Exploring Tuscan Wine Country By Fiat Cinquecento – Part 3

Travel Exploring Tuscan Wine Country By Fiat Cinquecento – Part 3 Tom Mullen Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. I write about lifestyle, food and wine from a base in France Following New! Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories. Got it! Oct 23, 2022, 05:39am EDT | New! Click on the conversation bubble to join the conversation Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin We continued our exploration of Tuscan vineyards.

[ Part 1 and Part 2 of this winery exploration story are here. ] Ghizzano, Pisa, Tuscany, Italy getty Terre di Pisa – We slipped into our non-electric, petrol loving carbon footprint stamping cinquecento version—somewhat mucky from driving country trails—and listened to the song sono come tu me vuoi (‘I am as you want me’) on subasio radio station. Winemaker Paola and I chugged onward, swirling around roundabouts, flying across rural straits and jouncing over algorithmically poor GPS selections of dirt routes rutted like washboards.

The sound of windshield wipers rattled the car interior and the suspension bounced, making us feel sweetly close to earth. Our cinquecento car—we learned after these explorations—transformed from a utilitarian and cost-effective post-war baby-boom bubble model to a freedom-loving lifestyle statement, attached not only to movies but to music. While traveling I was oblivious that the latest iteration of the Fiat 500—an all electric car named La Prima (the First)—is featured in a Tuscan tour clip with singer Andrea Bocelli and son Matteo—and the song Tempo.

Southeast of Pisa we pulled into Tenuta di Ghizzano—a mesmerizing patch of vineyards clotted amid hills shaggy with thick bush and poking forests. This is a land of narrow gravel roads, oak copses, pheasants, foxes, maize and blackberry brambles—a wildly diverse terrain of steep valleys and dense vegetation. MORE FOR YOU Hiring Refugees: How One Big Factory Did It DeFi Is At War: But Not With Who You Think Top 4 Reasons VOMO Island Fiji Makes A Perfect Winter Escape Tasting Venerosa wines at Tenuta di Ghizzano, Tuscany, Italy Tom Mullen Winemaker and co-owner Ginevra Venerosi Pesciolini had worked in publishing in youth—clutching books in hand while she happily oscillated between Florence, Milan and London.

She abandoned that vocation in 1996 after returning to her family’s land and its mesmerizing landscape and realized that it teetered on the toes of bankruptcy and abandonment. Her family had arrived in the year 1370 from Florence (the era of the 100 Years War in France as well as the year of the invention of deadly steel crossbows). Today the family has 44 acres (18 hectares) of vines and 30 acres (12 hectares) of olives.

Mostly they grow Sangiovese grapes over a mixture of sandy clay limestone surrounded by thriving biodiversity. The family first bottled their own wine in 1985, and in 2018 they received Demeter biodynamic certification. Their reason for ratcheting up organic methods was that they noticed how this gave their wines a more individual characteristic, reflective of local terrain.

Tenuta di Ghizzano vines are surrounded by dense growth Tom Mullen ‘I really fell in love with the land. So I had to learn agriculture, administration, wine. I attended courses in viticulture and marketing and traveled to different countries,’ Ginevra explained.

She inherited a lot of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot grapes, and also planted plenty of Sangiovese. After her father passed away, she took an action he may have abhorred—but was financially necessary—and reduced their 13,000 olive trees to 5,000 before planting that land with vines. Today Tenuta di Ghizzano sells all over the world.

‘For volume, the U. S. is most important.

For value, it’s Switzerland,’ explained Ginevra. Inside the family’s ancient but warm and charming house we sat below mounted boar and deer heads—hunted trophies from eras past—and feasted on risotto while sampling vintages. Meanwhile, weather closed in and hammer handles and pitchforks rained from the sky and tuono e lampo —thunder and lightning—slashed and hacked their way out of a soggy heaven above.

Their Nambrot wine, a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, is coherent, balanced and includes aromas of red plums and wet leaves. Imagine a herb garden melded with a fruit patch in the mouth. You may even think—I can eat this.

Their Ghizzano Bianco biodynamic wine made with Trebbiano, Vermentino and Malvasia Bianco is perfumed with honey and mandarin aromas, while flavors blend sweetness with sour. ‘A very gastronomic wine,’ Ginevra said. ‘The Malvasia is soft and round.

Good with soups and white meat, nothing complicated. ’ Sangiovese grapes, Tuscany, Italy getty Tasting Notes from Tenuta di Ghizzano – Tenuta di Ghizzano. Veneroso.

Terre di Pisa Rosso. DOC. 2017.

94+ points. Huge and billowing aromas, soft as a pillow, of red cherries, strawberries, some white pepper and slight salt. Also red licorice and peppermint after five minutes in the glass.

Flavors of a rounded red fruit beauty—as well as candy cane and German chocolate cake, thyme, rosemary, and pimento d’espelette pepper. Soft and inviting with beautiful acidity and elegant although almost invisibly transparent tannins. A layer cake.

Tenuta di Ghizzano. Veneroso. Terre di Pisa Rosso.

DOC. 2018. 95+ points.

An explosion of red fruit aromas with herbs—tarragon and rosemary. Also aromas of candy cane, peppermint and eucalyptus. Flavors include mushrooms, black pepper, spices and thyme.

Long finish, beautiful acidity. Tenuta di Ghizzano. Veneroso.

Terre di Pisa Rosso. DOC. 2019.

96 points. Meaty aromas of spice and red fruit—including strawberries. Also black peppers and spearmint.

Open and fresh acidity—well balanced. Chianti Colli Fiorentini – We next traveled back to the outskirts of Florence, the ancient city with a throbbing heart. Named after a tower on a hill, Terra A Cona is a resort, a restaurant and a winery in an elegant slice of countryside with rich and rolling hilly vistas.

Five towers were built on a hill here to protect the road between Florence and Arezzo. The property includes 200 hectares (500 acres) of land, of which 50 hectares (125 acres) are old vines producing mostly Sangiovese wines. In 2015 they began experimenting with Colorino grapes.

Vineyards on rolling slopes below the castle grow over clay, sand and limestone soils. After touring (including a nearby graveyard where Albert Einstein’s family members, who perished during the war, are interred) we enjoyed a dazzling meal. Chiara Bellacci from the estate poured wines as we ate outstanding dishes of grilled anchovies garnished with sausages, crunchy Tuscan whole meal fusilloni pasta with mushrooms and thyme, and Maremma beef.

We asked who cooked this food. The chefs who prepared this meal, a couple named Maria Probst and Christian Santandrea, migrated from a Michelin starred restaurant to create their own experience and brand. Maria comes from a family of butchers and Christian has a pastry background.

We ate their unworldly delicious dishes inside a large and inviting dining room. The menu includes beautiful watercolor images of dishes drawn by Maria. (Besides the wines listed below, try the Fonti e Leccetta 100% Sangiovese sweet wine.

) Chef Maria Probst of Torre A Cona outside Florence, Tuscany, Italy Tom Mullen Tasting Notes from Torre A Cona – Torre A Cona. Chianti Colli Fiorentini. DOCG.

2019. 92+ points. 90/10 blend of Sangiovese/Colorino that ages eight months in cellar and three months in bottle.

60,000 bottles produced of this wine with hefty and perfumed aromas that include lavender, queen of the night flowers and roses, as well as some black pepper, marjoram, sage and sliced cherries. In the mouth—crisp flavors of figs and biltong. Slick acidity, boisterous but controlled tannins, some blueberries and cooked steak on the finish.

Torre A Cona. Terre di Cino. Chianti Colli Fiorentini.

Riserva. DOCG. 2018.

92 – 94 points. Old vine 100% Sangiovese aged 24 months in tonneau, and 12 months in bottle. 3,000 bottles produced.

Heavy, beautiful perfume that includes aromas of lilacs, roses, pencil lead and violets. Opens up to strawberries after five minutes. A chewy but soft wine with classic broad shouldered Sangiovese tannins and flavors of black pepper and minestrone and soft red fruit such as raspberries on the finish.

Succulent acidity, sleek but confident tannins. Pair with fussiloni pasta and herbs. Torre A Cona.

Colorino Casamaggio. Toscana IGT. 2018.

92 – 93 points. 100% Colorino. Aged 12 months in Slavonian oak and eight months in bottle.

3,000 bottles produced a year. Black color, and deeply dense aromas of fig newtons, tar, treacle, gorse grove, holly and blackberries. In the mouth, sleek and unique flavors of dark fruit and black pepper, as well as juicy red peppers.

Quite an acidic edge with flavors of Dutch dorp licorice. Unique. Pair with Maremma medium-rare beef.

Maremma beef with wine in Tuscany, Italy Tom Mullen Other Tuscan Wines – We also tasted various other Tuscan wines from different regions. Domini Castellare di Castellina. I Sodi di S.

Niccolo. IGT. 2018.

Tuscany IGT. 94 points. Fresh and bright aromas, although initially somewhat cloaked, of strawberries and cherries.

Flavors both delicate and cheery, with light red fruit that includes raspberries. Fine acidity. Layered, light and developing in the glass over minutes, with flavors of brownies, treacle and black licorice superimposed over delicate red fruit.

A well integrated package with taught and interwoven subtle flavors. Pair with cheddar cheese, an enchilada or lightly cooked lamb and cep (porcini) mushrooms. Le Cupole.

Trinoro. Rosso Toscana. IGT.

2020. 95 points. Fresh and smooth aromas of raspberries, blueberries and wet granite, as well as mocha, dark plums and nettles.

In the mouth, flavors of cocoa, red plums and kägi fret Swiss chocolate biscuits. This is a chocolate dominant three layer cake, topped by sliced raspberries. Crisp and uplifting acidity with textured, yet subtle tannins.

Petra. Quercegobbe. Toscana Rosso.

IGT. 2019. 92-94 points.

This 100% Merlot opens up with marine and wilderness aromas—wet shoreline rocks, salinity, ocean breeze; it also pulses with country farmyard scents of heather and gorse. All backed by aromas of sweet red cherries and black cherries and a licorice base. Succulent acidity, creamy tannins, some texture and suaveness on the tongue and a cherry parfait of flavors.

Pair this with a carrot and cumin velouté, or barbecued ribs, or a tagliatelle with a surf/turf meld of shrimps and truffle. Delightful. Petra.

Toscana Rosso. IGT. 2018.

92 points. This blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc includes aromas of earthy, pine, pine cones and ripe red fruit. Even livelier in the mouth, with rolling flavors mid palate of red cherries, strawberries, caramel and toffee and some lime drops on the finish.

Characteristic signature freshness and minerality from this winery, which also produces wonderful Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot single varietal wines. Società Agricola Bertinga. Volta di Bertinga.

Toscana IGT. 2016. 93+ points.

100% Merlot from Gaiole in Chianti. Brisk and deep aromas of earth, wet bark, truffles and blackberries and black cherries. Sleek in the mouth, a quicksilver pulse of chestnuts and strawberries in a liquid flash, with delicate tannins.

You need a second sip, and quick. Pair this with hummus and pecorino cheese, or even peach and strawberry dessert. Wrapping Up – So ended this Tuscan trip, which provided a great appreciation for Italian wine, food and automotive engineering.

When considering iconic Italian nouns— Doumo, Arno, Michelangelo, Leonardo , I may even now add— Cinquecento . All are constituents of an embracing Florentine and Italian cultural vernacular. I patted the hood of Paola’s 500 before departing Tuscany—somewhat mystified again.

Italy provides visitors with this strange sense of having been in an alternate universe, where laws of physics and balance of ecology and means of commerce are much the same as those we know, but tilted somewhat slightly in the disposition of generosity of spirit. Here, passion about politics is intense, but less so than concern about cooking, or wine or welfare of family. Here in Tuscany is this magnificent, subtle urge to share the sense that life can be bigger than scratching for daily bread.

Yet to understand this—it helps if you can visit. Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn . Check out my website .

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