We had such a fun and interesting day. As planned, we relaxed around the house for the morning, which was needed. Betsy made us a breakfast of sausages, eggs and toast. It was another beautiful morning. The rain that had been forecast a few days ago never fell. The leaves, however, are falling but are still stunning.
We love our villa. This is another angle of the front of the house and below is a photo of the smaller guest house.
Bonnie had researched wineries nearby and picked one in a small village just a few miles away, Catine Gavioli: Cignus et Leonis. We were greeted by winemaker Marco Gavioli, whose father founded the winery and pioneered a new and successful method of making Tuscan sparkling wine. Their sparkling wine, Spumante Metodo Classico, which is more like champagne that prosecco, has won first price in European competitions.
In addition to learning the winemaking process, we got a glimpse of the history of the building. He guided us through the cellar and wine cave, which date back to the 15th century and once was home to a convent. He also showed us the much older Etruscan tomb in a small space under the cave, which contained Etruscan artifacts.
For the tasting, we tried four wines including two sparkling, one crisp white and a red. All were delicious, but we particularly liked the sparkling and white wines. We bought a few bottles to take back to the villa and maybe to tuck into our suitcases.
Marco was funny and engaging. Before marrying, he traveled the world over nine months. He is a mountain climber, a skydiver and a scuba diver.
Marco in the barrel room.
Where the wine is bottled. The red machines are for corking and caging the sparkling wines.
The entry into the Etruscan tomb.
A peek inside the tomb. The larger pot would have been used for ashes of members of the family who had been cremated. The smaller piece is a child’s toy. The size of the tomb, though small to us, indicates the family was wealthy.
Time to taste the wine.
The winery crest signifies balance, a philosophy Marco practices in life as well as in winemaking. He mentioned he has a son and daughter and said, with a smile, his daughter was more like the lion on the crest than the swan.
The wines we tasted.
Marco was a fantastic tour guide. We enjoyed our time with him.
The village of Sarteano was surrounded by an ancient wall. It was quiet and peaceful while we were there.
We left Marco and drove to another nearby winery, Olivi Le Bouche, also in Sarteano. This winery was established in 2000 and focuses on winemaking from the vine to the bottle. The 27 hectares (66 acres) of vineyards are worked by hand. They perform a “green harvest” in the late spring, which means removing the grapes that aren’t progressing as well to provide more energy and better growth to those left on the vine. The vineyards are beautiful, neat and carefully tended.
Our guide was Lucia and she did a splendid job of explaining the growing process and the impact of weather on each season’s harvest. This was a very dry year, and presented many challenges.
The fermentation room had a yeasty smell. The temperature of each of these vats is carefully controlled.
An airlock atop a barrel of aging wine. This ingenius invention, credited to Leonardo da Vinci, allows the vats to be filled without opening them and exposing the wine to oxygen, which is the enemy of a good wine. It also allows the winemakers to see if the wine is expanding or reducing.
The wines we tasted. Again, we loved the sparkling and one of the crisp whites. I also really loved a very smooth red. We again left with a few bottles.
The drive to and from Olivi Le Bouche was so beautiful that we popped out of the car for photo of us with the landscape.
Back at the villa, Betsy did what she does and prepared a delicious and creative dinner with the ingredients we had on hand. She reinvented the ravioli from the night before by crisping it in garlic and olive oil, removing the guinea hen stuffing and replacing it a mixture of ground beef, onions and garlic and then melting some fresh pecorino cheese on top.
The house is chilly but we’re reluctant to turn on the heat because we all like our bedrooms cool for sleep. Betsy built a fire in the kitchen to take the chill out of the air and it was nice and toasty.
We were finally treated to a Tuscan sunset.
This cat showed up the first day and we’ve been loving on him daily.
We bought some cat food to keep him happy.
We bought some cat food to keep him happy.
Dinner at home.
Betsy and I sat by the fire after everyone went to bed and talked about the day.
We’re all up early this morning. After enjoying the small village experience yesterday, we’ve decided to drive the Val d’Orcia route, a one-day scenic road trip through the Tuscan hills with stops at some villages. We hope to find some just-pressed local olive oil and a honey farm. We’re open to whatever the day holds.
Ciao!
Kim & Betsy 
Yum! Sounds like a delicious day all the way around.
Omigosh Y'all, your photo's are stunning! What a WONDERFUL trip!