We had a beautiful first day in Italy. Mid-80s, not a cloud in the sky, a fantastic tour guide and loads of great food and wine. Heaven.

The ship docked in the port of Livorno, which is just a bit southwest of Pisa and about an hour west of Florence. We chose to book a tour on our own with a local guide – Guido. I can’t recommend him enough! He is a native of the Chianti area of Tuscany and his love of the region and its food and wine really shines through. I don’t think he and Biker stopped talking for a single minute of the seven hours we were together!

We stopped at two beautiful wineries – each with a lovely story of how they came to be and each having fantastic wines and olive oils to try.  First up was Castello di Fonterutoli, a centuries old – 1435! – fort where the owner’s family has been making wine since the 1700s. Here we sampled great Chiantis, a nice Vermentino and a good Cabernet (although IMO the cabs from California are far superior). We also learned the origin of the black rooster as the symbol for the DOCG certification — in the early 1200s, the area was war torn as Siena and Florence fought over ownership of the Chianti region. Tired of the fighting, the two sides agreed to draw the dividing line at the meeting point of two knights, each riding from their city at the early morning crow of the rooster. It’s said that Florence’s black rooster was starved the day before so that he would crow early, giving the Florence knight a head start. When the two met – at the small hamlet of  Fonterutoli – the Siena knight had just barely begun his journey (you can see Siena from Fonterutoli). The dividing line was set, and when the Chianti certification of DOCG was established the black rooster was chosen as its symbol.

Our next stop was at Castellare di Castellina, a beautiful winery made up of four properties that were bought together in the 1970s. We toured the cellar, with a “library” (of old wine vintages), and had a nice tasting of four Chiantis.
Our next stop was lunch, and it was magnificent. We had pasta and a beautiful bottle of our absolute favorite wine  – a Brunello di Montalcino. The weather was perfect for sitting on the patio and enjoying the lovely views. 

Back to the ship for a requisite nap, a workout and then a lovely dinner in the ship’s French restaurant.

Heaven.