I Finally Got Him Where I Want Him!!

This was taken in the Midevil town of Monteriggioni, in Tuscany.

Hotel Capitani, Montalcino

We Loved this Hotel.  Great View of the Tuscan Countryside. 

Castello Di Montauto

We were so lucky to stay as guests of Cecchi at Castello di Montauto, one of the estates owned by the Cecchi family.  It was everything I every dreamed a Tuscan estate would be. High on a hillside the estate had a enchanting view of vineyards, the valley below and of the medieval hill town of San Gimingnano in the distance.  That day we ventured out to explore San Gimingnano.  We were not to be disappointed.  Al and our friend Doug both bought hats to complete their attire. We brought back sandwiches for dinner at the Costello and sipped on the delightful wines left for us by our hosts.  High on the hill there was a cool breeze.  We thoroughly enjoyed having the windows and doors open.  What a delightful evening in Tuscany.

The next morning we slept in late and awoke to an Italian breakfast set out for us by Sylvania.  Thank you so much for sending us off in such style Sylvania.  Our stay could not have been more wonderful.  

The Cecchi Winery

We loved our tour, tasting and luncheon at the Cecchi Winery in Castellina in Chianti.   Chiara and Cecilia were our hosts for the afternoon. 

Chiara gave us a tour of the winery.  Spoke to us about the growing and wine making processes.  I loved the smell when they opened the doors to the wine making facility ... it was intoxicating.  Each of the barrels above contains about 300 bottles of wine.  Another trivia fact:  the Italian vineyards are prohibited by their government from irrigating their vineyards.  They depend on mother nature.  As a consequence they try to match the grape to the characteristics of the region. Growing each varietal in a climate that is conducive to its needs. -- we loved our visit at Cecchi.   

Next we tasted a sampling of the Cecchi wines both red and white including a Castello Montauto, Chianti, Chianti Classico, Chianti Reserva,  and a Val Delle Rose.  Heavenly!

We ate outside at Antica Trattoria in the Piazza del Commune. We sampled several local specialties including my favorite and a new one to my repertoire, a fresh Pasta with Pigeon sauce.  This was probably one of my favorite dishes of my entire trip.  It had a brilliant red sauce that I loved.  Al's favorite was without a doubt the sushi inspired appetizer of 3 fish Tartare... sea bass, tuna and salmon... out of this world.  

Tuscan Sunflowers

Sometimes Life Seems Backwards