Girls on a Mission

Bags packed.
Reservations made.
Flowers from my valentine(s) in a water bottle ready to make the trek.

Destination: Cortona.
Where is Cortona? Tuscany of course! I'm still not sure how I came across it and why it became one of my top "hill towns" to visit, but it did and I'm glad!

With both of our times in Italy drawing to a close, Jess (AKA Mom of Minions) decided we'd let the kids spend one last long weekend together while she and I headed north to wine country to ship back home. Okay, I really wanted to hit Pisa, but flooding took place instead so wine was a fabulous runner up option and hello, we're multitasking here! 

This morning we met up Stefano who spent the entire day driving us around the valley, taking us to wineries, and telling us the history of the region. I'm telling you- hiring a local to show you around is hands down the best way to explore places and if you're lucky, they do all the driving so you can sit back and enjoy the wine view.

Our first stop was Montepulciano, one of the Mideival and Renassance towns in the region, which is known primarily for its Vino Nobile. This wine made primarily of Sangiovese grapes is aged for 2 years in barrels, or longer if riserva. Despite traveling to this town when my parents were in town (yeah, you would have never known based on the lack of blog posts) seeing the town again, this time with blue sunny skies looked completely different! Our walk through the off season crowd was rather enjoyable too.

Cantina Città Sotterranea Ercolani was stop #1. Here I found my knight in not so shinny armor waiting for our arrival before touring the underground ancient city. How ancient? Well, there are two Etruscan tombs, medieval torture devices, and lots of stories from its past. Of course most the chambers now are used as barrel storage areas as the vino nobile ages to perfection, but it was a fun tour to check out before our wine sampling started mid morning. It was here we first learned what the glass green containers atop each barrel was. The simple 2 part glass container was designed by da Vinci to allow for easy wine access (samples/topping off) while still allowing a tight seal, provided by water, to allow for the air to escape the barrel, without letting any in. Air in a wine barrel? That's a whole lot of vinegar.

We tasted the vino nobile riserva from 2005 and 2006, along with the some other stuff that wasn't all that yummy. Of course pecorino cheese will always be the clear winner for yum factor, but I did walk away with a box full of red wines and a large bottle of Vin Santo, the best stuff ever to dip biscotti in.  

Stop #2 in Montepulciano was hands down our most favorite place of the day. With a name like Gattavecchi (which was the founding family's name) there's potential. Pair that with the fact that this winery was originally set up by monks, and connected to the church? Oh and did I mention the bellissima vista and the old lady who greeted us who had been working there since she was 20? Yep. This place was amazing. A quick tour through the rebuilt cellar (bombed during the war) revealed more huge barrels and an Etruscan cellar. Back upstairs we were met by one of the owner's sons who explained to us in detail the wines, flavors, and process- he had to with the size of pours being given to us!

We both fell in love with the rosso  and bought them out of one of the labels! I guess walking out with 5 boxes will do that to their stock? Everyone is happy though- they have more room for the new stuff and we get discounts. We also tasted their new vino nobile before it was to be introduced to the press later this week. At first sip, it was bleh but once we tried "what it will age into" the flavors began to make more sense. And the additional pecrino cheese and bruschetta drizzled with fresh pressed olive oil? Yum. Yum. Yum.  Purchases made, business card collected, car weighed down by another 7+ boxes of wine??? Time to head over to Pienza for a tour and pranzo. 

Pienza, famous for being the birth place of Pope Pius II was rebuilt as a Renaissance town after he became Pope. The tiny town had only a few streets, but the view was stunning along Via dell’Amore, Via della Fortuna, & Via del Bacio. Totally filing those places away to sneak off one day with a special someone to enjoy the sun soaked country side. Lunch was a yummy ravioli with sage and butter, and somehow we managed to make room in our bellies for more food. Absolutely beautiful, tiny hill town, complete with cheese shops!

Somehow between the sun streaming in on me through the back seat window, some winding roads, & several cap naps, we made it to an abbey near Montalcino- Abbey of Sant' Antimo. The wind blowing through the olive trees, birds chirping and briliants greens made it difficult to shake my food/wine induced slumber, the I wanted to breathe in that fresh air so badly! And I did. And I enjoyed every bit of that air expanding through my bronchial airways encouraging all that Naples crud to leave. Yep. Near coughing attack, but I think my lungs are much happier again.

Our final stop was a winery in Montalcino- La Potazzine Gortelli. La potazzine translates to mean a local small birdbut it's also commonly used as a term of endearment for children. In this case, the owners 2 daughters have been called le potazzine by their nana and the name of the winery was found. This stop was undoubltly on a different business plan. The owner held many hectarces of loand and distributes his wine world wide. The estste was heautiful, and decorated for visiters. in a formal tasting room we sampled wines that were okay. Based on the price tag, they should have been fabulous but as we kept telling ourselves throughout the day- buy what you like! And well, at 48E a bottle? That label just wasn't so adorable anymore and the contents of the  bottle only so-so. Yeah, this famous Brunello wine? Non me piace! 

So over all? TripAdvisor rocks again in helping me figure out this latest adventure. The day was long, but we got what we wanted- cases of wine for wine shipment time and saw many cities along the way! As for food and wine? Ugh. Sono pieno fino a quando lo facciamo anche domani!