Tuscany Wine Tour

My favorite day in the Tuscany region was the last day. We were picked up at our villa by Marialuisa Cesani who took us on a delightful and informative tour of the olive and wine industry in the San Gimignano area of the Tuscan Hills.

We first visited the cooperative which does everything from crushing the olives to the final bottling and labeling. Because the machinery to process the olives is very large and expensive, local growers will join the co-op to process their crop. Luisa explained that the growers are very protective of their olives so they will observe and supervise every step of the process. I was surprised to learn that it only takes a few hours from start to finish.

 

After touring the facility, we learned the proper way to taste EVOO which is much like tasting wine. Of course, one can always use a piece of bread, but Luisa taught us to take a sip from a glass, swish it around in your mouth, breath in a little air through your teeth, and then slowly swallow. The first was peppery, which I found interesting. We tasted four oils and then made our purchases!

After finishing the EVOO tasting, we went to Luisa\’s family winery, La Famiglia Cesani. The link to the winery is www.cesani.it. Her family has been producing wine for over 50 years. Luisa was very informative on the making of the different varieties, the use of cement, stainless Steele, and French oak barrels. We tasted several of her wines and each of us went home with our fair share!

 

Luisa then took us to a local restaurant where we continued to taste her wines while enjoying a wonderful Tuscan style lunch. The food was so plentiful, that We skipped dinner that night!

I will finish this post with the view from the Cesani Winery and a few pictures from San Gimignano. Enjoy, or as they say in Italy, divertirsi!

Caio! See you next from the ruins of Pompeii!