Putting My Wine Skills to the Test

So, for those of you who don't know yet, one of the classes I'm taking while studying in Siena is a class entitled "Wine in Italy and the Western World." I know what you're thinking - wow, that class sounds uninteresting and boring because who likes wine???

And I'm going to stop you right there because I love wine and this class is awesome. Not only do we learn about wine - the production of the grapes, how it's made, how to taste it - but we also learn about the cultural history and significance of drinking wine. It's a really unique way to study the history of the Tuscan region and all of Italy, and it's cultural significance in the western world cannot be denied, which means we have plenty to discuss in class.

So the past couple weeks, we have putting this vino knowledge to the test by going on a couple wine tasting tours. The first one was a trip to Brolio Castle, where rumor has it the  Chianti Classico was first invented. We started our trip off with a tour of the castle, which has been renovated several times throughout the years, meaning it is mostly still intact. The family of the castle has been living there since the 1100s, and one of the men in the family was the second prime minister after the unification of Italy - Barone Bettino Ricasoli. Today, the castle is a summer home to the current baron, and the area is surrounded by beautiful vineyards on the idyllic Tuscan rolling hills.

 

most recently renovated part of the castle

rolling Tuscan hills and vineyards surrounding Brolio Castle

After our tour of the castle, we departed for the winery down below where we toured the cellar and got to take a look at all the barrels where the wine they make ages.

barrel room - so much wine! photo credit to my friend Andrea

We then had a wine tasting, where we tried three different types of wine - Torricella, a 2012 white wine with Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc grapes grown in Tuscany; Brolio, a 2012 red Chianti Classico DOCG (Chianti Classico DOCG meaning 80% of the wine has to be composed of Sangiovese grapes grown in the regulated Chianti area); and Casalferro, a 2010 Merlot with grapes grown in the reigion. My personal favorite was the Casalferro, which is a Supertuscan wine - meaning the wine did not originate in the Tuscan region, yet the grapes for the wine are grown and the particular wine is produced in Tuscany. It was a very smooth red wine that would have gone great with a fancy, red-meat dinner.

The next wine trip was one a friend organized for his 22nd birthday. He found a wine tour that took us through the Tuscan region, visiting some small towns and tasting wine at a vineyard/farm in the Chianti region.

My goodness, the tour did not disappoint (good job, Chris!). We visited Monteriggioni first, a small medieval walled town that honestly does not look much different than it probably did 800 years ago (it was built in the 1200s). Unfortunately, I did think to bring my camera on this trip, so I am lacking decent pictures. However, I can assure the view from Monteriggioni was beautiful - any trip in the Tuscan region would be lacking without an afternoon stroll around this town. My iPod photos don't do the views justice!

Montereggioni from atop the wall surrounding it

 view of Montereggioni on our way to the next stop

Next we went to a small family-owned farm called Poggio Amorelli. We tasted four wines - a white one, a Chianti Classico, a Chianti Classico Riserva, and a Supertuscan. We also tasted several food products made on the farm - olive oil, balsamic vinaigrette, and cheese. One of the balsamic vinaigrette had been aged for twenty years, so it's consistency resembled syrup more than regular vinaigrette - and it was my favorite thing we tasted! The olive oil was superb as well, but I couldn't get over the aged balsamic - such a unique flavor! At the end of our tasting, we all took shots of grappa - a liquor made solely from grape skins. It's very strong liquor, and it's been used throughout Italian history as a medicine of sorts. Some people even put it in their morning coffee!

Wine tasting is fun because not only do we get to taste a variety of wines, but we also get to apply things we learn in class - and if that doesn't help the information stick for the final exam, then I don't know what will.

my friend Andrea and I at Poggio Amorelli for our friend's birthday celebration

Cinque Terre

When looking up places to travel to during my free time in Italy, Cinque Terre was frequently mentioned by bloggers online. I searched for pictures and was instantly intrigued by the place - mountains standing watch over the sea, olive groves cut into the hillside, pastel colored buildings hugging the rocky coast as if the water itself had carved them into place. After a lot of planning (thanks to a nation-wide transportation strike), I made plans to visit Cinque Terre for me, six others in my study abroad program, and my boyfriend Jay who came to visit from the states.

We departed early on Saturday morning from Siena. There were a couple of transfers, and inevitably we ran into some problems. Our transfer train in Sarzana did not leave at the time we were told, and so we ended up with a two hour "layover" in this small Ligurian town. Instead of idly sitting in the train station, we decided to use our extra time to explore. Jay and I stumbled upon an old fortress that we looked around in for the majority of our time there.

Fortress Firmafede, one of the two fortresses in Sarzana, originally built in 1249, then torn down and rebuilt by Lorenzo de' Medici in 1487

After another hour or so of train riding, we were finally in Monterosso - the eastern most city of Cinque Terre and the place where we decided to begin our hike. It was - naturally - far more beautiful in person than any of the pictures I'd seen online. We ate lunch over looking the beach, climbed a huge rock in the sea, and then began our hike.

posing on a rock

 

view of Monterosso from our hike

One piece of advice - if you want to hike Cinque Terre, make sure you are in good enough shape to climb up and down stairs for roughly two hours. The hike was beautiful, but by the end of every long uphill my legs were shaking and I was sweaty.

We arrived in Vernazza and wasted no time rewarding ourselves with gelato. We didn't have as much time as I would have liked there, as we had to get back on the hiking trail in order to make it to Corniglia (where we had hostel reservations) before it got dark.  But we still had time to sit, give our legs a break, and enjoy our gelato.

view hiking in to Vernazza

Vernazza from our gelato eating spot

The path from Vernazza to Corniglia was equally as beautiful as the prior hike, made even more so by the setting sun. The light on everything was spectacular, and it made every single stair worth it. And, trust me, there were a lot of stairs.

examples of how gorgeous the setting sun made the path

hugest aloe plant I've ever seen, with Jay modeling for size scale

sunset from the hiking path

hiking in to Corniglia

Corniglia is the smallest town of the five, and it was very quiet compared to the rest of the towns - granted, it was later in the day when we arrived, so there wasn't much foot traffic passing through. We stayed at a very nice hostel, Ostello Corniglia, and had dinner at a local restaurant. None of us were up for exploring, so after a short walk to see the stars, we all went to bed.

 We got up early next morning and got breakfast at a place that served bacon and eggs, a rarity in Italy - all the typical breakfasts here are 100% carbs. We walked around the town of Corniglia to see the beautiful sights, and tried basil gelato, which was honestly a lot better tasting than one might imagine.

view from an overlook in Corniglia

Jay and I at Corniglia

Due to a large flood in 2011 and the present landslide dangers, the popular trekking path - the Blue Path, or Sentierro Azzurro - was closed in between Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. Unfortunately for us, this path was the fastest and most direct path to the subsequent cities. The longer path that went around was estimated to be roughly six hours total of hiking, and after yesterday's hike, none of us felt up to the challenge. Instead, we decided to take the train to Manarola and spend our time exploring the city more, maybe even getting a chance to swim in the impossibly clear sea.

Manarola did not disappoint. The entire weekend we had uncharacteristically sunny weather (apparently it gets quite foggy this time of year?) and it was warm, nearing the mid 70s in the sun. The buildings that were brightly colored especially against the grey rocks, the ocean that was impossibly clear, and the view of lush, green mountains in the background all added up for a breathtaking sight.

myself with Manarola in the background

After Jay and I walked around to check out the view, we joined our friends on a large rock right by the bay and within no time, the clothes were off, swimsuits were on, and we were swimming in the water. Everyone else thought it was cold, but I'm used to the Great Lakes - water that is notoriously cold throughout the summer months. The Great Lakes left me ill-prepared for the saltiness though.

past the boat is the area where we went swimming

After getting out of the water, we sunbathed on the large rock for a while, drying ourselves off and enjoying the scenery. Because we went swimming, we ran out of time to explore the last town - Riomaggiore - but the general consensus was that it was worth it.

Manarola from our rock/swimming spot

We tried some pizza on our way out and enjoyed a beer while sitting outside, soaking up the last rays of the sun before hopping on the train back to Siena. We were all exhausted and eager to get home, yet the weekend break to the small Italian paradise of Cinque Terre was something we all agreed was worth it.