Wine Tasting and Vineyard

Pasta, wine, olives, and antipasti

After an informative tour of a winery in which the owner, a young man of about 30, with light brown hair and slight build, taught us all about the white wine Vernace and the red Chianti aged in the vats and the ones aged in the oak barrels. He also instructed us on the difference in olive oil and why they are labeled extra virgin or only virgin. We learned about grappa, that it is made from the grape skins and is a dessert wine of a very high alcohol content. They serve you a very tiny glass of this with biscotti to dip in it.

Before we were served lunch they brought us all a small glass bowl of excellent tasting green olives, French Bread, and sparkling water. He introduced the white wine first and taught us how to look, smell and taste the wine. With the white wine we had penne pasta with bolognese sauce. Next, he taught us about chianti wines and how they are labeled. With this second wine taste, we were served two types of semi hard cheeses and a Parma style ham, salami, toasted bread with a greenish brown spread of anchovies, capers and chicken. They also served a small glass dish of honey that they recommended you dip your cheese in. With this they served Bruschetta and also later a thinly sliced toasted French bread that they had rubbed with garlic and salt and then drizzled with olive oil. The second wine was served during this course and was the wine that had been aged in the oak vats. The last course was a grappa wine, dessert wine of a golden flavor. It had a very good flavor and we dipped our biscotti in it and most seemed quite fine, but my head was quite dizzy since I am used to about one glass of wine at a time.

We sat next to a couple from France and another from Germany and had good conversation with all from politics, to vacation plans, and of course favorite wines.

Dick will post a couple of pics below.

Ciao


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Location:Sovestra in Poggia Agriturisimo, San Gimignano, Italy