La Bottega del Vino

One of the best things about the Santa Chiara program is how much the professors want you to learn not only what they are teaching you but the Italian culture as well. Tio, the communications professor, took a group of students to a wine tasting session. I'm not a big wine drinker and so I thought this experience would help me learn what types of wine tasted best with what kind of meals.

We tried three types of Castiglion Fiorentino wines, (all red- vino rosso- made with local grapes and/or with merlot grapes), two types of cheese and two types of bread. The first wine, aged two years with no merlot grapes, paired super well with the first cheese, which was a "young (giovane)" cheese that aged 1-2 months. The last two wines had a deeper/oakier wine (I'm not pro at describing wines, not yet at least) that have aged for 2-5 years and included merlot (which meant it had higher alcohol content) paired wonderfully with the "old (vecchio)" cheese that had a spicy kick to it. I found out that I'm not a big fan of older cheeses. 

Cin cin!

The third wine had a pretty label

il gruppo!

Although I'm still not exactly confident with what types of wine go well with what types of meat/cheeses/food, I've learned that when all else fails just complement your food with your wine (mature bold cheese = mature bold wine) which seemed to work for me that night!

Happy drinking, until next time!

“Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been brought to the greatest perfection, and it offers a greater range for enjoyment and appreciation than, possibly, any other purely sensory thing.” 
― Ernest Hemingway