September 30 Chianti

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Today was the day for Chianti…the region that is!! Dennis & “Bella” (the GPS) did a wonderful job once again of getting us to this region of Tuscany. We visited Greve in Chianti first. It was a fun town, with it’s two claims to fame as the place with a butcher shop that dates back to the 700’s and the home of Giovanni da Verrazzano (the explorer that the Verrazzano Bridge in NYC is name after). We shopped, walked, and had lunch in Greve. Then we traveled to a small winery in Rietine. We took a tour and had a tasting. The couple that own this winery have 12 hectares of land (not quite sure what that is, but it is not big), yet harvest 18 tons of grapes each day for six days during the harvest season. Galina and her husband, Mario, are always busy…either growing, harvesting, making, or bottling wine. They do all the work by hand with no machinery. After the tour, we returned to San Gimignano for dinner. The seasons have turned a corner here at Hotel Pescille, so they are not serving dinner any longer. We have enjoyed our stay here and plan a relaxing day here in San Gimignano tomorrow, our last day in Tuscany!!

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