I would be remiss if I did not mention two visits to two different wineries in Tuscany.  The first, very small, only 20,000 bottles/year felt like a movie set.  A brief tour, a beautiful lunch overlooking the hills accompanied by 3 or 4 different wines, and unfortunately a too-hard sell at the end by the owner.  We decided that we are not huge chianti fans, which is what the Tuscan wineries are known for — too acidic, even when the sangiovese grapes are mixed  with other varieties.

The second was a larger vineyard, medium sized—a good place for a destination wedding.  A huge villa which now rents out rooms and once again a beautiful lunch only this time it included a lesson in pasta making so we made the pappardelle we then consumed with a sauce of sauteed onions, fresh cherry tomatoes, basil and a bit of olive oil.  The lunch was again accompanied by the vineyard’s wines which we liked better but not enough to bring home.  The very sweet young man who conducted our tour and cooking lesson was not at all pushy.

A word about the lunches which were quite similar and typical of Tuscany —first bruschetta or something similar accompanied by a young chianti—next a plate of cheeses and Tuscan salamis served with fresh bread and a more mature chianti or maybe one mixed with merlot.  Finally a hot course —risotto cooked in chianti at the first vineyard, papardelle made by us at the second.  Then the most expensive ie aged wine appears and finally some sort of light dessert —chianti sorbet perhaps, or homemade almond cookies and then a dessert wine.  Needless to say there are no more  meals after lunch.