Vchanges in the landscape of the postcard with cypress cuttings, rich farms and beautiful little villages scattered on the peaks. The famous wine district of Chianti Classico has much more to offer than drops of noble wine.
– If you have a day at Chianti Classico, you can start at Greve Square. Hit the famous Falorni sausage maker and buy a boar pork sausage. Then go to the butcher Dario Cecchini in Panzano and have lunch there. Then you brought "all" your food production to Chianti one morning. With a visit to lunch at the Antinori Winery, you have smothered several highlights of Chianti in a few hours, said Anders Hornslien.
He has been living and touring tourists in Rome for many years and has recently written his own guide to Tuscany.
celebrity Butcher
– Welcome!
Dario Cecchini knocks out his arms and receives a group of Norwegian pensioners with a broad smile. From guest to guest at Solociccia restaurant in Panzano, the famous celebrity butchery takes care of the Norwegian journey.
– Norway! Oh great place! You know, I recently went to Norway on my admission. Together with Eivind Hellstrøm and Trols (Truls Svendsen, editorial). Han Trols is a polite screw, interrupting Cecchini who continues her honeymoon, from guest to guest, almost like a king.
Attach to the butcher
Hornslien takes over a visit to the butcher's shop in Panzano, a must for a visit to the Chianti Classico.
– For me, it's number one. Just dice, ten, he laughs.
"Entering one of its restaurants and eating you" all over the animal "is absolutely amazing.A small visit will allow you to discover the culture of Chianti, from the meat to the wine through the atmosphere, says Hornslien.
At the butcher shop, the staff walks around and pours small glasses of Chianti Classico under the spotlight, and the bowl of large slices of salami and spicy bread (lardo) has yet to be filled. There is a steady stream of tourists in the store. Here is the party atmosphere.
Thermokanne with power
– Gruppo norvegese (the Norwegian group), come here! Solociccia is ready for you, decoy Quintilio Sanesi.
Thermal boxes are ready on the table, in the same way as bowls of raw vegetables; fennel, barley celery, red onion and carrot – soaked in olive oil with the butcher's spices.
– Have you been here before? No? Then I will explain, "said the server of the Norwegian partner.
– There is no coffee. That's the power. Good power. Real power. Real power. Check the drawing, the server points.
Under each plate, the top of the table has a drawing of an ox, where all the pieces of the animal have a number. Power comes from clowns. Here the whole animal is used.
– The next court is called "romero in culo". Yes, you can understand what that means, laughs Sanesi.
A small pack of tartar contains a branch of rosemary strategically placed "on the back".
"I think it's reminiscent of hypocrisy," says Kari Evensen of Fredrikstad, who runs a spoonful of sliced meat over the fork.
Straight to the right, the thin slices of lemon jam carry numbers that refer to the animal's head.
Straw Bianche
On the winding roads, the journey continues from Panzano from the butcher's shop. We will immediately cross the "strade bianche" – the white roads. A term well known to cyclists: these gravel roads are used during the bicycle race of the era Eroica, which takes place every year in October in Gaiole in Chianti.
– The bus is getting very dusty now. I have to wash tonight, shouts the bus driver Ferdinando Masi.
He was tempted to choose the more scenic gravel road from Panzano to Volpaia. It is located at the top of vineyards and forests and also offers many opportunities for hiking and cycling.
– So incredibly beautiful, it looks like traveling on the bus.
A curious goat tries to climb a fence in one of the farms we cross. Vines, olive trees, poppies and cypress trees surround the white, winding roads. To the right of the bus, the landscape is open and we turn almost towards Siena.
Put the wall
But then. Upon arrival in the wine town of Volpaia, it is not only the wine of the distinguished manufacturer waiting. The meetings with cars registered in Germany, cyclists in shorts and a tractor went well. But if Volpaia comes from the top, you have to cross the very narrow village to park on the opposite side. Now we are stuck.
"If it does not work, we'll have to go back to Panzano." Ferdinando bursts into laughter while slowly moving the bus.
Eldgamle, rocky stone house – built hundreds of years ago, looks at the bus to the right and left.
"I think it's millimeters here," says Torhild Sønsteby from Sarpsborg, with a bird's eye view of the wall.
The 19 Norwegians on the bus hold their breath. But then we are through.
Wine in Volpaia
– Now you've won a coffee. Or perhaps a glass of wine, ask Paoloa Barucci the bus driver.
"No, no, I'm driving," Ferdinando Masi answers, and walks with his hands.
The Volpaias bar of the Ucci bar, its cafe and meeting point on the square. You will also find the Osteria Volpaia restaurant, a local venue for sampling the city's wines, including award-winning flagship products Coltassala and Balifico. At the bottom of the village is the sister of Paola's famous restaurant, "La Bottega".
– you like it! Bruschetta Pomodoro and Caprese, base Paola Barucci and place two bowls of tomato and mozzarella in front of two friends from the United States.
Before dinner in the fourth village of Chianti, Radda in Chianti, it will be time to do other wine tastings in the pedestrian area of the beautiful medieval town. Colle Bereto and Caparsa offer salads and tastings in the heart of the old town. When the black cock sings, it's time for new adventures.
