Just D.I.N.K.ing Around: Wine Tour Day! Montelcino, Siena, and a visit with Fernando!

Today is wine tour day with Monika, so we can be assured that she will provide us with memories that will last a lifetime.

Pickup was at 10 AM and we were off. We are heading to the South end of Tuscany. We have a few requested items on the agenda that we want to see or do and then Monika fills in the rest with her expertise.

On our way South, just for fun, we stopped at a cafe in Sambuca called "U.S. Sambuca" for a quick picture. We stopped, opened the van door, snapped this photo, and drove off.

Our next stop was a nice surprise. It is very common for Monika to point out the names of hilltop towns in the distance as we pass by. When she named the next town, I asked, "Did you say, Badia a Passignano?" Of course, I was pronouncing it incorrectly, so that is why I didn't quite hear her correctly. She said, "Yes."

I said, "I have a 1910 Badia a Passignano at home." She said, "Uh, no." with a confused look on her face.

We all laughed at her honesty.

I said that I did in fact have one and she asked where I got it. I said that I got it two years ago from the enoteca in Greve and that it was from a time when the Vallombrosa monks still ran the winery before Antinori bought the land around Badia a Passignano and the rights to the cellars in 1987.

Next, she took a quick detour and drove us through the tiny town and then took us to a hillside with a great view that overlooks Badia a Passignano.

We continued heading South and passed a few more hilltop towns and fortresses.

This is a quick shot of Monteriggioni.

Next, we got stopped by a traffic accident where the officers were taking their measurements and creating their notes.

This reminded me to tell Brian and Sadie about our bus accident the day before and Monika said that she passed our bus as we were sitting on the side of the road. I mentioned how the driver was on his phone the whole time and it happened because he leaned over to grab his phone. She said that bus drivers and their phones is a hot topic in Italy to the point that there are petitions going around about the school bus drivers that take their kids back and forth to school to Firenze each day. After seeing what I saw the day before, I would agree that this is an issue.

A few houses outside of Montelcino.

Coincidentally, I think an older photo of this home is featured on Monika's website.

I think that this is a distant picture of Montalcino, which is a required stop on today's agenda.

On the way up the hill to Montalcino, Monika pulled over to give us a great photo opportunity of the edge of the hilltop town.

Montalcino. The home of Brunello, is an aged, 100% sangiovese wine that's rarity adds to it's price tag.

Notice that the "4" is upside down in the elevation of the city. This use of the 4 is seen throughout the city.

Before touring the town, it was time for a tasting of the elegance that is Brunello.
Up and up we climbed the hills of Tuscany and suddenly, the grape vines reappeared in the landscape, so we knew that we were close to our goal.

What could be waiting for us at the end of this welcoming aisle?

Our first stop is Poggio Antico.

First, the view from this hilltop vineyard.

Although, it may be hard to see or describe in this photo, the horizontal line the middle of the horizon is the ocean.

43 miles away!

The nearby town of Sant'angelo in Colle.

Now, it's time for the tour. Kelly was very adamant that I get a picture of the steps, so I figure that I better use it in the blog.

I usually leave details of bumps in the road or disruptions in our trip out of the blog, but this one was worth noting, because vacations aren't perfect, but this shows the level of professionalism and pull that Monika has in the Tuscan region.

Monika has always lined up PRIVATE tours for us. Some of our tours have even occurred when the winery is closed to the public. This tour started with, "Well, I guess the tour has started." as she pointed us to a tour group that consisted of about 4 adults and AT LEAST four very small kids running around, kicking rocks, and asking... sorry... dumb questions... yes, there are dumb questions and even dumber parents... YOU ARE ON A WINERY TOUR!

In rather short order (about 48 seconds), Monika pulled us from the group and in that time, she lined up our own tour with her favorite guide.

She explained that the group was an hour late and that they were actually barging in on OUR TOUR.

On a whim, we reversed the tour. Tasting first, tour later... I suppose. :)

After a short walk, we entered the tasting room.

Our tour guide, David, was a lot of fun. His mother was Irish, so his English was excellent, but much to our surprise, he was a true born Italian

He was very nice to offer us a tasting menu with various options and various numbers of glasses that would be included in the tasting, but I think Kelly and I were the first to speak up and order... ALL OF THEM! Everyone else had the same response. "Fantastico!" was his response.

Kelly and I even got our own glass. What can I say? Neither of us have any younger siblings, so we don't share well... we needed our own glass.

Much care was taken by David to season each glass prior to the tasting. A technique that I have only ever seen at one other winery (which was award winning, I might add).

As the tasting continued, Christal stepped out for a smokey treat.

At about that same time, the other tour was finishing. One of the employees encouraged the other family to remain outside, because the other group (our group) was about finished. The staff were very discreet and professional about it. I simply chuckled as Christal was soon surrounded by several 40 inch tall terrors and her sudden urge to smoke appeared to subside as she quickly retreated back indoors and away from the children.

Although the staff was discreet, I was not. I immediately thanked the staff for keeping the two groups separated.

The tasting continued and then all of us narrowed down our selections and placed our order. They have a 5 day shipping policy which is in line with quality of Brunello. They don't want to risk exposing the wine to temperature change during the shipping process.

A quick stop for a picture. I tried to get the patio set on the plane as my "personal item", but Europe has a 20 lb. limit on carry-on bags. ;)

Time for the tour. The creation of Brunello spans many stages and many years of aging to reach this level of quality.

These vats were about 8 ft. tall. The winemaker will constantly taste them to see if there is too much wood flavor in them or not enough. If a correction needs to be made, he will mix or combine barrels to get the consistency that he wants. On the day before we were there, he mixed 9 of these vats to balance all of them out... amazing.

Here were some new barrels that they were trying for the first time. The size of the barrel changes the exposure to the wood. These were in-between the large vats and the small vats, so even they are curious to see how they turn out.

The olive grove just off the road on the way out of the winery.

Off to the town of Montelcino, itself. As always, a fortress encompasses the center.

The inner courtyard of the castle was much more bare than I expected. Maybe it acted as a gathering place in case of an emergency more than a residence like pictured on the right edge of the photo.

Small door picture time!

Candid locals picture.

Beware of Cat!

The bell tower of Montalcino.

The pillar below is of obvious Roman influence, but even the trees in this area are starting to be groomed a little more Roman style.

I just thought that this was funny.

Another local outside his shop.

A quick lunch. Monika asked us if we wanted good food or a good view. We chose the food.

This catalog was the wine list! I did make the comment to Monika that I am amused that the Brunello was listed first in the wine list. I imagine that this doesn't occur anywhere else!

Kelly and I grabbed a 375 ml bottle, because this was a "quick lunch".

I order the rabbit, which is a very traditional food in Tuscany. The meal was delicious, but very bony. I asked Monika if the bread was for the bones? She asked me what I meant. I said that in Iowa, we eat bread with fish to help with the bones. She said, "We eat bread with everything."

Maybe it is her accent, maybe it is the fact that she is of German decent, but I love her plain, simple honesty.

These were onions cooked in balsamic, I believe. I am not one to eagerly just eat whole onions in one bite, but these were really good with no bad breath (that I know of) or upset stomach.

Kelly and I had a little bit of head start on the group at the other table, because they ordered a secondi, which was outside of the timeline of Monika's agenda, (We joke about this only because this is just one of the things that we love about Monika), so Kelly headed for gelato and I took a photo stroll. Monika has appointments setup for us and she makes sure that we are on time and if we are ahead of schedule, she will add in extra tangents of photo opportunities.

Once outside the restaurant, the view was amazing. I decided to venture down the stairs into the heart of Montalcino. The views and settings were stunning.

And then I noticed the other members of our group emerging from the restaurant, so it was time to return.

I would soon regret going down all of these stairs.

As I was strolling the streets of Montalcino, I came across most of my group. As I walked along, I stopped in my tracks just before someone said, "I haven't seen Kelly." I laughed as I said that I just stopped, because I think that I heard her voice. She soon emerged from a nearby gelateria.

Another quick stop for a photo opportunity of a distant view of Montalcino as we said, "goodbye."

Well, I have eaten the steak (bistecca alla fiortentina), but I hadn't thought of the creature that was responsible for such a large T-bone. Let me introduce you to Chianina a.k.a... "The White Giant".

I saw them from a distance and I could immediately tell that these were, in fact, giants. After a little research, I confirmed that they are in fact the tallest and the heaviest breed in the world. They get up to 6'7" tall and 3,500 lbs.!

Even though the big one on top of the hill dwarfs the hay bail over 100 yds. in front of it, Monika simply said, "These are babies. None of them even have horns, yet." Wow!

I saw this sign every once in awhile, so I took a picture. Does it mean, No Passing or Heavy Traffic Ahead? Your guess is as good as mine, but look out!

The next scenic stop was a unique scene. I had noticed some road signs (in Italian, of course) that appeared to read "Hot Springs", so I asked Monika if there were hot springs near Siena and she said that it was one of her favorite things to do in Italy.

She made a quick side stop to show us the countryside where the WHITE volcanic rock could be seen peaking through the hills near Siena.

Like I eluded to before, in between Greve and Montalcino, the landscape changes. Tuscany is NOT acre after acre of wine grapes, the soil has be be perfect to make traditional wine. The other areas will look very similar to those of you in Iowa (with a few less hills and a lot more sunflowers and cypress trees). Bellissimo.

Our next stop was Siena. Siena has been bumped from the agenda due to a time crunch at least two times as we endulged in whatever experience we were engaged in at the moment, but Siena's time would be now. Why?

Palio di Siena.
Arguably, the most dangerous horse race in the world.

But before we get into that, let's learn a bit more about Siena itself. The wall entrance to Siena.

Inside these walls lies a city divided.

A city of only 60,000 residents that is divided into 17 districts (contrade)... that HATE each other. If you think Iowa vs. Iowa State or Michigan vs. Michigan St. or Ohio State is a rivalry, you haven't met the citizens of Siena. Marriages outside of your contrade are simply not allowed. Each contrade has it's own power grid.

The Palio di Siena is the Super Bowl of Super Bowls for Siena. Twice a year, ten of the seventeen contrade are allowed to enter a three lap, bareback horse race around the tight corners of the Piazza del Campo and the rider doesn't need to be present to win, just the horse.

Prior to the bi-annual race, the piazza is filled with an incredibly compact level of sand in preparation for the race. Here is the line between the city street and the piazza.

In true Italian fashion that we are now so use to, leisure takes the place of commerce. The store fronts are completely covered by the impromptu bleachers.

I have to admit, the piazza was far more impressive and gorgeous than expected. The old elegance of the structures could only hold my attention away from the thought of the tight turns of the upcoming race for only a few moments.

There doesn't appear to be any rules to the race. It appears that the hatred between wards leads to some riders being more determined to beat the other riders with their crop during the race than to guide the horse to the finish. The prize? Bragging rights until the next race.

A good view right down the track.

The bell tower of Siena.

The common area in the piazza.

Kel has picked her team. She is a Tartuca fan, this year. Their most recent win was 2010.

A little of taste of the crowd and the tight turns of the backstretch on race day with the blue and yellow stripes of Tartuca in the lead in the second photo!

Insert an elegant transition here...

Some company in Italy is either selling these rather creative stickers or placing them themselves. Either way, they are rather clever. They take an existing road sign and dress them up a bit. All are clever, but this one was a little more fun, because the parking police aren't highly regarded in Italy.

If the citizens don't have to pay taxes on that Ferrari or Maserati, why should they pay to park it?

On the drive back to Greve, some people took a quick nap before our final stop.
This would be our only return visit to a winery, but it was our #1 request.

We wanted to see Fernando of Montefioralle again.

Fernando has a nice little covered area that is lined with grape vines. He always rolls out the red carpet for us with meat, cheese, and a nice assortment of vintages.

As the guys wandered off to see Fernando's "newer" Lamborghini, I explained to Monika that I had purchased a bottle of 1971 S. Stefano Montefioralle a few days ago in the hopes that it was from the same winery.

Fernando was rather excited as he confirmed that it from the first few years that his father ran the winery!

Next, Fernando offered up a huge surprise. He offered to pull out his favorite vintage from his private cellar for us and we were quick to support his decision.

He opened a 2003 Riserva and began to let it breath.

As expected, it was phenomenal. Fernando even took the opportunity to poor himself a glass of this one and you could tell by watching him how much he enjoyed this vintage. After we all had a taste, he offered to let us take it home with us along with an open bottle of his Vinsanto that we love as well.

But we had a surprise for him as well. We told him to pour himself another glass and sit with us for awhile and just relax, so he did. We sat and finished the bottle and talked about various things.

After the wine tasting subsided, we took a quick tour of the winery.

And then we took pictures of the view from Fernando's tasting patio, before we headed into town.

It is a 3 minute walk into town, so the guys walked while the ladies rode in the van to the far side of Montefioralle and then we met in the middle, so we could stop at Fernando's shop.

The entrance up to Montefioralle.

We headed to Fernando's shop and made our purchases. Upon Monika's recommendation, we bought the rest of Fernando's 2007 bottles, which is an upcoming favorite vintage in Fernando's cellar.

After making our purchases, Kelly asked Monika where Amerigo Vespucci's house was located and it was only a few doors away.

Amerigo Vespucci was an Italian explorer that coined the term "America", which is the feminine Latin version of his first name.