A Trip into Tuscany and a Visit to a Castle

Not so sunny Italy

Tuesday was our first day with an agenda. Through Ray’s company, we had secured a VIP Tour to Carpineto Winery near Greve in Chianti. Our tour was scheduled for 2:30, so the plan was to drive to Greve, have lunch and then do the tour. Carol and Robert preferred not to do the tour, so we would leave them in Greve and then come back to get them. The weather was not great, damp and showery and somewhat on the cool side. It was OK for riding in the car, though. It took us almost two hours to reach Greve, so there was no time for another three-hour lunch. We took a quick turn around the main square and decided that our best bet was a place that billed itself as a bruschetteria/ pizzeria. We opted for indoor seating out of the chill. The place turned out to be just right. We placed our orders and the food came relatively quickly. As time was running short, we left Carol and Robert to settle the bill, the four of us drove to the winery. 

At Carpineto

Nadine, our guide, was both knowledgeable and personable. The winery was in full production mode, since most of the grapes had been harvested in September. As a result, we could not see too much of the plant. What we could see, however, was very impressive. After the tour, we went to the tasting room where we sampled (and purchased) some very nice red wine. Then we headed back to Greve to collect Carol and Robert, who were waiting, as Robert put it, “Near the chicken statue.” That would be the "Gallo Nero", the symbol of Chianti wine.

The selfie

I’ll take the blame for suggesting that we take the “scenic” route back to Tuoro. Though it was indeed scenic, it took us up and down a few too many hills. Not long after leaving Greve, the sun came out and the weather improved for the ride home. Ray wanted to pass through Radda in Chianti, so we left the main road. Although we kept following the signs, we never did manage to find Radda itself.  We did, however, pass through San Casciano a Val di Pesa, where I had actually been many years before. A convenient pull out and panorama created the opportunity for the first of many family "selfies", so all was not lost. We pushed onwards though and eventually made our way back to the Autostrada. As it turned out, we were not too far from our exit. Soon we were back on the veranda enjoying the view, the drinks and another al fresco dinner. The evening ended with round two of the UNO competition.

Wednesday turned out to be a picture perfect day – sunny and warm. Our goal was the weekly market in nearby Castilglione del Lago. The troops were a little slow getting started this morning, so we arrived in Castiglione just as the market was finishing up at noon. Nevertheless, we did get to see much of it. We strolled through the pretty old town, captivated by the charm of this lovely city. The main attraction is the palace and fortress of the Corgna family, who ruled the city in the 15^th century. Before we went in, I reserved a table for lunch at a restaurant with a spectacular view of the lake. The palace houses a small museum of Etruscan finds and was hosting an exhibit dedicated to the works of   Joan Miró. The castle, though, is the real star. It sits out on a promontory that juts into the lake. It is connected to the palace by a long-covered walkway. This allowed the residents of the palace to escape into the fortress, if they were under attack.    

The fortress

This long and narrow walkway revealed the first in a series of family phobias that I did not know about. One person in the group was somewhat claustrophobic and was uncertain about the confines of the walkway. Given that there were windows along the entire length, the decision was reached to “give it a try.” That hurdle passed, we arrived onto the castle walls that looked down over the lake. Now it was fear of heights. To exit the castle one needed to walk along the walls to the tower and stairs. This also proved to be a challenge! Once back on the ground, everyone was OK, but ready for a glass of wine. Next stop was lunch.

Our lunch spot was Ristorante La Cantina. The outdoor dining is in a covered space with lots of trees. This was a kind of white tablecloth place that we don’t usually gravitate towards, but the setting was perfect. The menu was a mix of traditional Umbrian and some creative items thrown in. One of them was a pumpkin frittata  that caught the eye of a few diners. The red-wine risotto with blueberries was also an unusual choice. Our orders were all over the place, but in the end, everyone had enough to eat. 

Castiglione del Lago

The selection of local wines was also interesting. The young woman who was handling that part of the service seemed quite capable. They had a wine on the list that I had wanted to try, so I was happy about that. It’s made from a varietal called Trebbiano Spoletino (I’m drinking some right now, as I write.) It does not resemble other Trebbianos very much. It’s much more floral than citrusy. I’ll refrain from going all wine geeky. At any rate, we had a nice meal, but interestingly, not one that the group talked about very much afterwards.

We headed back to our home base, but not without another stop at COOP, which just happened to be on the way. We got back to the villa with enough time to enjoy the late afternoon sun. Because of our big lunch, supper was a modest affair. (Ahem). For the first time, though, it was too cool to eat outside. It was clear that the seasons were changing in Umbria. We had an abbreviated UNO night, because we needed to get an early [sic] start, because tomorrow we were off to Florence!

Another amazing sunset from the veranda