by Andy | Sep 15, 2021 | Montecucco
We were travelling through southern Tuscany but the landscape was unfamiliar. Instead of the carefully manicured rolling hills dotted with artistically positioned cypress trees providing necessary counterpoints for the succession of foreign photographers, we were in...
by Andy | Apr 28, 2021 | Brunello, Tuscany, Vineyards
South of Siena, between Montalcino and Montepulciano, home of Brunello, lie the valleys of the Orcia and Chiana. More commonly known as the Val d’Orcia and the Val di Chiana, this small area encapsulates everything that people think of when Tuscany is mentioned....
by Andy | Mar 17, 2021 | Tuscany, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
If Bramante’s initial plans had been carried through to completion, St Peter’s in Rome would have been a larger version of the beautiful Tempio di San Biagio situated on the south side of the town of Montepulciano, just outside of the centro storico. Built for the...
by Andy | Mar 10, 2021 | Brunello, Tuscany
Vinnie and I were around the Tuscan town of Montalcino where the Sangiovese grape – used to make the famous local wine, Brunello – is cultivated. The name is a contraction of Sangue di Giove, the blood of Jupiter. Sitting atop a hill, the town is dominated...
by Andy | Feb 17, 2021 | Tuscany, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
We will never meet the Etruscans (who were very keen winemakers) but we can imagine that we come close to them in this heartbreakingly beautiful town. The Etruscan civilisation was overwhelmed by the Romans in the 3rd century BC and most of what we know of them comes...
Recent Comments