When most people think of Italy I’m sure one of the first things that comes to mind is a long table groaning with food under an ancient olive tree, or in a beautiful vineyard, with happy people eating and drinking into the late afternoon. This is just what we did on Sunday…and it was good.
Fattoria del Teso is in Montecarlo, near Lucca. As we drove into the lovely driveway we could see the hilltop centre of Montecarlo in the distance.
A flock of egrets decided to visit the vineyard at the same time as us.
The Montecarlo area has been known for vineyards and wine production since the time of the Romans. In fact it was called Vivinaia until 1333 when it was renamed. Fattoria del Teso has been spoken of since the middle ages, but since 1970 it has been extensively modernized and uses the latest techniques in grape growing and wine making.
The property is beautiful.
We were first taken to the cellars to try some of their excellent wines.
Here are Heather from Sapori-e-Saperi and Jim having a good look.
There is an amazing area in the cellars where lunch is served on summer days, when it just too hot to be outside.
As well as delicious red and white wine Fattoria del Teso produces Vin Santo, the heavenly dessert wine.
Their Vin Santo is made in a traditional way, taking 10 years to mature. We went upstairs to see how it was done. The grapes are first dried on cane racks.
The best grapes are then selected, pressed and the juice is put into barrels for 5 years.
Then the juice is carefully moved to smaller barrels, leaving the sediment behind. The new barrels are completely sealed and the maturing wine sits for another 5 years.
Here in the lovely rooms grape juice slowly becomes Vin Santo.
The barrels are sealed as they sometimes explode…look at the ceiling.
I’m sure having this gorgeous window and view behind the barrels helps.
If it had been a fine day instead of one of the wet days we have been having for months, we would have had lunch near the vineyard.
Instead we walked from the cellars to a prepared area outside.
This was the view from my seat.
The entire wall of the building is covered in wisteria. As you can imagine, the smell was divine.
Now, to the food. We had antipasti, ribs with olives grown on the property, sausages with white beans special to the area, new potatoes and porchetta.
Of course we had to try the Vin Santo, which is traditionally served with cantucci.
If you are staying in Lucca, take the time to visit Fattoria del Teso. Look on their website for details, www.fattoriadelteso.it, or telephone to make an appointment. 0039 347 6416099 and speak to the delightful Samanta Giannini.
As usual, I took far too many photos. Here are a few more.
