An Evening in the Vineyards

It was a lazy last day in Siena for me.  Bob and Sherri and Randy walked into the old town again but I was happy to sit in the light of the balcony at our place and read a really good book, "Where the Crawdad's Sing".  In the early evening we all walked back down to La Lizza plaza to catch a shuttle to our evening wine tour and dinner amongst the vineyards.  On the way to the vineyard we stopped at the small hilltop village of Monteriggione where we enjoyed a stroll as the sun went down.

Every one of these mountain top fortresses have been beautiful in their own way and Monteriggione was no different.  It looks out over the Siena hills covered in vineyards and olive groves and was amazing as the sun set over the hills.  Back in the van to head out into the country and up a winding, bumpy road to the Poggio Amorelli vineyard, a small, private vineyard that started in 2011.  We had a tour of the working area before heading into the vineyard itself for a long table dinner and wine tasting.

  

It was a multi-course dinner with a different wine served with each course.  I am not a knowledgeable wine-drinker but enjoyed 3 or 4 or the ones served, partly because of the food that came with it.  We started with a prosecco-like wine before dinner, had some amazing bread with olive oil and 12 year old balsamic vinegar (to be honest, I was more impressed with the vinegar than the wine).  On to a really nice rose wine (which I bought a bottle of) and then a very tasty dish of olive oil/tomatoes/basil/bread crushed into a mushy (but VERY tasty) texture.  More wine and some amazing Pecorino cheese with the balsamic drizzled over it then onto classic bruschetta and a different wine.  Of course next we had pasta, with more wine followed by three types of pork (chops/sausage/ribs) and more wine.  Lastly came the shot glass of a bourbon like wine and biscotti to dip into it.  We have had some trouble sleeping on this trip but with such a large meal, a LOT of wine and all after 8:00, we headed home and went straight to bed.  It was a beautiful evening in the Tuscan hillsides!