Pizza Making and Wine Tasting in Tuscany
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For some people the idea of where the best pizza comes from can be a controversial subject. Well, let me clear that up. The best pizza I have ever experienced – yes, experienced- comes from Italy. Whether it be the north, south, east, or west Italy simply does it best. So when I heard we were going to be taking a pizza making class while enjoying wine tasting on our trip through Tuscany I was more than a little excited.
Tenuta Torciano have vineyards all through Tuscany. They have several vineyards scattered through Italy, because of this they are consistently able to create great wines and olive oils. The cooking class was held in San Gimignano, somewhere between florence and Siena. The vineyards have been passed down from generations to generation and while it’s not a small ma-and-pa owned winery it is still family owned.
We were greeted by the owner who showed us the vineyards and explained a little about the history of the vineyard. We then went through the restaurant and straight into the kitchen. We instantly had the largest glasses I have ever seen thrusted into our hands and were poured generous helpings of the most refreshing white wine I have ever drank. I say that as someone who favors reds. The ovens were on and we were going through that wine like it was water.
Thankfully I came to my senses and switched the wine for water after my third glass was being poured. We were after all about to go into a wine tasting.
The pizza class was taught through watching their master pizza maker show us what to do as his cousin interpreted for him. Now, I don’t want to give away his secrets, you’ll have to take the class to learn those, but I will say I was very surprised to know they use wine in their pizza dough.
It was a fun and interactive class and the seemingly non-stop wine being poured didn’t hurt either. We each made our own pizza and topped them with the never-ending ingredients that were splayed out before us. I topped mine with whatever I saw that looked delicious. In the end I think it was topped with mozzarella cheese, mushrooms, red bell pepper, ham, and olives.
After everyones pizzas were in the oven we left the kitchen and headed to the wine tasting room. The family pride themselves on teaching their guests how to wine taste. After learning all the correct techniques and correcting our bad habits we began tasting.
If you would like to get a hold of them or learn more check out their website by clicking here Tenuta Torciano.
Author
Luciana Cilemmi
Luciana Cilemmi, deals with Magazine, Style Director and Co-founder of Tenuta Torciano winery and Tenute Giachi wines and the innovative Viviarium Restaurant of Bottega Torciano- Tenuta Torciano & Winery is part of an international reality that is born in Italy by an initiative of Pierluigi Giachi and Luciana Cilemmi, who have worked for years in the Italian wine market , expanding throughout in the United States, managed and controlled by the american company ' Bellavini winery. Luciana Cilemmi was born in San Gimignano to a family of artists specialised in the restoration of medieval buildings. Having completed her technical studies, she now pursues the interests passed on to her by her family, like her passion for artistic objects, in particular works of art created in Tuscany between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. But she reserves her keenest enthusiasm for the historic works completed in San Gimignano between 1100 and 1300. Alongside her love of medieval history, she is fascinated in wines produced from Tuscan vineyards, which, together with saffron and wool, were the most sought-after goods traded by the wealthy noble families of San Gimignano already in medieval times. Luciana Cilemmi left San Gimignano at the age of 21 and embarked on a pilgrimage in search of knowledge and to discover the new winemaking skills and products that were then developing both in Italy and in France. In the meantime she added to her knowledge of wine by attending specialised courses and becoming a master of wine. On returning to Siena, she discovered a wonderful area near Murlo where she fell in love with the tiny, unspoilt village of Montepescini. She bought the estate of Montepescini where, based on the experience she had acquired over the years, she found a particular lie of the land, special climatic conditions and an altitude suited to the creation of great wines. With enormous enthusiasm, doggedness and considerable effort, a reclamation programme was started to renew the terrain which was then used to plant 30 hectares of specialised vines. Sangiovese is the dominant vine, followed by Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah. Years of experimentation and the introduction of new winemaking techniques eventually led to the creation of Luciana di Memmi’s prestigious wines. Some years ago, Luciana Cilemmi succeeded in realising her dream of a lifetime: to return to her home town, San Gimignano. She was destined to buy the historic palace with the medieval tower, which had been owned by the prestigious Useppi family from 1200 to 1927 and had then passed to the noble and historic Chigi family of Siena. The Useppi were a powerful Sienese family who owned several castles. This beautiful medieval building has an elegant and distinctive façade full of Sienese and Pisan architectural influences. If you find yourself in San Gimignano, make sure you visit the Chigi Tower and Palace. Luciana Cilemmi holds regular events in the rooms of the medieval tower, such as the presentation of wines, both from her vineyards and elsewhere, attended by international journalists, experts from the sector and critics. She also organises exhibitions of works of art and paintings, and press conferences on the subject of "Wine in San Gimignano during medieval times”. Visiting the home of Luciana Cilemmi is like re-living an aspect of the past that will not return except through the imagination of those who have believed and continue to believe in this story.
