Panzano in Chianti

We walked 6 miles this morning along Chianti’s Strade Blanche to the town of Panzano in Chianti. We walked along rocky ravines and towering trees, with wildflowers along the wide gravel path.

Logging and thinning of part of our walk made way for new vineyards and a herd of large goats with their protecting dog were resting. Their role was to keep the grass manageable.

Panoramic views, fields of poppies and grazing sheep with their protective dog were just some of the sights before we reached Panzano in Chianti.

We stopped for caffe at Bar Pasticceria Sieni. I had a shot of espresso (un caffe), but most of the group had either a cappuccino or a shakerato –a long shot espresso shaken with shaken with crushed ice. It can be dolce (sweet), also called a zuccherato, or amare (bitter). . I didn’t see anyone with a caffe corretto–a shot of espresso with a shot of either grappa or samba. Italians drink a lot of caffe.

Joy stopped in to the famous butcher shop and restaurant, Antica Macelleria Cecchini, for some souvenirs. Dario Cecchini is tall with a large handlebar mustache and is apparently quite a character. He appeared in ‘Chef’s Table’ Season 6 Episode 2. We took the shuttle to our next stop, a small winery, where we toured the wine-making operation and ate lunch that was prepared by one of our leaders while tasting three different varieties of Tuscan chianti wine. We learned that good Tuscan chianti wine always has the black rooster labeled on the neck of the bottle.

The culmination to this beautiful day in Tuscany was a cooking class, wine tasting and dinner. Our family of culinary specialists taught us to use few, fresh ingredients and only olive oil. A bit of trivia…Italians use 15 liters of olive oil per person per year but Americans only use 1 liter. While we prepped our food, we tasted fried artichoke slices, boiled egg sliced with caramelized onion on top and our first bottle of wine. I sliced tomatoes, Joy prepped red onions and we also sliced carrots and celery. This mixture is called sofrito and is a common base in Tuscan cooking. One specialist cooked the sofrito long and slow with olive oil as the basis for the “fake sauce” for pasta (fake because there is no meat).

Dessert was chocolate melted and stirred with olive oil, brown sugar and egg yolks, and meringue all folded together and baked. It was something like a lava cake and really amazing. We all ate too much and drank too much wine but it was a very fun evening of cooking.

This is our last night at Borgo Vescine–tomorrow we move on to Palazzo Leopoldo in Radda. I will miss the view here from my quaint little room tucked into the hillside, swallows swooping overhead and many birds singing bright and early in the morning.

Arrivederci, Vescine!