Heard it through the grapevine...

~Brolio~

 

Wine is a very important liquid for the Italian people; it has been used throughout history for a variety of reasons, such as religion, cooking purposes, and especially for social occasions.  Located only a short forty minute drive from Siena, stands a piece of Italian history dating back to the middle ages.  The Castello di Brolio became a part of the Ricasoli family in 1141.  The Ricasoli family through the generations have been the Barons of the town of Brolio.  They currently own the oldest winery in Italy and the second oldest winery in the world!! The winery and castle are in the Chianti wine region and are known for their production of Chianti Classico.  The castle is surrounded by about 568 acres of vineyards and 64 acres of olive groves for their olive oil production.

Castello di Brolio

The castle is surrounded by very wooded, green areas... felt like home!

Wall surrounding the castle

Within the wall barrier to the castle, the the Chapel of San Jacopo stands above the Ricasoli family crypt.  It is said that the "Iron Baron," Bettino Ricasoli (1809-1880), who was the 31st Baron of Brolio and a major player in the unification of Italy and later the Prime Minister of Italy, can still be seen as a ghost, riding his horse around the walls of the castle.  Usually these claims are made by people who may have had too many glasses of the Chianti Classico!

Chapel of San Jacopo

View of the family crypt, underneath the chapel

Detail of the inside of the chapel

Family Crypt

 Within the castle walls, I also got to visit the old cellars that used to be used for wine production by monks and nuns of older times.  Since 1141 when the Ricasoli family took over the castle, the family brand of Barone Ricasoli became a very known name for good wine.  In 1872, the Chianti wine was born and perfected by the Ricasoli family company.

Old wine cellar

Wine was often kept in different size barrels made from different types of wood for different flavors

View from the castle

View right before rain poured down on our group

After visiting the castle and the old wine production methods, we got a tour of how wine is made today at Barone Ricasoli. The system is very modernized and uses technology, like many large scale operations today.  I learned that there is a difference in taste between wines made from grapes separated by gravity and those that aren't.  The "gravity" wines are typically more expensive.  While some wines are still fermented with wood containers, some are fermented in stainless steel containers.

This machine squeezes the juice out of the grapes and separates the skins and stems from the juice, which later is made into Grappa, a 90 proof alcohol

Fermenting machines

Today's wine cellar

Bottling station

 

View from today's production site

After seeing how production works today, I got to participate in my first wine tasting!  I tried three wines; a Torricella (white wine) and two red wines, the Chianti Classico and a Toscana Igt from Casalferro.  During the wine tasting, the guide told us what we should be tasting as the differences between the wines.  Unfortunately, my pallet is not that advanced yet in the wine area, so most of that conversation was over my head, but still a great experience!

Wine represents much more to the Italian culture than just a drink to have with dinner.  It reinforces the fact that life just moves a little slower here; people take time to sit and talk with the people around them, instead of hurriedly getting to the next task on their list.  I have definitely learned that it is very important to really take the time to listen to people.  Time is a virtue and there is more going on in the world than just what is going on in our own lives.  If we would all remember that just a little more, more lives would feel important, better relationships would be formed, and better memories made.  In the words of Michael Broadbent, "Drinking good wine with good food in good company is one of life's most civilized pleasures."