A Journey Among the Flavours of Chianti (Part 2)

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Volpaia and Radda



Volpaia is a charming little town village with the old medieval castle fortified in the XII century and a maze of alleys, arches and ancient palaces. In Volpaia's main square, we indicate you La Bottega di Volpaia (Piazza della Torre 2). During the day it is a very well provided shop where purchase olive oil, fresh pasta, sausages and cheese (at lunch time cheese and cold cuts are also available for take-away); at evening you can have typical regional dishes of the Tuscan cuisine. That is the best place to taste "ribollita" (vegetables and bread soup), a simple and delicious dish of Tuscan peasant tradition.



Going to South from Volpaia, we find one of the most beautiful village of Chianti's region: Radda, the ancient main town of the Chianti's League in 1415 and the place where the most powerful Florentine families used to spent their summer holiday during the XVII century; the village still keeps the old wall where it is possible to walk along the old passageways and catch a great sight of the surrounding hills.




In IV Novembre square you can find Casa Porciatti where it is possible to purchase typical products of Chianti 's tradition, as filetto di maiale stagionato (seasoned pork fillet) and lardo (lard). You can also stop at the little wine bar run by the same family and located in the medieval passageways. In the village centre there is the finest restaurant of Radda: Chiasso dei Portici (tel. 00390577738774), placed in the street of the same name. This restaurant is perfect to have a very romantic dinner, enjoying a high level cuisine and a great wine list.



Panzano and Castellina



Going back to Radda towards Greve, you reach Panzano in Chianti where it is worth visiting one of most beautiful Romanesque church of Tuscany: the Pieve of San Leonino, built in the VII century. Here in Panzano, you can find also the Antica Macelleria Cecchini (Via XX luglio 11), the shop of the butcher poet Dario Ceccherini, a real must for Tuscan cuisine.



This casual and typical place definitely won't let you down, offering you cold cuts and wine tastings as well as the best bistecca alla fiorentina of these outskirts (a special beef t-bone steak very thick, grilled and coming cooked to medium rare). Many international VIP are some of the most devoted clients of this place. For example: Jack Nicholson. The owner suggests getting there having empty stomach, on time and it is funny to say, feel free to get there, bringing your own wine, if you want, without further expenses.



But, from Radda, if we move to West, we get to Castellina in Chianti. This town village was disputed between Florence and Siena in the past, nowadays play with Greve to achieve the title of Cuore del Chianti Classico. Castellina is immersed in a wonderful countryside among olive tree, cypresses and vineyards; it is very worth visiting the great passage of via delle Volte catching a sight of the medieval mansion but also because of the great number of places for gourmet.... particularly, we suggest you la Trattoria La Torre Piazza del Comune 15 in the centre of the fortified village. This restaurant is a very casual place really renewed in Castellina, offering great dishes of the Tuscan tradition. Don't miss vitello di Valdichiana (beef of Valdichiana area) and ossibuchi!



Here in Castellina, it is not so difficult to buy high quality wine in good places, among those Enoteca Le Volte (via Ferruccio 12) and the Azienda agricola San Donatino (Tel. 00390577740318), 1 km away from Castellina in direction of Poggibonsi, where the French son writer Leo Ferré lived until 1993. But our best place is still Fattoria La Castellina in via Ferruccio 26 maybe because of its fascinating atmosphere; this place was an old farmhouse in the XIV century. They sell wine, honey, spirits, Vin santo, olive oil, aromatic vinegar...



Our journey among Chianti's flavours ends in this farmhouse where we are impressed by those big old barrels still kept inside the cellars. By chance, this journey has brought us on the footsteps of important personalities apparently very distant from each other, as Leonardo da Vinci, Leo Ferré and Jack Nicholson. We have nearly made this journey closing our eyes, just following two sentences very important that so often are forgotten because of the frenzy of our day life: taste and smell.

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We are situated in the main square of Greve in Chianti, a picturesque small town near the two main historical cities in Tuscany: Florence and Siena. For more information about the Chiantishire and our Hotel, please visit our website:
"Albergo del Chianti" Hotel



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A Journey Among the Flavours of Chianti (Part 1): Greve, Panzano and Radda

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The land of Chianti offers precious views to its visitors: medieval abbeys and fortified villages as well as smooth hills of unique colours. But, not only is your sight continuously stimulated while getting around this land rich in culture and ancient, also your taste and smell will have their own chance to be pleased as going through Chianti's routes. Besides, everybody knows that the recollection of a journey comes from our eyes and also from the memory of a strong flavour or taste.



We cannot forget, of course, the most famous and celebrated product of this region: red wine. The main character of our itinerary will be food - olive oil, cheese, honey, encased cold cuts, meat and vegetables and so on... that goes so well with the most important product of this region that is wine.



We will visit some of the places where it is possible to taste typical regional meals of the peasant tradition. Their simply ingredients are combined with the ability of experienced chefs and the pleasure of the most modern catering services. Moreover, we will point you out where to purchase the tastiest food typical of the Tuscany cuisine, to keep a strong and tasty souvenir, once you're back. Well, Greve in Chianti is the first leg of our journey.




Greve's flavours



"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy", thus the first taste of the day could be the very gorgeous pastries and sweets that you can find in Pandemonio (via G. Garibaldi 12). If you're looking for a tasty but cheap lunch (15-20 €), go to the very central piazza Matteotti where you can find the nice restaurant, Il Portico, very famous for its traditional entries and grilled meat at fair prices. In piazza Matteotti, the heaven of food and drink, we can also find other restaurants it is worth mentioning: Mangiando Mangiando, furnished with wood tables and visible kitchen, Il Gallo Nero, specialized in bruschette and meat grilled on coals as tradition, the restaurant Giovanni da Verrazzano, where you could taste Tuscan traditional meals, spending about 35 euro, drinks not included. We definitely suggest you to taste meals with wild boar, lamb as well as rabbit.



Still in Piazza Matteotti, we indicate you another place where purchase typical products: the very famous Macelleria Falorni, a temple of high quality wild boar cold cuts and pecorino cheese. Here you can also taste or buy the renowned cold cuts "sbriciolona" and the real Chianina steak.



After lunch, it is worth visiting the medieval castle of Montefioralle, overlooking Greve. Once back to the village, you ought to stop and visit the very well-provided Cantine di Greve in Chianti (piazza delle Cantine) modern wine cellar where it is possible to purchase olive oil and wine as well as visiting the little but interesting museum of the history of wine.



In the surroundings of Greve



Now it is time to immerse ourselves in the surrounding hillsides and engage our taste in a more aristocratic setting among old gardens and towers: Both Castello di Verrazzano, 4 km North from Greve or Castello di Querceto, 8 km east on the way to Figline are good examples.



But, maybe the right place for us to taste wine and cheese is Villa Vignamaggio, on the way to the Lamole from Greve. Visiting the Italian style gardens and savouring the wine produced by those vineyards, the most ancient of Chianti's region, you can also be impressed by a fascinating ancient legend: Monna Lisa, the lady portrayed by Leonardo da Vinci in the most famous paint of the world the Gioconda, would be born in this old mansion.



If we move towards Figline from Greve, we will find the wonderful natural park of Monte San Michele: here it is possible to hike in an impressing place where you can still see hares and roes at liberty. After hiking immersed in such an environment, we are perfectly ready for dinner, thus we are only waiting to enter Ristorante Borgo Antico (via Case Sparse 115) in Dimezzano di Lucolena.



This place is furnished with modern and traditional components and offers a rich wine-list, delicious roast meat and generous helping. From risotto pere e gorgonzola to homemade tiramisu... this place is able to satisfy also the most demanding palate and offer a dramatic landscape on Chianti's hillsides.

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We are situated in the main square of Greve in Chianti, a picturesque small town near the two main historical cities in Tuscany: Florence and Siena.

For more information about the Chiantishire and our Hotel, please visit our website:

http://www.albergodelchianti.it



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