documentary on Netflix. I’m not typically a huge meat fan, but man this was fantastic!
Just when we thought we couldn’t possibly drink any more wine, Tom had one more winery on the itinerary. Poggio al Sole is a bit of a younger establishment but has an interesting story.
The grape growing and wine making tradition of the Davaz family go back several years. The family has been producing wine in their estate in Switzerland since the early seventies. Johannes Davaz has been involved in the vineyards starting at a young age. Later he formally concluded winegrower formation and pursued a formal education as an oenologist. Johannes and his wife Kathrin moved to Badia a Passignano in the Chianti Classico area in 1990 where they pioneered sustainable agriculture and later organic wine making.
The approximately 24 hectares of vine slopes face southeast to southwest and are approximately 320-480 meters above sea level. Only 400-600 grams of grapes are harvested from each square meter… Poggio al Sole is known in Tuscany but also internationally for its authentic Sangiovese based Chianti Classico wines…
https:// poggioalsole.com
At the end of the day, Tom dropped us off right in the city center so we could take a scenic route to our train since we had a little time. We couldn’t miss this beauty as we walked by! Got a quick glimpse of the gorgeous duomo for the first time!
But we’ll be back for more Florence city adventures, so more on that later 🙂
Lindsay View All →
Our roots will forever be from here, America, born and raised. Yet, life requires us to move more frequently than we care to count. Whether living stateside or abroad, you can always find us traveling somewhere. We scout out places that you only think you can dream of one day seeing and we seek out those that aren’t found in guidebooks. We then bring them to life here in our travel memos, so hopefully, one day you too can visit them or at least be able to live vicariously through us. This blog isn’t just about crossing off places from a bucket list. It’s about absorbing and learning how other cultures grow and fit into the same world that we do. Life is short and the world is big. Enjoy and get out there!
American Roots. Traveling Boots. 