California Here We Come!: Castello di Verrazzano

Today I got to go to a beautiful, historic winery in the Chianti Classico region of Tuscany. It was a free day trip that my program offered, so why not! There are only seven girls doing the 12 week program and 5 of them live in my apartment haha. Mac and I ended up being the only two of the seven to go today. I wasn't complaining though; I love some personal attention with stuff like this haha. We were taken there by a shuttle, with our "tour guide" Cristiana, who works for SAI- our study abroad program. She was super sweet and easy to talk to and us three gals had a blast. The drive there was only 45 minutes and was a beautiful scenic route of the countryside. I personally am not a city gal, so I love getting outside the city center of Florence. The tour was super fascinating. We learned about the actual vineyard we were on. The property is spread over the hills, it is 500 acres, and a beautiful castle used to be at the top. There is only one tower left remaining from the original castle. The place was full of rich history and stories about Florence, Siena, and the wars that were constantly raging between the two. After seeing the castle remains we went to the terrace that overlooks the vineyards. We then proceeded to go down into the cellar and learn all about the wine making process and all the standards and regulations, etc. This particular vineyard was sooooo organic, I was lovin it. They are all about quality over quantity, and not adding any chemicals or excess sulfates. They make and use their own, all natural fertilizer, eek!! Italians are proud of their history, their products, and their culture. They want to preserve local traditions and standards, and you can not help but respect the way they view food, wine, and the consumption of both. After the tour, we got to go to the restaurant and eat and drink. The wine was incredible, as was the food and conversation:) Overall, successful day- and it's not even over yet!