Okay so I return to my faithful abode to recap the day from my wonderous adventures in Chianti! I had a magnificent trek up the winding roads, and I mean car sick winding roads for about an hours time with all my fellow peers. We took a bus and meandered our way through the narrow streets of the hills to Chianti, and so narrow that the bus had to stop for like ten minutes for a good half a dozen cars to back up a two-way street just so we could make the corner. Of course there were 3 italian women giggling on the sidewalks because the bus made it by just about an inch. Once we reversed and got lost a bit, we landed at our final destination, and the sight was breathtaking. We arrived at a castle upon a hill, atop the great region of Chianti. We got a tour of the castle that is still occupied and ventured into the wine cellar filled with ginormous barrels of wine and then into the dungeon where they stored their many bottles of wine and extra virgin olive oil.
Quick lesson in extra virgin olive oil, pretty much don't drink, use, spread, go near anything else olive unless it says Extra Virgin Olive Oil on the label. The process he explained to us pretty much frightened me into followt his 3 very strict rules about Olive Oil.
1) Label must always read Extra Virgin Olive Oil, you want acidity to be at .1-.3, most labels don't state this but if it is a good reputable source you can ask or check label.
2) the thicker and the darker the bottle that contains the olive oil the better
3) the younger the better, if one label says november 2008 versus november 2009, take the 2009. Olives are harvest in mid october to november so usually they are available by dec!
Follow these rules and you will achieve the healthiest results known to mankinds of the hills of Chianti!
Okay so did the dungeon and then we were all lead to the main dining hall, where they had prepared a typical Italian lunch for us. They used the extra virgin olive oil and the wine we got to taste. I of course shipped as much as I could afford home to mom and dad and drank what I could while on the hills. After lunch we took a hike through the vineyards, apple and pear trees. I couldn't convey the beauty in the photographs alone, I hope you enjoy them.
Tomorrow is Sienna so hold tight to your seats that is going to be another notch to add to my beautiful vista lists! There will be many photos to come! I hope to update you soon after my travels.
Ciao!
