Greve in Chianti!

Our recent trip to Greve, located in the Chianti region of Italy, in the heart of Tuscany was one of the highlights of living in Italy, while I gained my Italian citizenship. (See upcoming Italian citizenship videos!)
This was a long weekend excursion where we took the train from the Veneto region to Florence, rented a car there, and drove for about an hour to get to Greve in Chianti. The drive was one of the most wonderfully scenic representations of Tuscany and the Chianti region.
We stayed the weekend in the beautiful Villa Bordoni an historic “Patrician Villa” that is a restored former country residence from a rich but ancient Florentine merchant family.
www.villabordo...
The first evening, we drove to the small town of Panzano, to the restaurant Antica Mecelleria Cecchini, owned by the award-winning chef, Dario Cecchini, known internationally as “The Butcher”. Dario has been featured on many food shows, and has been an advocate for Italian grown meat from the Chiania cow, one of the oldest breeds in the world and found only in Tuscany. Dario is almost always at the restaurant, and is a very nice and easy to talk to person and he is always smiling!
www.dariocecch...
The next day we started out with a wine tour of the beautiful and famous Castello di Verrazzano. We enjoyed a two-hour tour of the castle and the winery, and then finished with a wine tasting and appetizers on the terrace. This was an incredible event that we enjoyed very much!
www.verrazzano...
From there we drove around the Chianti countryside and visited the beautiful towns of Greve and Giole (my favorite!) where, you guessed it, we hiked around and tasted more of the local Chianti wines.
www.greve-in-ch...
www.chianti.co...
The following day we took a long drive off-the-beaten paths of the Chianti region, and ended up at a very discretely located but remarkable winery, Tenuta di Nozzole, a fine example of the Italian honor and reverence of the Sangiovese grape.
www.tenutefolo...
The next day was our coveted Tuscan cooking class back at the Villa Bordoni! This class was a hoot!!! We met some very nice folks and over 6 hours, cooked 4 courses of authentic Italian food, drank copious amounts of wine, and dined on the terrace enjoying our culinary efforts. We highly recommend that whenever visiting Italy, or any other country (other than yours) for that matter, that you get off the beaten path - out of your comfort zone, and experience the culture and enjoy the experience. No matter how different it may be; expand your perspective!
Many thanks to our Tuscan friends: Mellisa, Matt, Lucy, Max, Sam and his sweet wife. You made the cooking class so much more fun and enjoyable! We hope to see you again sometime, maybe in Colorado, Italy or even Maui!
And a special Thank You to be best Italian travel planning / coordinator I know; Alexandra Martella. She offers incredibly insightful personalized Italian travel planning, as seen on all my other travel videos.
www.discoverla...
Tuscan Recipe:
Fricassea di pollo
Ingredienti:
4 chicken thighs
1 red onion
2 sticks celery
1-2 carrots
I cup Kalamata olives
3-5 cloves garlic
A sprig of rosemary and sage
2 cups of white wine
Salt and pepper
A handful of chopped porcini mushrooms
Preparing:
Finely chop all vegetables and herbs and set aside
Season the chicken with salt and pepper and brown in a large le Creuset pot using olive oil
When colored remove the chicken and set aside, then using the same juices, cook all vegetables adding a little more olive oil.
When the vegetables are soft and starting to color, return the chicken to the pan, bring it back to temperature and add the white wine and deglaze.
When the wine has evaporated, cover chicken with water, place the lid on the pot and bake for 2.5 hours @ 300deg F.
If it gets too watery, reduce on stove.
Note: I/we do not receive any payments or rewards for ANY of the links I include in my videos.Our recent trip to Greve, located in the Chianti region of Italy, in the heart of Tuscany was one of the highlights of living in Italy, while I gained my Italian citizenship in only 9 months!. (See upcoming Italian citizenship videos!)
Note: I/we do not receive any payments or rewards for ANY of the links I include in my videos.

[@Mauirunner]

Wow. Thanks for sharing this experience with all of us. Magical