Movie Star Wannabe

Today I got to be a movie star wannabe! How many movies have you seen that has Tuscany as its setting? I personally have seen a lot and I love them all! The rolling green hills, the tall evergreen trees, and the orderly rows of vineyards all seem to come to life in the big blockbuster movies (the HD quality doesn’t hurt). Luckily for me, I got to go see where these movies were filmed and they looked even more amazing in person (take that HD movies!).

Our first stop was to Montepulciano, a small medieval town that is situated in lower Tuscany, close to Siena. We walked up a tree-lined road to get to the big stone wall that surrounded the town. Montepulciano was an ally of Florence (not nearby Siena) during the Middle Ages, when the Dukes of Tuscany were fighting for land and control. Thus very thick walls were needed to protect the villagers from attack (being up on a hill did not hurt either). Walking through the gates of the town, we were greeted with a beautiful and quaint little village (so not a town that had to protect itself from attack). What added to the atmosphere was that all the local olive farmers, bakers, and wine makers lined the main street (yes there is only one main street – at least there are a few little side roads) with little stands selling their fresh (and organic!) products. Yay for environmentally friendly Italy!

We made our way towards the main piazza, stopping at the best wine shop/cellar in Tuscany. It is a small, family-owned winery and they had a great cellar. It was under the wine shop and the walls were a mix of natural stone and brick. The space felt cozy, even though we were underground. We got to taste two different wines, a table wine and a “dinner” wine (the wine that is more expensive – can’t explain it better, sorry). I then realized that I am not a good wine taster. One is supposed to look at the color of the wine, smell it, then drink it and see what kind of flavors it has. The winery owner was talking about plums and cherries and I was looking around thinking to myself, “Umm I don’t taste any of that” (I base what wine I drink on one thing, “Does it taste good?”). With my dreams of being a wine taster dashed, I turned my attention to the new olive oil tasting. This oil was pressed about a week ago (so it is so much more fresh than the bottled oil in the store) and it tastes really different than the oil that I have been using – it is more spicy and fresh than I would have imagined. It was so delicious drizzled onto thick slices of fresh bread.

After the wonderful wine tasting, we headed off to the main piazza of Montepulciano. This is where they filmed a major blockbuster film (which I, of course, have seen). It was really fun walking around the piazza and looking at all the places that the actors were. For the movie, the set creators built a huge fountain in the middle of the piazza (which has been removed since filming ceased). I had a great time with exploring a movie set and actually seeing what a movie star saw…

Our next stop was to a cheese factory, where a cheese-making demonstration and a cheese tasting were scheduled for us. As all of you know by now, I think cheese is gross. I refuse to eat it (except for mozzarella) and I knew that this side trip would take all of my self-control to get through. We pulled up to a charming little stone building surrounded by beautiful Tuscan countryside. This factory makes percorino cheese (which is sheep’s milk cheese) by hand, which is very different than traditional factory produced cheese.

I braced myself as I stepped into the building where the cheese was made. The smell assaulted me (percorino is a really strong cheese) and made me feel a little bit green. Forcing myself to calm down, I relaxed and took a deep breath, reassuring myself that what did not kill me would make me stronger (hopefully…). The owners personally showed us how to make the cheese, which is a backbreaking process if done by hand (which it is here). One hundred liters of milk are used to make a batch of cheese – the milk is boiled in one huge pot, which the master cheese maker lifted with ease (which comes from many years of practice). As we waited for something to come up to temperature or something to set, there was a cheese tasting (which I, of course, opted out of). It was amazing to see the difference in the appearance of the cheese as it aged. A fresh cheese is much lighter in color and crumbles easily, while an aged cheese is much more golden yellow and firm. The wife of the owner approached me and asked if I would like to try anything to which I politely declined. That descent apparently meant that I was lactose-intolerant (to her at least) and I was greatly relieved (if I hurt her feelings, I would have felt obligated to eat something). As we reached the two-hour mark, I began to feel antsy. I was starting to feel green again and was ready to leave. Mercifully, it was time to head off to our last town of the day! I thanked the owner and his wife for the wonderful experience and hopped onto the bus. Upon sitting, I realized that I reeked of cheese. Frantically, I looked for the cleaning instructions of my coat – machine wash only, the best thing I have heard all day. I was proud of myself though; I made it through a whole cheese demonstration without excusing myself or offending anyone (hooray for small victories).

Our last stop was to the town of Montalcino, where we went to a winery that produced the famous Brunello wine (which is apparently more sought after than the Chianti wine). We got to tour the museum/wine storehouse, which used to be an old convent (where pilgrams stayed when they were travelling from London to Rome back in the Middle Ages). It was cool to walk around and see all the little rooms and secret passages that made up the convent. We were finally ushered into a big room with long tables all set up for the wine tasting. We tried the red table wine they make, a normal Brunello, and a reserve Brunello (which was the best of the three). In between tastings, we ate fresh bread smothered in the new olive oil (so good!). We finished our meal with a taste of their grappa (I didn’t drink it, it smelt like paint thinner) and a little glass of vin santo (“holy wine” – wine used for Sunday mass) with little almond cookies (you dip the cookies into the vin santo). It was a wonderful tasting! I learned a lot about the wine, how to properly taste it, and got to eat the best olive oil in the world. It was the best time ever!

A sleepy bus ride home completed this perfect day off in the Tuscan countryside. I might not be a movie star, but I surely was treated like one. It was nice seeing a different side of Italy and be able to take in the gorgeous country in which I live.

Ciao!