The Best of Tuscany----- Part 1

I know I have been MIA, time is just flying by. I went on a day trip to Tuscany the first weekend I was in Florence---- Under the Tuscan Sun, love that movie--- but if you read my first post you know that I will not be drinking any more Limonchello, LOL.

First Stop of the day was Montepuliciano, can you say Wine Country. For all you Twilight Fans out there Montepuliciano is where where the second book "New Moon was shot, when Bella and Alice were speeding down the winding road. Enough of that Twilight stuff. Montepuliano is also the place where they filmed Under the Tuscan Sun. Just and insider note you know that fountain in the movie--- not part of the square it was built just for the movie.

Here we are in wince country so we did a little wine tasting. Nobile di Montepuliciano Wine tasting at Cantina Crocini. Good news it just arrived in Alaska this weekend. What I learned when buying an Italian wine look for a pink band arouns the neck of the bottle. The has D.O.C.G it means that the produces mainly from the Sangiovese Grosso Grape ( minimum 70%) it is then agged in oak barrels for 2 years, 3 if it is reseval and 1 year in the bottle. Just a little information for you to use at your next wine tasting party.

Next, stop was lunch at a cheese farm. Here we learned how the produce 8 different cheeses and tasted then all. It was funny to watch then as they worked it was the young guy in the shorts that was the lead in the cheese show. As he was working the curds he got advice from and older man. I can just imagine what he was saying. " Vinny your doing it all wrong", " but Papa that is how you showed me last week" said Vinny. "Well I have a new way so the old way is out," papa. Let your brother show you how it is done, the ladies had you all mixed up today" said papa

We had a how to make cheese 101 lesson by these men. The demo was followed by lunch and tasting of 8 cheeses and more wine.



It was a great traditional Tuscan Lunch and we were served by the handsome men that worked the farm. I took a movie it is not great but you can watch the process of making Riccotta Cheese--- and when it was finished we served it warm with honey---- OMG it was amazing.