Food and Wine: Food | Recipes | Wines
Tuscany Food and Wine
Food and Drink
Italy is a country full of strong emotions and passion which naturally extends to the food and wine. This is particularly reflected in Tuscany which has a special relationship with food as a way of life. The creative and colourful use of ingredients, the time and passion in preparation, and the attention to detail has produced recipes brought down through generations to please everyone. The pleasure in tasting the final result combined with locally produced Chianti, Vernaccia or Brunello produces a style and way of life second to none.
In Tuscany there are thousands of restaurants where you can sample unique dishes and interesting wines, but even walking into a small village delicatessen or 'alimentare' you can acquire any number of delicacies, homemade pastas, vegetables in olive oil, or other simple ingredients to make a meal that can be washed down with a good local wine.
A good time to have the authentic taste of Tuscany is during the winter, when the locals have a chance to enjoy long weekends of hunting, powerful red wines and the rich, game stews typical of their cuisine. Wild boar is increasingly featured on menus with recipes like Pappardelle con Cinghiale (pasta with wild boar ragu).
La Fettunta
La Fettunta is eaten when the first harvest of olives and the pressing takes place in December of each year. The olives of the Chianti region are said to make exquisite extra virgin olive oil.
La Fettunta consists of bread that is medium sliced, toasted over an open fire, rubbed with a freshly cut garlic clove, topped with a few generous drops of the new olive oil and lightly sprinkled with salt and pepper. The Fettunta made in the Chianti region was traditionally served with a small helping of boiled ‘black’ cabbage.
Wine, Olive Oil and Vineyards
Tuscany is famous for its variety of good quality wines from the Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino, to Vernaccia di San Gimignano and many more. There are also a lot of very good Olive Oils available in this region.
You can buy these products from the local shops and supermarkets or, more interestingly, you can visit the Fattoria’s, Podere’s and Tenuta’s and sample the various wines and olive oils before buying.
There are so many farms dotted all over Tuscany that we have chosen a selection to give you a flavour of what is available.
Tenuta Cantagallo
The Cantagallo estate produces wine, olive oil and an interesting assortment of pickled food products and sauces utilising their own grown vegetables according to the custom of Tuscan farmers. All the processing flavours of their products are carried out manually on the farm without adding preservatives and colourings. Examples include Olives in salt, Tuscan liver pate, Pecorino cheese in oil and Pepperoni cream. The extra virgin olive oil is of very high quality.
The farm combines tradition and innovation to produce high quality wines of three different DOCG types: Chianti Montalbano, Carmignano and Chianti Classico. Some of the wines use just the Sangiovese grapes and others combine this with Cabernet grapes to produce a fuller wine. All grapes are produced in their own vineyards.
www.enricopierazzuoli.com
e-mail: winetourism@enricopierazzuoli.com (Giovanna)
Castello Vicchiomaggio
The historic origins of this castle can be traced back to the 5th century. However, its present name and form were taken during the Renaissance. Wine has been produced on this estate for centuries. Several styles of wines are produced from traditional to innovative. These wines include Chianti Classico’s such as San Jacopo, Riserva Petri, Riserva La Prima; and the Ripa delle More Toscana.
The Castello also produces Olio, Grappa and Vi Santo. In addition they have achieved a range of recognitions.
www.vicchiomaggio.it
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