When Friends Visit, Day 3, Greve and Vecchie Terre Wine Tasting

I can certainly say every day was an adventure!  On day three we started off a little late as the weather sort of lent itself to a slow day, lots of clouds and cool temperature.  We headed off to Greve in Chianti without too much of a plan.  Just a nice easy day to walk around one of the four founding cities of the Chianti wine consorsium.  First stop gelato, then an easy walk around to browse the quaint shops and finally a simple lunch before wine tasting and tour.

The winery, Vecchie Terre di Montefili, is about a 20 minute drive from Greve along windy and narrow rounds.  Easy to get to, but be sure that if the road narrows to one lane the Italians won't be the ones slowing down to make room for you to pass.  This is a fun area to let your speed racer out, within limits of course, and before the wine tasting. 

Signora Acuti and her husband told us their story of the winery where once stood a castle won over from the Florentines by the Sienese and then destroyed.  The Acuti's are wine lovers in the truest sense.  They make there wines using biological techniques and their years of wisdow and love of wine.  They are a small vineyard but with a grand heart. Their "Anfiteatro" wine was awarded 93 points by "Wine Spectator" magazine. 

We sat with the couple in their small tasting room, the walls covered with the awards they've earned over the years, sipping wines and listening to stories of their family and how they've grown along side these vines which have nourished them for three generations.  Mrs. Acuti recounted the opening of an 18 year old bottle of wine for their nephew's 18th birthday recently and how well it had aged and how wonderful it was to open and share on this special occasion.

For more information on Vecchie Terre di Montefili and their wines here's their website.