Castello de Verrazzano

After our brief tour of Florence we hopped back on our motorcoach to have lunch at the Castello de Verrazzano, which was about an hour away. Along the way, there were a lot of oohs and aahs expressed over the magnificent view.

I think most of us who appreciate wine have dreamed at one time or another of luxuriating at an authentic Tuscan winery. If there was ever a winery that lived up to my fantasies, Castello de Verrazzano was it. Believe it or not, winemaking here dates back to 1170.

As soon as we arrived, we were greeted by Gino, our warm and welcoming host who urged us to experience Castello de Verrazzano with our hearts.
With enthusiasm in his voice and his hands waving wildly, he extolled the fascinating history of the winery. While listening to Gino I was reminded of my visits to the Caffe Trieste in San Francisco many years ago where the laughter was contagious and I had not a care in the world singing "Scusa me but you see back in old Napoli, that's amore."

I could not believe the wonderful meal and wine they served us. It began with an assortment of antipasto including wild boar salami which I had never tasted before. It was divine. With each course, we tasted a different bottle of wine including the Verrazzano Rosso and the Castello di Verrazzano Chianti Classico. We also tasted the Vin Santo (Holy Wine) with the traditional almond biscuits.

The taste treat that was particularly memorable for me was the parmigiano reggiano cheese with the balsamic vinegar (Balsamico Verrazzano). There was an elegant subtle style about tasting it; you take a tiny spoonful of balsamic vinegar and place it in your mouth at the same time as a morsel of parmigiano reggiano cheese followed by another tiny spoonful of balsamic vinegar. I really don't know if I did it right but I do know that it was heavenly if not quite orgasmic and I quickly followed up the experience with a purchase of Balsamico Verrazzano at the tidy sum of 48 Euros (about $73).


Although we spent half the day there I could easily have spent the night. There are just some experiences in life that should linger for a while longer. We never did make it to Pisa that day but I was much too mellow to care. After all, I shall return.

More photos of Castello de Verrazzano