Did not sleep as well last night. It felt like I woke up every couple of hours and I also was having weird dreams but I don’t remember what they were all about. Christine was awake when I got up and we decided to go for a walk together about 8. We had a great walk all the way to the 222 and back 3K for sure. Even when we got back Gary and Peggy were barely up, so we didn’t finish breakfast until a little after 10. Somewhere in there I took a bath but couldn’t quite figure how to make the Jacuzzi work.
Vignamaggio
We didn’t leave Tregole until about 10:15 and I was sweating it a bit but we got to Vignamaggio (7) at about five to 11 just before our reservation at 11. The tour and tasting cost €20 each. We waited around a bit and met a Swedish couple and their two daughters and they were joined by a bunch of other people mostly Americans in our group. Our tour guide was named Chiara and she was great. We walked around the estate, learned about their wine production, saw where Much Ado About Nothing was filmed in the garden, learned about the family that built the place and the first recorded evidence of wine being produced there in 1404, found out that Mona Lisa was probably born there although there isn’t must record of it, saw how the sundial on the wall worked and how it was off two hours because of day light savings time. We also went into their wine cellar and saw where the Chianti Classico and Riserva were being held in barrels. The last part of the tour was the tasting and mini lunch. Where Chiara showed us how to taste, smell and check the wine for color. They also had a great spread of meats, cheeses, and what was the best Tuscan bread we had had so far. We tasted the Chianti Classico 2005, the 2004 Riserva and the Vin Santo. The bad part about the Riserva is that it contains Merlot! It really was a pretty amazing spread.
Lamole
We left a Vignamaggio bout one and headed up the hill to Lamole for lunch at the Ristoro de Lamole. Peggy was convinced it was called Lamole di Lamole, but I knew what it was called but she refused to believe me. She can be so stubborn at times.
Lunch was amazing. I thought we were going to have something light, but no such luck. The four of us pretty much shared everything, but it still cost €50 per couple. We got the grilled Porcini again and again it was fabulous. We asked the waiter when was the local season for porcinis and he said around November and what they were getting now were from Bulgaria. Gary had an amazingly presented Caprese and a pasta with tartuffo that looked just like the one we got in San Regalo. Christine had a pasta with porcinis and then we all shared a tiramisu. We all had capuccino as well.
Greve
We grove down from Lamole and decided not to go the Tenuta Risecolli the winery with the French guy we first went to in 2005. We parked on the other side of the 222 from the town square and walked right over and bought a hat with a Chianti Gallo on it. Gary had one but lost it–it was his best driving hat. I had thought about that store many times wanted to go back and look closer at all they had. Actually all four of us got red hats with the gallo nero. Christine wanted to get a rolling pin like Peggy had gotten here and Gary and I wandered up the street at our own pace. The amazing find was the famous pork butcher shop Macelleria Facone. I have never seen so much meat in my life. Hundreds of full proschuitto legs hanging from the ceiling. Sausage. Pancetta. Unbelievable. There was a little room down some stairs filled various types of pecorino cheese. After we looked around a bit more Peggy bought her perfect hat and then we headed over across the street to La Cantina di Greve (8). Gary and I had been there last time and you buy a little credit card and then use it to dispense a few ounces of your choice from over 100 Chianti wines ranging in price from .60 to €3.20 per taste. I got a €10 card and Gary and Peggy shared one with €20. We tasted a variety of Chianti Classicos, Super Tuscans and Brunellos. It was fun but not as much fun as last time because we have already been to so many great places. After that we walked around to find Gary a cash machine and then headed back to Castillina. Christine and I were dead tired so we immediately went up to the room (3) for a nap. Gary and Peggy planned to take a little hike on some trails Peggy had supposedly found on the property. I couldn’t in a million years gather the energy to go on a walk at that time.
Chinghiale Attack!
While I was resting I heard Gary’s whistle and I went out to see if he was swimming. Peggy immediately asked “If we were going to be attacked by something what would it be?” I guessed “bees.” But that was totally wrong. I can’t believe I didn’t think of it. What was the answer? What were they attacked by this time after the nettles and the mosquitos? You would not have believed it unless it actually did happen, but on their hike they saw…cinghiale! Apparently they were walking along and Gary heard a “snort, snort” and looked up on the trail above and saw four chinghaile!. They had not smelled the humans yet so they backed out of there and beat a hasty retreat. There is no doubt that this story will be told and retold for the next hundred years. To support Gary as he was totally blown away by these events I decided to join him in the pool. Dippage! Once I actually got in it wasn’t all that fresca. Actually pretty refreshing.
Dinner with Edith at Tregole
We decided to have dinner with Edith here at Tregole and we were joined by Mark and Martin from Zurich. The family from Seattle (man, woman and young son) and Chris and Susan Pitkowski from Granite Bay. At some point we discovered that they lived about a mile from our church and go to Bayside; the father Chris runs Roseville Kaiser hospital and the wife works part time in the ICU at Mercy San Juan. The daughter will be a sophomore at Granite Bay and the son is still in elementary. The dinner began with three crostini including one made with the truffle that Gary bought from San Regalo on Wednesday, one with tomatoes and and one with a pastry crust.. We had a pasta with a mushroom sauce and the main course was chicken Cacciatore (hunter). Dessert was a another Tiramasu. WE also had our first tast of the wine they make here. We started with a 100% Sangiovese Chianti Classico from 2004 and then went to the 2003 (10). We preferred the 2003. We even had the winemaker, Edith’s husband, Catello drop by and ask us which we preferred. He also informed us that he never makes a Chianto Classico Riserva. Too much money, too much hype when the Straight classico is just as good. We had a great time sitting next to Mark and Martin hearing about his new place near lake Como and how often he likes to come to Tregole. We all went to bed about 11 and Peggy stayed up talking with them until about 2:30 a.m. Apparently they were joined by a Portuguese couple here to celebrate their fifth anniversary. We found out next morning that the woman from Seattle had to come down and tell them to quiet it down!
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