<strong>Friday</strong>
<img src=”https://nyporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/makaPasta-300×200.png” alt=”makaPasta” />
Today we can sleep in! We had a <a href=”http://tuscany.nyporter.org/Tuscany/Friday/22679069_HWgj5R#!i=1817206194&k=B46PF8h” target=”blank”>leisurely morning</a>, followed by a pasta-making class. With some help from Romeo’s and Federica’s daughter Emily, Tim, Joe, and others made the pasta for lunch – from scratch. The process sure seemed simple; we were walked through each step by Federica and provided close supervision from Emily. The result – we deliverd the best pasta we’d ever tasted. Wow!
Afterwards, we hopped on our tour bus for a trip east to Valley Orchar, the town of Montalcino. Here they make only <a href=”http://tuscany.nyporter.org/Tuscany/Friday/22679069_HWgj5R#!i=1817192966&k=4gVStM6″ target=”blank”>Brunello</a> wine. The Brunello gravevine is also known as Sangiovese Grosso. There are 205 wine producers in the valley all making the same kind of wine. It is very restricted in its production. They are not allowed to use irrigation and still call it the same pure wine. We all need to pray for rain for this area! It’s been dry since October.
<img src=”https://nyporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/tastaWine-300×200.png” alt=”tastaWine” width=”300″ height=”200″ />
If you drink this wine, be sure to let it breathe for 2-3 hours after opening the bottle. We had a great wine tasting class. First you check out the color of the wine by tipping it towards a white table linen and looking at the “arch.” If it is purplish it is young, red it is older. Then you smell the fragrance of the wine. Thirdly you “chew” the wine, is it astringent on your tongue and gums? A complex wine leaves a flavor in your throat. Brunello di Montalcino. After tasting this wine, table wine will never be the same.
<img src=”https://nyporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/villageEnt-300×200.png” alt=”villageEnt” width=”300″ height=”200″ />
Our evening was spent in <a href=”http://tuscany.nyporter.org/Tuscany/Friday/22679069_HWgj5R#!i=1817190935&k=3w6kP2j” target=”blank”>Pienza</a>. Pienza owes its beauty and fame to Enea Silvio Piccolomini born in Corsignano in 1405 and elevated to Pope in 1458 (Pius II.) Pope Pius remodeled the Castello di Corsignano into a Papal residence and renamed it Pienza (Pius.) We had about an hour to shop before the stores closed at 7:00. We found a few shops with ceramics and an interesting cheese store (check out the photos.) There was a great view off the hillside down into the valley below the town. I took some photos of the stone walls. There was a huge crack in the side of the church, never did find out if that was from an earth quake or just natural settling of the structure over the last few hundred years. Our dinner here was not remarkable. But I think that is due to all of the excellent food and wine we had had everywhere else. At our table, the wine drinkers didn’t even ask for more red wine. It seems like table wine just isn’t satisfying anyone’s taste buds anymore. Folks at our table asked for white wine. No one seemed that hungry, although I do believe there were a few unusual plates ordered (rabbit, piglet? Who are these people! Ha!)
This was our last evening in Italy. It was hard to believe that a week had passed so quickly. Saturday we had to head for home. No more wine at lunch, no more bruschetta, no more tiramisu.