Day 19 – June 7, 2025 – Foiana, Italy
Today Barbara picked us up around 10 am and was taking us for a Chianti tour in Montefalco which is about 1 hr. and 20 minutes from our villa.
Our first stop was at Poggio al Sole (sun on the hill) Cellar, where we had 4 tastings and tagliere (cold cuts/olives, etc.). Our host/guide was Lucia (Lucy) and she explained the wine making process they do at the cellar. It is in the heart of Tuscany between Florence and Siena, and they have records that date back to as early as the 12th century that wine and oil were produced on the estate. At Poggio al Sole they use sustainable farming and have organic practices and are vegan certified. Their grapes are the Sangiovese, which are used to make Chianti Classico. They have about 25 hectares (about 61acres) of grapes. The vineyard has wonderful views, and we sat outside under the canopy of a huge tree that gave us ample shade while we enjoyed our tasting. And yes, John ordered wine from here, lol!
Our next stop was lunch in Rignana in the Chianti region at Cantinetta di Rignana. It was only about a 5-mile drive from the winery. There are no paved roads, so we were wondering where Barbara was taking us, lol! We sat outside under a great shaded terrace with gorgeous views! The restaurant was formerly used as an oil mill, and they have preserved its appeal. The food was amazing! I had their homemade pasta with a wild boar ragout and John had a Tuscan beef stew, plus he helped me with my pasta. We finished off with a panna cotta with fruit.
Our next stop was at Tolaini Cellar, about an hour away in Castelnuovo Berardenga, where we met our host, Marco, for a tour and history of their cellar. The owner, Pier Luigi Tolani, was raised in Italy, but moved to Canada when he was young with the hopes of coming back and staring his own vineyard. He spent 25 years in North American where he started his own logistics business and saved the money to come back to the Tuscany area where he knew he wanted to make great wine. We had 6 tastings along with nibbles and they were good. I’m not a big red wine drinker, but John and Steve loved it, so they had the extras of mine and Patty’s, lol! No need to worry since Barbara was driving us. John bought a couple of bottles there and then we headed back to the villa, which was about a 30-minute drive.
After all the nibbles and great lunch, we cooked dinner in and included lots of vegetables! A long day, but fun! There is no agenda on the books for tomorrow so we will see what happens – ciao!
