Amy and I had the great pleasure of meeting once again with Anna Ginotti of Poggiarellino Winery in Montalcino.  She is an incredibly nice, warm, loving, genuine person.  We shared a bottle of her Bruenello, which is always excellent.  She inquired about our daughter and her finance who she had met a year ago at the winery.  She and her husband, Ludovico, make really great Bruenello, which has been rated highly by the experts.  Their wines are available as a direct import from K & L Wines in California and Zachys Wines in New York.  You can read more about Anna and the winery on an earlier blog(April 21).  We will continue to purchase their wine each year and visit Poggiarellino with each visit to Montalcino, as they hold a special place in our hearts.

I always Leica…friends along the way.

One of our joys while traveling to Italy has been traveling with, joining, or meeting new friends. Our first week we traveled with Steve and Janet, who are the best people in the world to travel with, as they are experienced, calm, patient, and fun to be with. We were very excited to meet up with Megan and Zack in Firenze where they joined us for some food at Mama Gina’s.  We love their enthusiasm and love of Italy.  Next, we caught up with Vicky and Bob in Chianti where we shared multiple wine tastings and meals.  We enjoyed meeting and spending time with their friends, Cork and Sharon, and then meeting their friends, Jan and Marty who are currently living in Lucca, Italy.  It was with this group that we had an exciting, wild feast of BBQ steak by Dario Cecchini. He is a popular, gregarious butcher in Panzano. If you love beef and a wild event then this dinner is for you! If you’re looking for traditional Tuscan food, you might look elsewhere.  I do recommend that you take your own wine, although wine is provided as part of the meal.  They were all great people who we enjoyed and hope to see in the future.

The heart and soul of Montalcino is the people.  We’ve been fortunate to get to know a few of them during our visits to the area.  They work long hours, usually not closing shop until 8:00 PM.  A few of the people who stand out are “La Tita”(Mario Marconi), the older gentleman who maintains the village garden always dressed in a white dress shirt and tie.  He is a proud and dignified man working in a noble manner.  We were happy to see him again on this recent trip.  He seemed well and healthy.  Renata, the owner of a fabric store making table clothes and napkins.  Amy has purchased table clothes in the past and this year Renata made some custom sized napkins for us.  Her craftsmanship is beautiful.  Once again we visited a leather shop owner in Pienza where he polished a previously purchased coin purse and we discussed a shared interest in a photographer by the name of Vivian Maier.  We had a great dinner at Il Giglio which is family owned and operated.  The family works hard and after we had a truly amazing dinner we said goodbye to the family who at 10:00 PM were finally sitting down to eat their own dinner.  

I always Leica…Tuscan landscapes. These photos were shot in Raw, then processed in Lightroom. Local adjustments have not been made yet. When I make prints, hours of time are spent making multiple adjustments in Photoshop, along with multiple test prints, so please consider these images as a beginning. I hope you enjoy them.

This winery is located close to our B & B in Castellina in Chianti, we visited there without a reservation for the tour, which we understand is quite good. The winery is in a beautiful location, our host was very informative. The winery has become a virtual refuge for wildlife, including many of the birds pictured on their labels. With each vintage, a different bird is shown on their labels, symbolizing the winery’s commitment to environmentally sound cultivation.  The use of pesticides and hunting is forbidden on the property.  Founded in 1977,  production approximately 400,000 bottles/year. The wines are very good, and the 2015 Chianti Reserva is superb. If you are in the area the winery is well worth a visit. The wines are available in USA.

I always Leica…Chianti Classico.

Flesina winery was founded in 1966.  The underground wine cellar was completed in the early 1970’s.  The winery is in Southern Chianti along the border between Chianti Classico and Crete Senesi regions.  The wine shop is open 7 days/week.  They produce many great wines, including Fontalloro, Rancia, and Berardenga Chianti Classico Reserva.  The wine tour was good, the wines are excellent, and I plan on continuing to purchase their wines on a regular basis.

I always Leica…

There is an incredible dinner available at the Osteria a Passignano paired with wonder wines from the Antinori Bottega. . The evening starts with a tour of the vineyards and the historic abbey cellars which date from 395 AD. The abbey continues to be inhabited by monks, and in 1587 Galileo Galilei taught there. When in the cellars you can really feel the history. Our tour guide, Ljuby, was extremely knowledgable, engaging, and proved to be a wonderful host. Her knowledge of wine and vineyards was impressive. Her photo is included below.  The dinner and wines were perfect. It is an expensive  dinner, but actually well worth the price when you consider the quality of the wines and food.

Just 30 minutes South of Firenze is Antinori’s new, architecturally stunning winery. It is more a piece of art than a building. Begun in 2005, natural Tuscan materials were selected, and built into the hillside. It is beautifully tied to the Chianti landscape. Our tour and tasting were good, but the star was the winery itself. If you visit Tuscany, I encourage a visit to the winery, even if you don’t do the tour or tasting you can walk around the winery and bask in the winery’s great beauty and harmony with nature.

I always leica wine bars!

Palazzo Antinori is a beautiful Renaissance Palace built in 1465 for Giovanni Boni, a rich member of the money changing guild.  It was taken over by the Antinori family in 1506.  Today it holds the Cantinetta Antinori, an upscale wine bar where you can purchase any of the numerous Antinori wines by the glass or bottle.  It is located on Via Tornabuoni, one of the most fashionable streets consisting of designer stores in Florence.  If you love Italian wines and are in Florence consider a visit to Cantinetta Antinori.

If you visit the Uffizi Gallery and Bargello then you can see the Wine God, Bacchus depicted by Caravaggio and Michelangelo.  Just down the street from the Cantinetta is Obica mozzarella bar, which we highly recommend.  Also consider renting electric bikes from e-bikes of Florence (ebikesflorence@gmail.com).  The owner is John Shields.  He rents electric bikes and couldn’t be nicer and more helpful.  He will plot a route to Fiesole and to a small family run winery, one that gets great reviews.  Our suggestion is to have John lead you out of the city center and get you on your way as the city streets are difficult to navigate.  Have everyone in your group download the route onto GPS.