I realize that I haven’t written on here in a while, and a lot has happened since my last entry, but today I had a truly unique experience at a Villa in Chianti and feel the need to write about it before writing about all other things I have yet to report.
Since about a month ago I have been working with a magazine here in Florence called “Vista”; it is an English magazine that produces issues with different, specific foci within Florence and Tuscany monthly (http://www.vistaflorence.com/index.php). I am currently working on an article about gardens, flowers and parks for the upcoming issue, and will post the finished product on here when all is said and done. But for now, I do not know when that will be. Updates to come soon!
But today those of us currently interning with Vista (three students from my school, one from NYU and one from Florida State), our editor Rosanna Cirigliano, plus some of the directors from mine and the other schools/programs all went out to a small town called “Greve” in Chianti (the wine region of Tuscany close by Florence) to be guinea pigs for this Villa that wants to start offering cooking classes. The Villa is called Montagliari, and it is a beautiful, very authentic Tuscan estate, where they produce their own wine, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. Their production of balsamic vinegar is somewhat unique because balsamic vinegar is not typically made in Tuscany, and as with all things Italian, everything has a specific region where it originated. For instance: Chianti is famous for its wine, Cinque Terre for pesto, the city Parma for formaggio parmeggiano, Napoli for pizza, and there are many, many more.
We were invited to Montagliari because one of the interns from Vista wrote an article about their estate earlier this academic year before they built the new part of their property that will be used for this potential “cooking school,” and because they wanted to shoot photos for their brochure using us as their models. We learned how to cook crostini made with kale and garlic, make fresh pasta from scratch, something the chef called “pollo alla vesuviana” and tiramisu. After each dish we made, we sat down and ate- we arrived at 10 am this morning, and left at 4 in the afternoon! But for the last hour or so we walked around on a tour of the estate.
Aside from the fantastically fresh food, I think my favorite part about the visit was the walk through the Cantina and the smell of all of the wine barrels. I love that wine soaked wood smell, it is so wonderful. They had a bottle that dated back to 1939! Locked up in a case of course, but there were just so many. Even barrels from other countries, like France. Our school went to Machiavelli’s house when we first arrived back in September, and went on a tour of a wine cellar their too. But the one I saw today was much bigger and much more interesting, because the different types of barrels (sizes, types of wood) lent the rooms a variety of distinct smells, some sweet and some bitter. The variation was refreshing because I had yet to walk through a Cantina that had so many rooms as they did at Villa Montagliari.
Oh! And spring has finally hit Florence! It is still a little cloudy and chilly, but a drastic warmth has made its way into the air finally, and it can only get warmer from here on out:)
Baci e abbracci a tutti
Once upon a time, in a land far far away.. 