(Part 8 in a series. Previous installments can be found earlier in this blog, or in the Archives section)
Today promises to be a busy day. We saddle up and head out to our first stop, the I Selvatici winery.. After a long ride through picturesque Tuscan wine country, we arrive at what, compared to the Castello di Verrazzano, is a rather nondescript group of buildings. We are soon the learn, however, that appearances can be very deceiving!
Upon our arrival, we are greeted warmly by Guiseppe Sala, a son of the owner. Guiseppe is a very pleasant fellow who proceeds to take us on a tour of the winery, then we adjourn to the tasting room. On the walls are many photographs of world famous celebrities who have come to visit the winery. We recognize many prominent actors and political figures, as well as celebrated athletes. We soon learn what exactly brings so many luminaries to such an outwardly ordinary-seeming winery in a region that is lousy with wineries.
It seems that fate has conspired to give I Selvatici a 'perfect storm' of conditions to create world-class wine. The Estate's vineyards have a perfect combination of exposure, elevation, and climate to assure optimum growth, and the Sala family has applied 21-century cloning techniques to this ancient craft. One of their greatest triumphs is the creation of a new strain of Sangiovese grape that is about to receive official Government Status and designated "Sangiovese I Selvatici". They make a 'super-Tuscan' wine that is 100% made from this grape. Tess and I are greatly impressed, and purchase a case which Guiseppe will ship to the USA for us, along with some of their truly remarkable Vin Santo dessert wine.
For years, I have made of hobby of cartooning and drawing caricatures, and at social gatherings I will frequently doodle the likenesses of friends on place mats, paper table coverings, etc. At this gathering, I drew a cartoon of our scooter group, and Guiseppe liked it so much, he asked for it so he could display it along with all the photographs of their distinguished celebrity visitors! It is fun to think that my humble sketch will be on display in another country. Does this make me a 'world renowned' artist? Well, I don't plan on quitting my day job anytime soon!
Taking our leave of Guisseppe and I Selvatici, we ride on to our next stop, Il Borro, the private estate of renowned fashion designer Salvatore Ferragamo. As we entered the nearby town of Montevarchi, we had one of the few showers that we experienced on our trip. Since it didn't look like it was going to abate soon, and we were at Golden Travel's HQ, Dr. M. suggested we leave the scoots and take the company van up to the Estate.
The Ferragamo estate has to been seen to be believed. From the seemingly endless, cypress-lined entry drive, to the onsite guest villas and marvelous restaurant (L'Osteria del Borro), to the painstakingly restored medieval hamlet of Il Borro (where Signore Ferragamo has invited traditional Tuscan artisans to live, practice their craft, and sell their wares), one is overwhelmed by the sheer scale of luxury. One doubts that kings of old lived this well! We visited the medieval village, then crossed the causeway over a deep ravine that separated the village from the Estate proper. We were served another 'world class' luncheon at the Osteria.
During our visit, I noted Dr. M. visiting with a lovely young woman. As it turned out she was a personal assistant to Signore Ferragamo, who told us that he was out of the country, and would we like a private tour of his personal estate? Here was another example of Dr. M's personal connections paying off! We followed our guide on a quick tour of the grounds of Ferragamo's personal residence, and checked out a guest house that is set aside for personal friends who come to visit. The home was the size of a small hotel, and had an art collection that seemed to rival the Borghese Gallery in Rome!
Returning to Montevarchi, we had one more stop to make, which is one of the highlights of Italy by Vespa's scooter tour. We were about to visit the Prada Outlet Store. Unlike most outlet stores in the US, Prada doesn't engage in such questionable marketing tricks as selling 'second rate' merchandise that they wouldn't sell in their regular boutiques (a practice known as selling 'sanctioned' knockoffs), or marking the merchandise with an artificially high 'regular' price to make the item seem like a steal. Prada has only one price on the item, and trusts you to be a sufficiently sophisticated and discriminating fashionista to know you're getting a good value. There was so much great stuff to be had, and it was hard to decide; remember, between this and all the gifts we were receiving from IbyV, we were beginning to wonder how we were going to get it all back home!). Tess and I treated ourselves to a couple of pairs of Prada Shoes each, and were very pleased with our purchases! And just how good were the prices? Well, let me put it this way: one of my purchases was a pair of Prada plimsolls for 80 Euros (about $110). A month ago I saw the same pair at my local Nordies for about $350! I think I would call that a good price!
The rain and ended shortly before we got to Il Borro, so we were able to enjoy a long country scoot back to Radda. I for one was more than ready for a good night's sleep, because tomorrow would be quite possibly the greatest highlight of the trip!
By the way, today's gifts were bottles of excellent locally produced grappa and limoncello!
Coming next: Learning how to be a 'Top Chef' at La Bottega Del 30 with Chef Helaine!
