vineyard

Monday: Barberino Val d’Elsa

Posted on by Susan

Our hosts in Tuscany gifted us with a wine tasting coupon, so we headed to Barberino Val d’Elsa to check it out late this morning after another grand breakfast.

We made a stop along the way and when we got back into the car, the Check Engine light was on. The nearest Citroen service station was 35 minutes away in Florence, so away we went. The mechanics there were so nice and took a look right away, fixed whatever it was in a half hour, and charged us nothing.

We left busy Florence ( we plan to spend tomorrow or Wednesday there, but go by train) and went to the wine tasting, which was very good and it was interesting to hear about the wines they produce. After, we drove the long and winding dirt roads to the vineyard where their wine is made and got a fantastic nice long tour of the facility by one of the owners.


photos: the narrow road into the city. Below: an easy way to move furniture out of an apartment; olive trees are all over the place

Wednesday/Thursday: Saint-Emilion

Posted on by Susan

Our castle room is fantastic! What a lucky find on Airbnb.

Our hosts, Annick and Pierre, run the vineyard here and it has been in the family for four generations – five now that their son is out of college and actively working in the business.

We enjoyed a tour of their impressive wine-making operation where wine is still made traditionally – quite a tedious process from what we observed. Some of their equipment, like the numbered vats where the wine ferments – were made in the late 1800s. They produce about 45,000 bottles of wine annually. We tried some from 2016, 15, and 14, and liked it a lot. Yes, of course we got a few bottles to take with us.

Our small room in the castle is almost unbelievable, with ancient stone walls and very old solid wood furniture. It is much warmer here than in Ireland but the castle is probably naturally cool all the time. (It does not have wifi or television, and electrical outlets are scarce.)

Annick dropped off a fresh baguette and her own jam this morning and I met up with her after my run into town. (I thought I had woken up just before 7am, but with the time change it was actually an hour later. I guess I was tired after our long drive yesterday.) She is a schoolteacher and told me kids have school from 8-5 just four days a week, off on Wednesday.

We explored Saint-Emilion, full of many wine shops, cheese shops, and plenty of restaurants. The streets are very narrow and ancient, and sometimes tricky to walk on with their sharp, jutting rocks. It is beautiful and charming to walk around and very interesting to drive around. Grapes are harvested this time of year and workers are in the vineyards getting the job done.

photos: above – the door to our castle room.

below – wine vats from the 1800s, still used

bottles of wine produced by the vineyard