Visiting Wineries In The Chianti Region Of Tuscany Italy

T he Chianti region of            encountered fine stemware at       Tuscany is a vast region of     three wineries out of 130.         rolling hills set in the        Another difference you will        countryside of central Italy.         encounter is the number of         Eight zones divide this region,       labels. The average number of      each with a unique terrior. Wine      labels we encountered at the       Trail Traveler visited seven          Italian wineries was six. Many     wineries in late October of 2007.     American wineries offer twenty     Two of these wineries were in the     and occasionally over thirty       Chianti Colii Senesi zone while       different wines. Most wine         the other wineries were in the        tastings offer three wines to      Chianti Classico zone. Visiting       taste in Italy, five or more at    wineries in Italy takes some          wineries in the United States.     preparation before you begin your     Often the amount of wine poured    travels.                              for a tasting is greater in Italy                                        than at wineries in the United     It is best to make an appointment     States. Tasting rooms are          with the winery for a tour and        generally larger in many of the    tasting. Most of the wineries         wineries we visited in the United  have set prices for tours and         States.                            tastings ranging from a few euros                                        to 25 euros per person at the         Locating the wineries in the       wineries we visited. One of the       Chianti region can be a            differences we noticed in tasting     challenge. Their address is often  in Italy compared to the United       the name of a town rather than a   States was in the stemware. Five      street with a physical address.    of the seven wineries used large      We added the GPS coordinates for   stemware by Schott, Bormioli,         the wineries we visited at the     Spiegelau or Riedel. In the           end of the articles. Using the     United States, we only                coordinates and a GPS will make    finding the wineries an enjoyable     apartment was in the Tuscan        experience. Although there are        style, highlighted by brick and    superstrata (expressways) that        stone floors, walls and ceilings   you can travel, much of your          with gentle arches. The apartment  traveling will be on country          provided plenty of room to spread  roads. The traffic on these           out. The kitchen was one of the    country roads is minimal. We          smallest rooms. There was enough   encountered more traffic on           space for two people to cook if    California Route 29 in late           good at dancing around each        February in two days than we did      other. A large table, chairs and   on country roads in the Chianti       buffet encompassed the dining      region in two weeks. This             room area. The dining room opened  afforded us the opportunity to        onto a living room area that had   view the beautiful countryside        two sofas for lounging, reading    and negotiate the winding roads.      and watching television. There     The country roads are wider than      were spectacular views from the    the country roads in the United       apartment. We were blessed one     Kingdom, so you do not need to        morning when a fog had settled     cringe each time you do encounter     over the landscape. Only the       another automobile or bicycle.        towers of San Gimignano pierced                                          the fog. Daily walks through the   Some Tuscan wineries offer            vineyard offered a quiet respite   lodging facilities. We stayed at      and a time for reflection.         a winery and vineyard, seven                                             kilometers from the medieval town     When visiting the Tuscany area of  of San Gimignano. Mormoraia has       central Italy, take time to visit  several apartments. We rented a       some of its wineries. There are    two-bedroom apartment on the          hundreds to choose from, and many  first floor of what use to be a       are small production and not open  convent. The design of the            to the public. Read the Wine       Trail Traveler reviews of these       wineries to begin your search.     About the Author Terry Sullivan is a wine enthusiast who designed the website Wine Trail Traveler. Wine Trail Traveler is a winery and vineyard virtual visitor center. Both novice and wine enthusiasts will enjoy using the website. Published At: www.Isnare.com