UNCORKED WINE TRAVELS

Musings Along The Wine Trails

Addio Miei Cari Amici ~ Renee & Michele Buccelletti

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15968259376_364898d86eWith a heavy heart, I bid Renee and Michele Buccelletti a bittersweet farewell and much love, success and happiness in their new Italian adventure.

Next month the newlyweds embark for a new life in Castiglion Fiorentino to join the family agriturismo and viticulture business.

Michele will manage and assist in wine making with his mother, Lydia Castellucci at the family’s Agricola Buccelletti  winery.

And, Renee will spearhead the marketing of Casali in Val di Chio, an enclave of renovated stone vacation villas dating back to the early 1800’s.

castiglion-fiorentino Castiglion Fiorentino is a tiny walled hilltop hamlet which lies a few kilometers north of the sleepy medieval village of Cortona, which was featured in the romantic soul-seeking movie, Under The Tuscan Sun.  Only 12,000 residents make their home in Castiglion Fiorentino which dates back to the 13th century Etruscans.  Aaaah Bella Toscana!!! [Read more…]

Villa Dievole ~ Chianti’s Most Heavenly Retreat

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l'aria...in questo luogo e magica
l’aria…in questo luogo e magica

It was love at first sight! I had found the perfect sanctuary– Villa Dievole, a wine resort!  Could there be anything more sublime?

From the minute you approach the resort, you feel that you are in a most special place in the world.   And you are…

Show me the way... to Vaglagli per favore
All signs point to Vagliagli

Villa Dievole was nestled among rolling fields of vineyards as far as the eye could see, and bordered by the Tuscan wooded hills off of one of the “white roads” near Chianti’s main wine road,  the SR222.

The long road to Vagliagli was a solitary drive, meandering six kilometers  through the woods on a secondary unpaved road.  

The "white road" to Vagliagli
The “white road” to Vagliagli

My eyes were peeled for wild boar and deer, but the only “wildlife” I encountered were a few cars madly passing me on the narrow road leaving me in a cloud of dust. [Read more…]

Enoteca Consorzio Del Vino Nobile – Montepulciano

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I highly recommend starting your day at the Enoteca Consorzio Del Vino Nobile in centro (historic center) Montepulciano.  The Consorzio is located on the lower level of the Palazzo del Capitano in the renown Piazza Grande, across from the duomo (church).

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There you can taste the wines from all 230 members of Montepulciano’s  Consorzio and with any luck, plan a same day cellar tour and private tasting at a local vintner.

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Appointments to tour the cellars must be made in advance as most wineries in Tuscany do not accept “drop-ins” and some wineries are closed to visitors.

It is standard practice to tour the cellars and grounds before wine tasting, (oftentimes the winemaker will actually lead the tour).

Tours are routinely conducted in English, Italian or French, followed by a semi-private wine tasting in a small reception room.  Tour prices vary according to the number and types of wines sampled.

Of course, Montepulciano is best known for its Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, but the Rosso di Montepulciano and the Vin Santo are also widely cultivated and promoted and can be sampled at many of the local wineries and enotecas. [Read more…]