Learn to cook authentic Italian in Tuscany.

While trying to find things to do during our Italy Adventure  "that is not going to be all about wine" Koala found many cooking lesson opportunities. However that being said most were very expensive or did not suit the needs of the group or the trip schedule.

The need / plan was for the ladies to enjoy their own cooking Adventure and then when the boys finished with their wine adventure, they would rejoin the girls to consume their cooking (brilliant plan). The discovery and eventual booking with Authentic Tuscany - Cooking Classes in the Chianti hills was as it turns out a stroke of great luck (Koala says genius). They were flexible with there arrangements and also sent the boy's on an Adventure to a revered Macelleria in San Donato in Poggio and then on to what was a wonderful tour and taste of wine and olive oil at the nearby Estate of Fattoria di Montecchio.

The directions provided by Silvio of Authentic Tuscany Cooking Classes made finding the place relatively easy. Come to find out Silvio conducts wine tours in the Tuscan area as well. After spending time with him over dinner and talking food and wine we think he would do a great tour (next time Silvio). The boys left the ladies in the capable hands of Silvio, Manuela and their daughter and took off on their own Adventure. So following is a diatribe, er, narrative as presented by the girls:

"We began our cooking experience with dessert (this dish needed the most time to prepare, cook and cool), a delicious apple cake with almond butter (frangipane). With the help of Manuela and Silvio, we quickly had the dough mixed and smoothed into the bottom of the pan, the apples peeled, sliced and arranged with the frangipane. Once our dessert was in the oven, we began working on our fresh tomato sauce. Together we cut onions, celery, carrots and tomatoes into large pieces and placed them in a pot with olive oil and garlic to begin cooking. Next up was our homemade fettuccine. We mixed and kneaded and kneaded some more (what an arm workout!).

While our pasta dough sat we began work on our stuffed turkey breast. Silvio peeled the grapes while we chopped fresh rosemary and sage. The turkey breast was stuffed, rolled, closed and then placed in a pan with hot oil to begin browning. We later added broth and wine and allowed the turkey to continue cooking while we continued work on our pasta and sauce. Manuela later guided us through the process of making a fantastic and easy to make Crostini Stracchino and sausage Antipasti. When the boys returned from their adventures, we sat down to a delicious meal paired with wine (provided by Silvio).

We had a wonderful time learning to cook Italian with Manuela and her family! Her patience and willingness to let us almost fail was a very enjoyable experience. Silvio and their delightfully sweet daughter were such a great help in keeping our kitchen mess to a minimum and providing us with assistance and support as needed. It was a great experience that was made even better by being able to sit down and enjoy the meal with everyone immediately after preparation. We’re pretty sure the boys enjoyed it. Neither of their plates looked like they needed washing when they were done (and that was after eating seconds)."

Hear hear.  Kiwi and Koala were very satisfied.

We really did enjoy the amazing food with wonderful people and some great wine provided by Silvio. Grazie mille!

The day was one we will always remember fondly and we all give Authentic Tuscany - Cooking Classes in the Chianti hills a hearty 'recommend'.

Happy Wine Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout

Kiwi & Koala

Ciao Italia ti vogliamo bene! Love letter to Italy.

(Hello Italy, we love you!)

It has been a while since we returned from our #ItalyAdventure. (We know annoying hashtag thingy. It's a piece of info for our twitter followers). All social media stuff aside, we miss Italy! We were only there for just over two weeks but our hearts were captured. While we were excited to be going on the trip, and we had high expectations of enjoying all we did, we were not prepared to fall in love.

Where did you go that was so amazing you ask? While we did cover a fair amount of ground in that time, is was not about any particular place. It had more to do with an overall sense of adventure and being near, around and inside some amazing places, meeting wonderful people, and enjoying delicious food and wine almost everywhere. Even though we were there at the end of winter, and it was quite wintery, the weather cooperated enough that there was only one thing on our list that we didn't get to do (besides use the pool at our villa in Tusany). We did not to climb the Duomo's 463 steps to the top of the Dome for the magnificent views of Florence. We had booked things with people and companies based on Tripadvisor, and as such had no real firsthand knowledge of what we would be getting into.

Paying up front for a Villa through a faceless Internet site and communicating via e-mail was a little unsettling. Pre-booking hotels and rental cars and then hearing about transportation strikes was also not very reassuring.  Traveling to Rome with Easter looming and the pending Popening was scary.  But then, the big day came and as we boarded that KLM flight to Amsterdam most of the trepidation was gone, and just the pure excitement of our #ItalyAdventure set in. The flight staff can attest based on our best Marx Brothers routine as we seated ourselves 3 or four times. Even after 10 hours on a plane, we really enjoyed our time at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam. Having a nice French wine at the lovely Bubbles bar. We made a new friend in the barman.

A French wine in Amsterdam on rout to Italy? yeah! One of the group even had a massage in a special sensory capsule for €2. Such an easy airport to navigate and a nice place to hang out.  Now wonder it ranks in the top five in the world.

As we landed in Rome on our Alitalia flight some trepidation came back as now we were in Italy with no real local language skills, and not really sure how well it would go. No worries. Out with bags in 15 minutes and right out the door was our ride.  No customs, that was all done and dusted in Amsterdam with incredible ease. We had made arrangements with RomeCabs and could not have been happier with the service. We felt like we made another new friend in our tour guide and driver, Sergio, who took us on a overview tour of Rome and helped us get our bearings, before dropping us at the Hotel Alpi. Brilliant!
The Hotel Alpi was another stroke of luck that we chose based on a friend's recent stay. Located on the east side of Rome it allowed for easy access to Termini Station and was a good spot to circumnavigate the city multiple times on foot.  It was also a very nice place to stay and the breakfasts with delicious coffee were just what we needed. We spent time having a glass of wine by the Pantheon, we sat on and climbed the Spanish steps, threw coins into the Trevi Fountain, and walked through the Colosseum and all over the Roman Forum. We spent an afternoon at the Vatican with Dark Rome Tours the Monday prior to Papa Francis' big bash, and saw first hand the preparations. We had a mid west American girl as our tour guide, who had left the US on a one way ticket to become a tour guide at the Vatican. Mission accomplished and she was fantastic.

We slept fast, and after five amazing days in Rome it was time to head off to Venice. Easyjet was who we chose to take care of us, and they were by far the most cost effective way to get from Rome to Venice. The water taxi from the Venice airport to the dock near the Eurostars Residenza Cannaregio, cost us more. Although we arrived in the rain we had two beautiful days in Venice.

Great meals, the Grand Canal, being serenaded with music on a gondola and just like in Rome we walked all over. After our time in Venice we picked up a rent a car at the Venice airport and proceeded to drive to Verona where we had an overnight stay at the Hotel Giulietta e Romeo. This hotel was perfectly located just 50 meters from the Arena and the surrounding square with restaurants and vendors. We were also only a 100 meters in the other direction from Piazza delle Erbe with its vibrant night life and the wonderful Ristorante Maffei.

We visited Juliet and had the obligatory rub, looked up to the famous balcony and left locks on the fence (can't stuff the note in the wall anymore). We also enjoyed a couple of the famous 'Sprtiz" wine drinks the area is also know for. Verona, what a wonderful place.
From Verona we drove to Lucca and then went due north for about 30 minutes to the Villa we had rented through Rent Villas, in Coreglia Antelminelli, a beautiful small hilltop town. From our base here we spent a week touring around northern Toscana. There was the cooking class with the wonderful family at Authentic Tuscany with the wonderful food, and the visit to Fattoria di Montecchio with their lovely wines and olive oils.There was the Adventure of finding our way to Fattoria Corzano E Paterno and enjoying an afternoon touring the facilities and drinking wine and olive oil and eating some amazing sheep cheese's.
We visited two other wonderful Agritourism wineries while in Tuscany, Fattoria Di Fubbiano and Tenuta del Buonamico. Tasting and touring Adventures we will always remember. We were well taken care of by wonderful people proud of what they were doing, and they enthusiastically shared with us the best they had to offer. Amazing!
We ate and spent time wandering Lucca, Pisa and Cinque Terre. Cinque Terra is where we discovered the wonderful things photo editing can do for the area. Not as colorful as we and you have been led to believe, but no less enchanting. We did however make one mistake of not spending more time exploring Coreglia Antelminelli and the adjacent town of Barga.  The day we did was great. Coffees all round with four desserts to accompany them, a slice of pizza and change for six euros. Then there was the wonderful family run L'Arcile Ristorante that has been in operation since 1916. It would have been nice to have a couple more meals there and we would have enjoyed getting to know the family.

The last couple days we were off to Florence and the Hilton Florence Metropole. We saw the real David and a couple others. We wandered around and saw the Duomo and the Cathedral. We saw all the famous tombs at the Basilica of Santa Croce.
We ate and drank well, and even had a famous Florentine T-bone steak. They sell'em by the kilogram! We even drank an extra bottle of wine (would not fit in suitcases) with dinner at the Hilton with no corkage fee (classy touch).

We left Florence at the crack of way before dawn on the day they shifted to daylight savings, so really an hour before that ungodly hour. Alitalia had trouble counting bags and so we arrived in Amsterdam too late to board our flight. KLM (new review) took care of the situation and ten of the twelve hours to get back to California was spent in luxury wondering if the last fortnight on our #ItalyAdventure was, or was not, perhaps just a beautiful dream. In just two short weeks, we had fallen in love with Italy.

To the people of Italy who were so kind, so patient and so giving, thank you! Vi vogliamo bene!


Finché ci incontreremo di nuovo,

WineWalkabout

Kiwi & Koala

We did throw coins in the Trevi Fountain, and traditional legend holds that if visitors throw a coin into the fountain, they are ensured a return to Rome.

Goodbyes are not forever. Goodbyes are not the end. They simply mean we'll miss you, until we meet again.

Pisa, yes the Tower is leaning...

Planning a visit to a world wide iconic landmark is a little scary. What if the photo's have been, you know, enhanced, like most of the Cinque Terre ones see. You have all seen numerous pictures of the Leaning tower of Pisa and the surrounding buildings, and yet, if you had the opportunity you couldn't pass it up right?

But what if it's just like the pictures and that's it? Well, we are here to tell you, it is just like the pictures, and for the most part it is just what you expect. In saying that though, there is a majesty and feeling of amazement when in the presence of this amazing structure, that no picture or movie will ever emote. Climbing a leaning narrow staircase is an Adventure in of itself, and to climb the 297 steps in a row to the top, well we were just glad it was winter and quite cool. In summer it must be one sweaty process. But don't miss out, just go early in the morning.

The unsettling off kilter feeling is secondary to the realization that you are climbing on marble stairs that are as much as 940 years old.

Here is a little of the history of this amazing structure. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is the freestanding bell tower of the cathedral of the Italian city of Pisa, known worldwide for its unintended lean. It stands at 60 metres and until 1990 was leaning at about a 10 degree angle. Although it was designed to be perfectly vertical, it started to lean after about five years at the same time the third floor was being added. The tower is one of the four buildings that make up the cathedral complex in Pisa, Italy (they all lean a little), called Campo dei Miracoli or Piazza dei Miracoli, which means Field of Miracles. The construction of Tower of Pisa began in August 1173 and continued for about 200 years. It was finally completed in 1399. Until the latest corrective construction brought the lean to a stable angle of 5 degrees tourists have not been able to climb the 297 steps from the bottom to the top of the Pisa tower for quit some time.

A great half to whole day Adventure, and even though it will be what you expect, you will marvel at having actually been there and climbed to the top. If you look closely once you have exited from the interior staircase to the exterior staircase up to the bell area, as you are about to duck to enter these last stairs, on the archway is a forehead impression that Koala left when he forgot that the Italians who built the tower only allowed for short people access. (Crikey that rang my bell)

After the tower Adventure is a good time to check out one of the local cafes and do as the locals do and have some wine and and pasta or pizza, then finish up with some dessert and a favorite coffee. Try Pizzeria La Buca and take advantage of the free WiFi like Koala did. Kiwi and the girls left Koala here as they walked to the river and back while he recovered from the flock of birds circling around his head. Not wishing to waste an opportunity he did as the locals do and enjoyed some wine and food as well as coffee's all round when the group returned.

Don't be afraid and miss out if the possibility exists we 'recommend' you check out The Leaning tower of Pisa.

Ciao,

Happy Adventures,

WineWalkabout

Kiwi & Koala

And yes we did take the obligatory holding the tower up pictures!

Wine tasting in Montecarlo, at Buonamico

In Montecarlo, no not that Montecarlo, this Montecarlo, as in Lucca Italy. The Estate of Buonamico is situated south-west of Monte Carlo, in the Cercatoia, and covers an area of ​​40 hectares. The vineyards are located for the most part in Cercatoia and Court Collodi and now cover about 30 hectares. This winery has history that dates back prior to 1870.

In 2009 there was a lot of new plantings of new grapevines that were are exclusively derived from noble strains, including white grapes such as Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Vermentino and Viogner, and red grape varieties such as Sangiovese Syrah and Canaiolo. These new plantations have been structured to increase the mechanization of the winery itself, as well as to try maintain high quality standards.

Arriving quite late in the afternoon (5pm) on a Thursday the modern yet inviting tasting room was almost empty which exaggerated the very spacious feel. This is a modern, as in relatively new and done in a modern style, spacious tasting room, and is setup to taste at the bar, or in small groups in the upper level in the back part of the tasting room. We were lucky enough to get here after spending a lot of time at another place and so unfortunately did not get a chance to tour the facilities but we did get to sample some olive oil (the traditional way) and all the wines being sold at the time (quite a few). 

Chiara made us feel at home and started out informing us of the process of picking and pressing the olives and how the terrior and olive tree clones give the flavour. Traditional olive oil tasting is for the pros and that is not us. Give us some fabulous bread to dip in it and we are happy, but to knock back a couple ounces of straight olive oil is a bit of sensory overload for our wimpy palates. 

The process is to take the small shot size glass and cup in one hand to warm the olive oil up while covering it with the other to keep the fumes in. After a minute give it a good sniff just like you would with wine to take in all the olfactory information you can. Once this information is collected knock it back like a shot! Bam! Whoa! Wow and fight the urge to cough! Yeah, nah, we prefer dipping bread into the olive oil and to keep the title of p.....'s (deleted by censor).

Chiara also walked us through the wine line up starting with some bubbly, and then a bit more bubbly once we thought our taste buds were back in gear after the olive oil incident. After what was a great bubbly Chiara lead us through the list of wines on offer and was very informed about each of the wines we tasted. Some wonderful wines were tasted and once again we broke the one bottle each rule (seeing a pattern).


We had a great tasting and wish we had arrived a little earlier to take a tour of the entire facility. From what we understand it would have been well worth our time. Don't make the same mistake we did. Call and book a visit and enjoy the whole package, we 'recommend' you do.

Ciao,

WineWalkabout

Kiwi & Koala

Enthralling Fattoria Di Fubbiano,

"Il vino rende lieto il cuore"

"Wine make's your heart happy" ~ Tommaso d'Aquino

The Villa, set among olive groves and vineyards was already listed in tax records as far back as 1392 and is the heart of the estate. This property has been in continuous operation since 1694.

This historic property is Fattoria di Fubbiano, and is only 15 km from Lucca, 65 km from Florence or  35 km from the Pisa airport and along the Lucca hills, between the villages of Tofori and San Gennaro, an area where wine has been produced since the 14th century. 

This estate property covers about 45 hectares and they have just finished and started using their new winery building. 20 hectares are used for wine production with an average annual yield of around 100.000 bottles.
This new state of the art facility is hidden into a hillside and doubles as a shaded plaza area that can be used for large gatherings. There are discreetly camouflaged openings hidden into the covered area floor, and when the the grape harvest is delivered they are opened and the grapes go through the floor of the plaza which is the roof of the winery. 

This is just one of a number of things that have been enhanced and about to be enhanced on this property. 
With the new winery area up and running the barrels were all relocated there and that made for a vacated space that is now set up for lots of smaller group tastings or a very large event. The room was just fantastic.

The Villa is currently being restored and will be used as a B&B once complete. We would be lying if we said we did not want to come back and stay. It was stunning. They have a lot here besides wine and a place to stay, with farm tours and cooking classes, the whole Agritourism experience (next time).

The old barrel room

After Chiara gave us a lovely tour of the facilities it was time for us to put our finely tuned palates to work. As fate, luck, or just strange happenstance would have it, we had had a bottle of the hall mark wine from Fattoria di Fabbiano while relaxing at an outdoor restaurant in Lucca just a few days earlier. A bottle of 'First Love'. An inexpensive and lovely to drink wine, but also one with significant importance to the owner.

We enjoyed a great tasting of good olive oil and wines, as we broke the one bottle per person rule again.

This was to later become a predicament as packing wine bottles into a suitcase has its limits! Big last night in Italy headed our way!

This is a great facility with very good wines, and we 'recommend' you make an appointment and go check it out. Tell em we sent you...


Ciao,
WineWalkabout

Kiwi & Koala

The good news is that these wines are available in the USA through APS Wines and Spirits. www.apswine.com

Afternoon tea in Lucca, Italy

Our stay at a Villa in Northern Tuscany...

Balcony view

What is Villa Reale - Anello? Where is Villa Reale - Anello? How do you get here?
Located about thirty or forty minutes north of the famous walled city of Lucca within a stones throw of the bustling metropolis of Coreglia Antelminelli is a large Villa that is divided up into four Vacation Villas. One of which is Villa Reale - Anello. We booked this Villa for our Italy Adventure through RentVillas.
With a little help from our assigned RentVillas assistant Nicole, putting some of our trepidation to rest, we prepaid for our accommodation sight unseen in a foreign country. Other than hotel and rental cars this was a big commitment!

Finding this Villa at night in the rain was a little difficult but with one call help arrived and within a few minutes we were there. We were only a couple hundred meters away. The directions that came in the packet were pretty good but after a long days drive in a foreign country and arriving at night in the rain, well our mental state was a bit suspect. Parking is about a hundred meters from the front door, with the typical in Italy ups, downs and some stairs. This all means you can eat more of the great food and consume more of the great wines. The place was warm, clean and most of all comfortable and most important of all, a nice bottle of wine to greet us. It is equipped with all one needs for a lovely holiday stay. Just like being in a large size condo. The Villas have swimming pools that would be a wonderful amenity during the summer. We unfortunately were there during the end of one of the cooler wetter winters in a while and never saw temperatures at the Villa over about 8-12 Celsius. The grounds have numerous seating areas and walks to enjoy and again would be absolutely delightful during good weather. The back balcony offers an amazing view of the valley and although we did enjoy the view it would be amazing in warmer less cloudy times. 

The place was a little far from the highway for us being that is was winter, but as a summer place the elevation  would make it a little cooler which would be good and the dry roads would make it seem closer. 
We enjoyed the place a lot but there were a couple of issues. The three bedrooms were each very different and set up a little strange. Two bedrooms have en-suites but only one of them has a couples bed the other has two singles. The third bedroom has a queen size bed but has no attached bathroom. It has access to the bathroom off the hall. Swapping the queen with the two singles would make things better. The other issue we had was a hot water system that had a mind of its own. Particularly given the fact that it was winter and cold, the numerous cool and cold showers and combinations thereof were very annoying to say the least.

We had called the property manager the second day we were there to report the problem. The following day a plumber came by but over the next four days while repairing one thing or another never really made any difference. In hindsight we also think the shower control in the middle bathroom was faulty as well which just complicated pinpointing the problem.

These issues aside we did really enjoy the place and the little town of Coreglia Antelminelli was a delight to wander around once we discovered the older part of town. It has a great little cafe and a great little restaurant. The cafe is a local hang out with cards being played in the back room and lots of loud vocal banter with hands flailing about. The coffee's are great, as are the pastries and pizza and the prices are amazingly inexpensive. The local restaurant L'Arcile, is family run and has been serving since 1916. We really enjoyed our dinner there and wished we had found it sooner.
Being able to return 'home' and cook a meal or to just relax in a warm and comfortable place and enjoy it's beauty and that of the area is a wonderful feeling that makes staying in a Villa just that much better than a hotel for a week. All in all a pretty good spot to enjoy northern Tuscany from, and a great spot if you want to just chill and relax with fantastic views. We give it a 'good would go back'.

Ciao Bella,

WineWalkabout

Kiwi & Koala

Tower in Coriglia Anteminelli

View from the front...