Pieve a Castello: As You Like It (Itinerary 1) – Escorted

Food & Wine

Tuscan food is simple and uses good local ingredients which complement the excellent robust wines of the region. It is seasonal food usually prepared with home grown ingredients. Although the Tuscans are called ‘bean eaters’ (mangiafagioli) the main staple of their diet, apart from pasta, is bread, which is traditionally unsalted to complement the salted prosciutto, salami and strong sheep’s cheeses. Whilst it is a traditional cuisine, it is not a poor one, and meat and game feature strongly, preferably cooked on an open fire. The Tuscans also have a sweet tooth, producing a variety of rich spicy cakes full of candied fruit and nuts, and light biscuits. The local cheese is predominantly pecorino (a sheep’s cheese: ‘pecora’ means ‘sheep’) enjoyed at varying stages of maturity.

During the course of your holiday you will see the vineyards of Italy’s most famous wine, Chianti. Known originally in England as ‘Florence Red’, the wine gained renown in the 19th century, when Barone Ricasoli (Italy’s second Prime Minister) developed the grape composition found in today’s wines. Chianti now occupies a large area of hills to the south (and east) of Florence, and Pieve a Castello is located in the designated Chianti zone called Colli Senesi (Sienese Hills), one of seven regions within Chianti. Alongside the more ‘serious’ Chianti Riserva are produced other, less expensive ‘quaffing’ Chianti made to be drunk within a year or so of production – an excellent accompaniment to local dishes. To the south of Siena, there are other superb local red wines, notably Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, which, with their full-bodied character and strong tannins, complement Tuscan cuisine very well. The less aged red of Montalcino is also very good indeed. You may have the opportunity to try other excellent Tuscan wines including Vernaccia, the white wine for which nearby San Gimignano is famous, the delicious wines from Bolgheri in the coastal province of Livorno, as well as the delicious Tuscan ‘passito’ dessert wine, Vin Santo.

History

The area we visit is the central part of Tuscany – a landscape characterised by medieval hilltop villages and scattered cypress trees, undulating vineyards and olive groves. Its gently rolling hills are disarmingly familiar as the classical backdrop of Renaissance art and its charm is a changelessness, which merges medieval and modern worlds. Most of the towns and villages in this area are built on Etruscan foundations. Roman colonisation occurred from the 2nd century BC. Wealth in the Middle Ages, from trades such as banking and wool, led to the prominence of Siena, which became one of Europe’s greatest cities. During the 14th century, Guelph-Ghibelline disputes resulted in the annexation of Sienese territories by Florence. Sienese towns and villages declined and have remained essentially preserved in their medieval state to the present day.