Recipe: Tuscany Journal Entry #12-Wine Tastings! (with photos)

Tuscany Journal Entry #12-Wine Tastings!

We sleep late, which is a good thing as we have two wine tastings scheduled for today! We go to Buonconvento's market and try to find a suitcase but don't have any luck locating one.

Back at the apartment we just hang around for the morning, sitting outside reading and talking with Stu and Jan. Stu is sketching Montelcino with watercolor pencils. These are people we wish we had met earlier in our lives; they are so interesting and friendly. We swap some of our life stories. This is one of the great things about traveling, meeting new friends.

About 30 sommelier students are taking their final taste test here at Le Chiuse. They are not taking the class in order to find jobs, just for their own pleasure. Nicolo brings us glasses and his Brunello and Rosso to try. We are invited to help ourselves to bowls of Ribollita from a huge cooking pot, cold salamis and hams, cheeses and bread. The Ribollita has peas in it, that's a first for me. Everywhere you try it, it's just a bit different. This version is very good. And who can fault the view! Nicolo brings us the cookies called Bones of the Dead. These have peanuts in them, a delicious version. They are meringue-like confections. Once again, everything is made all the more delicious because we are outside in the sun with these gorgeous views.



We go to Buonconvento in the late afternoon for strawberries and bread. Then we head to Poggiorellino where we stayed last time we were here, to join Mo, Steve and Bonnie. Anna and her daughter Luisa gives us a wine cellar tour, they bought a labeling machine since we were here last. The beautiful cellar doors made from wine barrel staves and the blacksmithed grape and grape leaf handles that astounded us last time are still there. Anna and Luisa have laid out a wonderful dinner for us in the orangerie. This is where their citrus trees were the last time we were here. Fresh salami (these are small and have a soft texture), cheeses with homemade lemon flavored green tomato jam and honey, chicken/mayo/green olive spread on bread, salami/truffle spread on bread, liver pate on bread and their wonderful, wonderful Rosso and Brunello. DH likes the Rosso best. I am undecided. He loves the green tomato jam. I have a friend at home who makes it in raspberry flavor, I will have to get her recipe and try it with lemon. Everything tastes wonderful and we have a nice long, leisurely dinner with great conversation.