Under the Tuscan Clouds: Part Duo

New Year's Eve: Chianti, Volterra, & Brenna
Chianti

We had been in Tuscany two days and had yet to attend a wine tasting...what? How'd that happen? Needing to rectify the situation immediately, on New Year's Eve we drove over to the Chianti Classico Gallo Nero area of Tuscany to the winery estate of Fattoria di Corsignano.  I absolutely fell in love with this place.  Gorgeous grounds, spectacular views, and most importantly incredible tasting wines.  The estate also included a converted farmhouse where you could book a room for the night, take a dip in their pool, and dine at their onsite restaurant L'Agriturisom a Tavola.  I would hands down totally stay here if we ever do Tuscany again.  The tasting was informative and fun, and we obviously bought a bottle or two to take home with us to Zürich.  Although it was cloudy, we were still blown away by the beauty of this region.  Check it out...

The onsite restaurant 

When do we get to drink? 

Beautiful views

Wine tasting time 

The set up

Kevin chillin' with his Chianti Classico 

Mya loves a wine tasting

Volterra 

After getting our fill of Chianti Classico we took a drive over to the ancient town of Volterra (don't worry mom, no drunk driving took place).  The city sits nestled within the Tuscan hills and is enclosed by impressive medieval walls.  We have visited many an old town, but this one truly was special.  As we entered the city via one of the 6 gates, or Portas, we felt as though we had entered a portal through time.  We couldn't help but imagine what it would have been like to live there back in the day.  I can totally see why Stephenie Meyer chose Volterra as the home to the most ancient and powerful coven of vampires, the Volturi - Volterra isn't very touristy and therefore manages to maintain an authentic historic feel, not to mention there are plenty of dark alleyways and concealed corners for vampires to hide.  Check out the pics below from our sunset stroll and evening walk as we kept a lookout for lurking vampires... 

In the main square they were all set up for a slammin' New Year's Eve party complete with tents, bars, dance floors, and skylights illuminating the medieval buildings.

Mya and I ensuring the Porta is clear of vampires before we head back to Brenna.

Brenna

Unfortunately we couldn't stay in Volterra and party with the Volturi.  We had to make it back for dinner reservations at Ristorante Cateni - a family run restaurant located in Brenna's neighboring village, Orgia.  We enjoyed a New Year's Eve special four course prix fixe menu featuring traditional Tuscan home cooking.  Delicious, but the portions were crazy big!  So big that it put me into a food coma when we returned home.  I almost slept through the New Year, but I was awoken at midnight by fireworks set off mere feet from the gates of our villa.  It might seem like a pretty lame New Year's Eve compared to last year's shenanigans, but it definitely felt good to be hangover free for our New Year's Day adventures.  Stay tuned for Part Tre of Under the Tuscan Clouds to hear all about how we spent New Year's Day in Siena.

Outside the restaurant entrance

Happy New Year...Kevin?  Not sure who I'm looking at here.