Top choice for your holidays? If you love wine, Tuscany, no way.
Tuscany wine style is unique because nowhere else in the world the tasting of a wine blends so naturally with the culture of a Country.
Tuscans and wine, a passion dating back to the Etruscans and passing by Lorenzo de' Medici, who even named two of the main Florence roads the "Old Vine" and the "New Vine".
In Tuscany, the wine routes (there are at least 14) link the most important artistic Areas, so that driving through them becomes a really amazing journey, merged in hills rimmed with cypress trees, abbeys, churches and ancient castles at every turn and slope.
"I never had a passion for the landscapes, but the beauty of such a broader view coupled with the absence of factories, refineries and landfills penetrated the armor of my twentieth century soul, so
hostile to landscapes." said the writer Saul Bellow during his trip in Tuscany in 1992.
Tuscany is, during every season, the best place for wine. Equally charming both in sunny and rainy days, definitely is the best nourishment for grape.
Enjoy a glass of Brunello while you contemplate Montalcino ancient stones or sip a Vernaccia di San Gimignano with its towers skyline on the background: it is a unique experience that more and more tourists show to be interested in.
But if everyone is interested in having a wine tasting session, how can you be sure you are tasting winesthe wines in the most correct way?
Ten Commandments for a tasting doc
1. Contact the wine producer in advance.
In Tuscany there is a consortium that protects the production of every kind of wine: contact them before you leave in order to get a map of all producers in the area and get all the information you need in order to visit the cellars. Producers availability will be a prerequisite for the quality of your experience.
2. Be selective.
Choose a maximum of three/four producers a day, finding every day three or four cellars in the same area, so that it is easy to go from one to another in a reasonable time.
3. Stay for lunch
Ask if next to the winery there is a restaurant that serves the same wines appreciated during the tasting: usually there are menus conceived to accompany the wines at their best.
4. Do not knock on the barrels
The temptation may be strong, I know, but the risk of doing damage could be incalculable. The maturation of wine is a sophisticated process, so any stress can be fatal. If you visit the wineries with your children prepare them to do the same.
5. Go and taste in the morning.
Around 10-11 am, the capacities of the human organism are at their best, because they are not influenced by hunger (but go easy, or you could get drunk before lunch).
6. Ban excess for a while.
To grasp the countless nuances in a glass of good wine, you must make sure your palate is not altered by the presence of other strong flavors. Therefore in that days you'd better ban cigarettes, spicy foods, liquors, chewing gum and mints before visiting the cellars.
7. Hold the glass in the proper way.
The hand must stay on the base of the glass, because you don't have to heat the glass and you have to keep your hands off the nose, just in order to not be influenced by hands scent.
8. Breathe deeply at least two or three times, resting your nose between a test and the other.
So you will prevent it to get used to the perfumes of the wine. Meanwhile twirl the wine in the glass and it will release new and different flavors each time.
9. Prepare your mouth to the wine
Let's start with a very small quantity and then go on with real tasting. Inhale slightly to improve the taste sensations.
10. Involve all your 5 senses.
Sight: observe the clarity and color shades;
Olfaction: find out even the most subtle scents;
Hearing: useful to listen to the explanations that the producers will give you about the wine.
Tact: tact? Well, someone is supposed to pull out the credit card and pay the wines that you won't resist to take home!
Massimo Vinardi is a professional sommelier since 1998. As wine tour guide, he makes available to customers of the Relais Santa Chiara Hotel in San Gimignano his experience, organizing visits to main Wine Roads cellars, since 2009. Info: http://www.relaissantachiara.com/en
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