La Pievuccia

MH: On Thursday we woke up to a beautiful sunny day. Around late morning we grouped up and started the long journey across town to a local vineyard, "La Pievuccia". Upon our arrival, we were greeted by the enthusiastic owner. He took us on a tour and we walked around his land. He explained to us that his bed and breakfast/vineyard was actually an agriturismo. This means that everything served is from what is grown on his land. Explaining further, he talked about how all of his wine is organic and natural and he has specific methods of cultivating his grapes. We stopped at what looked like an unimpressive pile of dirt, but then we discovered that it is actually a large supply of composted materials. Whenever the grapes are harvested, all the leftover materials are ground up and used again the next year as nutrients, or as he put it, "life" for the new grapes. He then began telling us about all the different kinds of wine that he makes. There are 7 types of wine produced at La Pievuccia. He showed us 2 types that are still being grown, one area of Chardonnay that they have been working on for 30 years (pictured), and a Merlot for 12 years. Next, he took us to the barn-like warehouse where the grapes are taken after they are removed from the vines for pressing. There are two separate machines, one for red and one for white. One machine has larger slots that allow the skins to go through with the juice, making the rich color of red wines. The other didn't allow skins to go through, making the lighter white wines. We were then taken to where the juices are stored for fermentation and then bottling. Next, the real treat was homemade lunch and wine tasting. We tasted 2 whites, 2 reds, 1 rose, and 1 dessert wine. After that was the long uphill trek home, but La Pievuccia was definitely worth it.