Chianti

We spent a wonderful day touring in Chianti. We went to the town of Greves. It's a beautiful town where we at in the square. We then went to an Enoteca. An Enoteca is where you can taste a variety of wines from that region. This Enoteca had wines from all over Tuscany. They also had olive and truffle oil tastings. I really liked the entire concept. We paid $30 for a card. It was like a charge card. We looked at the variety of wines and when we decided what to taste, you insert the card in the slot, put your glass under the pourer and press the button. The glass fills to a tasting and the price is deducted from your card. When you are finished with all your tastings, you hand the card in and are refunded any money still left on it. There were 100's of wines to choose from at this Enoteca.

After Greves we went to Brancaia for a wine tour and tasting. http://www.brancaia.com
Julia was our host and a wonderful one at that. It was here where we were told that to be classified as a Chianti Reserva the wine has to be aged in oak for at least 12 month. Chianti Classico is young wine. I should add all made from Sangiovese grapes.
Something else we learned...ever wonder why there are rose bushes at the end of the rows of vines. If something goes wrong with your roses, there is something wrong with your grapes. It's a safe guard on how well your vines are growing and if they catch any diseases.