Pienza - Incredible Landscapes & Great Wine
The Tandem Spirits recently returned from a long weekend visiting their friends Carol and Roger in Pienza. Virginia met Carol at the University of Washington where they were the two old ladies in the Italian classes. They became friends over their shared love of Bicycling and the Italian language, literature and culture. Carol and Roger have had a place in Pienza for a number of years now. It’s only a 1.5 hour drive and we enjoy spending time with them when they are in Italy.
Visiting the San Carlo Winery
We arrived in Pienza and settled into a very nice apartment at Olivera Camere. We had a nice lunch at Carol and Roger’s place, then drove to the San Carlo winery in Montalcino for a tasting and tour. San Carlo is a small family owned and operated winery. All of their wine is made from the three vineyards at the winery. Our tour was given by the owner, Gemma Marcucci. She explained that the winery was started by her grandparents who bought property after the war. We tasted a Rosso di Montalcinoand a Brunello di Moltalcino. Both were excellent. We bought some bottles of each.
On Saturday mornigng James and Roger went for a long bike ride. Riding in Pienza is different from the rides Tandem Sprits have been doing this year around Foligno. It included lots of rolling and some steep hills. Carol and Virgina did a hike in the area. It was a nice balance of hills and flats. After a well-deserved lunch, we went back to our room for showers and naps.
Dinner at Podere La Paolina
In the eveing we went for a stroll in the hill town of Montefollonico before heading to the nearby town of Torritadi Siena where we had dinner at Podere La Paolina. We had an outstanidng meal. Porcini mushrooms had just arrived that day, so we had them roasted with olive oil. For primi piatti, James, Roger and Virginia had Tagliolini al Tartufo, with white truffles, and Carol had Pici al Ragù di Chianina. We decided to split a Fiorentina di Chianina. For dessert, James and Virginia split a pear poached in chianti wine with a scoop of gelato, and Carol and Roger split a chocolate cake.
Etruscian Museum & A Little More Wine
We had planned to have pancakes for breakfast on Sunday, but we weren’t very hungry so we had a light breakfast of toast and fruit. Our activity for the day was a visit to the Etruscan Museum in Murlo. While most Etruscan museums show a lot of burial urns, stones and artifacts, this one focuses on architecture and every day items which were recovered from a site on a hill about 4 km from the museum. The museum is located in a beautiful location.
On the way back to Pienza we stopped in at the wine shop at Castiglion del Bosco in Montalcino. Roger told us that Barack Obama visited the golf course there shortly after leaving office. It’s definitely an exclusive resort. The produce good (very expensive) wines which we enjoyed sampling.
