Chianti Classica at Castelvecchi

Today was a very quiet, restful day. I woke early and went for a walk around Radda (which doesn’t take long) except for the fact that there are lots of reasons to stop and take photos.  

After breakfast, Sheryl and I took a walk to the Co-op to buy a small bottle of water for me, as I left my bottle somewhere yesterday. We had to check out the shops again, of course and I purchased a bracelet made from Tuscan cork embellished with silver, as a momento. We did find ourselves walking around in circles there for a while, convinced there were shops in a street on another level, but it just took us back to the street we had been down already!  

Then we rested again, waiting until we were to be taken on a winery tour and tasting at Castelvecchi, one of the local wineries who follow the strict code of practice which allows them to sport the black rooster emblem on their bottles. It was very educational and tasty!  It was a shame we didn’t get to see more of the castle which has a wine making history dating back to the 11th century. The cellars were impressive and we were able to taste and compare two wines straight from the barrels, followed by a more conventional tasting of their four Chianti Classico sangiovese wines with a side of pecorino, salami, wild boar sausage, bread and a very green olive oil. 

Back in Radda by 2:30, and the weather was cold and damp so we all retreated to our rooms for the afternoon, pursuing  various forms of rest and relaxation. We reconvened at 7pm for the short walk to  Ristorante  Il Girarrosto.  Some of us shared a bottle of our favourite Castelvecchi wine, Capotondo, and we enjoyed a range of delicious meals - I tried  a gnocchi which was very different to the one we made ourselves last night  

Tomorrow promises to be a big day exploring more of Tuscany before we move on from this region. 











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