This Isn't Poppop's Wine Cellar

I can still remember the potent smell of wine and how my feet used to stick to the cement floor of the 8x8 foot wine cellar in my Poppop's basement. It was small and dark, but it did the job and I always thought it was the coolest part of the house. He made wine for years and drank it with every meal up until he passed away. My dad, and brother, Dave, helped Poppop in the long wine making process and now make their own wine. Needless to say, wine has always played an important role in my family.

Today, Lacey and I traveled with our school to Chianti (a region in Tuscany known for its red wine) to tour the 700 year old Villa Vignamaggio vineyard. It was a little over an hour away from Florence. All I could say when I stepped off of the bus was "Wow." The rolling hills went on for what seemed like forever. Rows of olive trees, grape vines and tall cypresses spread across the 100 acres of land with villas tucked here and there (like I said, wow). Now this isn't your average gorgeous wine vineyard (hah).  This vineyard was once home to Lisa Gherardini. Do you know her? What if I called her by her more popular name: Mona Lisa? Now do you know who I'm talking about? Thought so. She was married off to make money for her family and Leonardo Da Vinci painted the famous work of art as a wedding gift. Unfortunately, Da Vinci died before he finished the painting which is why it remains in France.

We walked up a steep hill to the main building that had a platform overlooking the gorgeous view. All of the students (myself included) jumped into American tourist mode and started snapping pictures. After our Tuscan photo shoot we checked out the fermenting room where the crushed grapes sit for a week while temperature and CO2 is closely monitored. After fermenting, the wine is put into wooden barrels for at least a year before bottling. The "cellar" where the wine aged was all brick with wrought iron chandeliers and arched ceilings. Even though it was much larger and older, I sensed the charm and tradition that I remember from my Poppop's wine cellar.

The tour was followed by a delicious lunch and, of course, wine! We sampled two wines from the vineyard. One was more fruity with cherry undertones and the other was a spicier, full-bodied Chianti Classico. I personally liked the sweeter one more, but that didn't stop me from finishing both glasses over yummy cheese, salami, and risotto. After lunch we were free to walk around, but the bitter cold temperatures kept us from exploring too long. The forecast showed rain and possibly snow all day. Sporting my rain boots I waited all day for the arrival of the rain forecasted for today. Instead it was just cold and I learned that rain boots are not meant for walking all day.

On the way home I stopped and bought a wool hat. I am happy with my purchase, considering I wasn't cold on the long walk home. We are almost all out of food, but decided to postpone our supermarket trip until Sunday because no one wants to leave our warm apartment! Tomorrow we are traveling to Sienna and San Gimignano. Can't wait to keep exploring this beautiful country and continue my exciting travel-filled weekend.