It's all about the grapes

Today was the first of two days we will spend this week in the Chianti region, which, of course is on the map as it is a hot spot for top-quality wines made primarily from the Sangiovese grape. Just like in Montepulciano and Montalcino, the sangiovese is the king of grapes, but it takes on a personality of its own when it comes from the soils of the Chianti region, which are very chalky.

We began our giorno del vino in the tiny town of Castellina in Chianti, which we visited on our second trip to Italy in 2000. It doesn't look any different and we were happy to see that the restaurant where we ate twice is still there and has the same menu. We did a quick tasting in one of the wine shops to wake up our palates and get a feel for the regional elixir.

Weeks ago we made a reservation for lunch at Casa Emma, a 60-acre winery that produces about 80,000 bottles per year. The recommendation came from a wine blogger who Joe likes to read.

While it's not a restaurant, per se, they do serve a set lunch by reservation only with pairings of 4 wines plus their vin santo and grappa. We were given the best table overlooking the vines. The setting is mozzafiato and we learned that the Emma of Casa Emma is 85 years old and comes to the winery each afternoon to help out in some way.  The lunch was traditional antipasti with their Chianti Classico, then the Vignalparco, which comes from a very specific hilltop vineyard. The homemade pasta was topped with a wild boar ragu, the boar having been shot in the vineyards by someone on the staff. It was paired with a riserva and then the Soloio, pronounced Solo io--only me--because the winemaker used 100% merlot grapes and was apparently the first guy in Chianti to try growing merlot. The vin santo was paired, as it should be, with cantucci. We skipped the grappa, as we really don't like it, but finished up with espresso. The whole experience was perfect in every way.

Afterwards we drove the scenic, winding roads and made a couple of stops. First in Panzano, which is famous for the "Mad Butcher" who creates nightly meat-fest dinners at his macelleria. It's a pretty town, but other than the meat we didn't see a good reason to stay. We did pluck a pair of giant figs off a tree as we walked into the town. Yum!

Next up was a stop in Radda, which is lively and touristy with lots of shops and enotecas. It's a great place for a walk and a stop to taste a few wines--and there are hundreds--made in the area.