Un ringraziamento speciale alla nostra amica Delaney Kennedy per aver scritto questa bellissima recensione sulla degustazione di vino fatta presso la Tenuta Torciano.
Delaney scrive:
We went wine tasting yesterday in San Gimignano in Tuscany at Tenuta Torciano. The owner Pierluigi Giachi met us at the bus and shook everyone's hand as we stepped down, making his welcoming, larger-than-life personality known from the get-go. He gathered us around and explained that his family has owned and worked the land for at least four generations, and that they own property throughout the region producing various goods including wine, cheese, olive and truffle oils, and balsamic. We were led back past a garden full of geese and cats to the tasting room with three long wooden tables. Ten of us sat in a sunken room attached, which was the original frame of the house Pierluigi was born in.
Pierluigi ci ha insegnato che c'è una differenza tra bere il vino e degustare il vino: "wine isn't just something to drink, wine is knowledge, love, poetry and culture." Per degustare correttamente il vino serve il bicchiere giusto, ci ha spiegato, così naso e bocca possono trovare posto entro il bordo e si possono usare entrambi i sensi durante la degustazione.
He first taught us how to properly hold the glasses and then instructed us to inhale deeply to get the fragrance of the wine. The scent of the wine can help identify the type, as each has a distinct scent, some smell of almonds, banana, and other notes. We then took our first sips of a white wine and tested it with the sample pairings all hand made by his family: peccorino romano cheese, salad with balsamic vinegar, bread with olive oil and salami, to determine which we thought went best. After surveying us on which we thought went best with the wine, Pierluigi told us that there is no one "right" pairing, it is all a matter of personal taste.
Le due portate successive sono arrivate con la Ribolitta, una zuppa di pane tipica della Toscana, semplicemente fenomenale. Delaney l'ha aggiunta alla sua lista dei desideri fiorentini: imparare a preparare la Ribolitta. A cena hanno assaggiato ancora qualche rosso, insieme a una lasagna, la migliore mai mangiata secondo lei, con olio al tartufo. Dopo il viaggio in autobus di ritorno erano così rilassati e soddisfatti che, una volta a casa, si sono addormentati tutti: un weekend perfetto e speciale prima della loro prima settimana di lezioni all'estero.
