Wine Tasting at the Castle of Verrazzano

On January 24, we went to a wine tasting at the Castle of Verrazzano outside of Florence in Tuscany. The bus dropped us off at a picturesque vineyard with a view overlooking the the rolling hills of the countryside, and on either side of us we were surrounded by the vineyard and olive trees. The old structure looked liked it belonged in a movie, and was covered with climbing vines and beautiful landscaping. I felt like I was on a movie set! After we walked to the entrance of the building, we learned a short history of the vineyard. The castle is the only true producer of Chianti and Chianti Classico wines, since the specific grape for this type of wine is only found in the region of the castle. We went on a tour of the building, and saw the massive barrels where the wine is produced and stored. Learning about the specific timing and delicate process to produce the wine was really interesting, and the guides seemed very passionate and loyal to Chianti.

View as we stepped off the bus

Fountain before the entrance 

Wine barrels

After the tour, we were led into a room where we had an elaborate wine tasting. We were taught how to swirl the wine, smell the wine, hold the glass, and taste every detail of flavor. After our first sip of the Chianti, we were given bread with olive oil made on their property. Not only was it the best olive oil I have ever tasted, our instructor insisted that it would completely change the flavor of the Chianti. It definitely did, and I was surprised that the paired food could make such a difference! Over the course of an hour and a half, we received an assortment of other thinly sliced meats, cheeses, breads, and biscuits to pair with the wines. It was really interesting and a fun experience!

Since this excursion, the program has offered us several other more casual tastings for other Tuscan wines that have been informative as well. However, nothing has compared to the overall experience of being in the beautiful setting of the castle!