Mapping MONTALCINO

The temple of San Biagio seen from the Pienza - Montepulciano road Tuscany has countless churches in incredible locations. But some stick out and leave a mark, even if you're the 'seen one church, seen them all' type of person. Montepulciano's temple of San Biagio is one of them. It's hard not to drive off the road when noticing it for the first time while approaching Montepulciano on the road from Pienza. Over the years, I've observed many a hazardous manoeuvre by tourists trying to get a pic of San Biagio taking a sunset bath during golden hour (and am guilty of some of them myself). Whether you pull over on the road from Pienza or look down onto the church from Montepulciano's town walls, San Biagio looks incredible from every angle and in front of every backdrop. No doubt, Tuscans know how to choose a scenic location but its thanks to the genius of Renaissance architect Antonio da San Gallo the elder that the church stands out like no other wh...

When summer comes to an end one fears the worst in Montalcino. From music festivals and al fresco dining the population moves right into the wine harvest and nights out become suddenly a no go (anybody who has ever spent a day picking grapes will know why).  Thanks god we are not quite there though. A few white wine grapes may already be off the vine, but since Montalcino is Sangiovese co untry we still have a couple of weeks before things go berserk and a last couple of events before Brunello town's social life falls temporarily asleep. So better make sure you'll be there! Hotel Rif, the Italian band around singer songwriter Sabrina Turri will take you on a trip through Italian and Mediterranean folk music in one of the most beautiful venues Montalcino has to offer. Restaurant la Pieve is located on the Tuscan town's south-western slopes, so make sure you leave Montalcino a bit early to take in the fabulous sunset on the road that leads via Tavernelle to La Pieve (...

Whilst  the  sell-out of tourist destination is a well known plague all through Italy, t here exists a tiny town in UNESCO Heritage Val d'Orcia which forgoes made in  China souvenirs and just opened a bookshop instead. Bagno Vignoni is one of  Tuscany's oldest tourist destinations.  In fact the historic spa town has never been anything else than a tourist destination,  and the ratio of inhabitants to visitors must always have been at least 1 to 10. Having looked after  medieval  pilgrims, ailing popes and saints ( St.  Catherine of Siena used to live here for a while),  Bagno Vignoni isn't tempted at all  to put out plastic chairs or pizza takeaways for  present day travelers.  I used to live close to Bagno Vignoni and have fond memories of chasing my first -born around the town's main square  which consists of a steaming hot  water pool (a  must-see sight for urban architects!).  Our healthy m...

Graham Chidgey has been a leading wine importer of French and Italian wines to the UK for more than 35 years. He lives in Ancaiano near Siena, together with his wife, painter Angela Chidgey. I've met Graham and Angela in the late 90s when working for various wineries in Montalcino and always enjoyed Graham's no nonsense approach to one of the world's most famous wines.  You have lived in Tuscany for nearly 20 years. What brought you here? Originally we bought a casa colonica (a Tuscan farmhouse) in Radicondoli for family holidays. Angela specially wanted to paint in Italy and I visited France nearly every month so I felt also Italy would suit us better. You started out as an importer of French wines. When did you first taste or drink a Brunello di Montalcino? 1981 Did you take to it right away?  Not specially as Brunello was then still being made mostly by Montalcino's contadini  with many winemaking faults because of the farmers' lack of experience. Many quali...

November in Tuscany can be chilly and unfriendly. With icy cold Tramontana winds blowing from the north or unpleasant humid weather moving in from the coast.  Or it can look like this: Autumn lunch in our olive grove with new EVOO The ideal combination for mushroom gatherers is produced by a bit of rain followed by splendid sunshine - the perfect growing conditions for these fellas... Umbrella or UFO?

Right in time for Benvenuto Brunello 2013, this blog inaugurates not a new vintage, but a new feature -   a series of interviews with my very personal selection of Montalcino's best winemakers.  Deciding which Brunello producer to start off with was easy. Laura Gray from the Palazzone winery is one of the great communicators when it comes to Brunello making (be it during a winery visit or via her blog on the Palazzone website). Scotland born and Oxford educated, Laura is married to Montalcino thoroughbred Marco Sassetti. Together they run Richard Parsons' Il Palazzone, a small winery close to Montalcino's town center. In occasion of Benvenuto Brunello 2013, the Palazzone team proudly presents the 2008 vintage together with their handsome new wine cellar.  Palazzone vineyard's new cellar  (by Montalcino born architect Marco Pignattai )  Are you a 100% Sangiovese gal or do you think Montalcino wines should open up to Cabernet and co.?...

TIME FOR A CAREER CHANGE? Dog lover, who had enough of the banking crisis? Here's to your new life. San Giovanni d'Asso's museum visit and guided walk will introduce you to the two salient points of truffle hound training.  start off by teaching the dog how to smell out the truffles (how? I don't have a clue, but that's exactly why you're driving all the way to Tuscany) once the dog is getting the scent right, the art is to explain your animal friend, why he's not supposed to eat the truffles after sniffing them out. Which must be the really tricky bit.  However, no sense trying to train a dog, if you yourself don't know how to recognize a truffle in the first place. Which is why the afternoon will start off with a guided visit at San Giovanni d'Asso's truffle museum. Even people not mad about that rather peculiar scent (aka anyone's children), will enjoy the interactive and stylish exhibition inside San Giovanni ...

Whatever road you take when leaving Montalcino - you're in for some of Tuscany's most magnificent drives. The obvious choice is to cruise the hills of the Val d'Orcia, with pit stops in San Quirico d'Orcia and Pienza on route to Montepulciano. Then there is that breathtaking round trip towards Castelnuovo dell'Abate with Romanesque Sant'Antimo abbey , Castiglione d'Orcia and the Bagno Vignoni hot springs . However, travelers exhausted from too much Brunello tasting should consider a much simpler option, which is also perfect for sunset lovers and improvised photographers.  The 20 minutes drive from Montalcino via Tavernelle to Camigliano, takes the seasoned traveler along Tuscany's usual suspects: vineyards, olive groves, cypress lined roads and vineyards again. Here and there bits of forest are strewn into the mix, but the best part of this drive lies in the gorgeous views towards the hills and mountains of the Maremma (the area stretching along So...

You know fall is in the air when you see the  Sagra del Galletto  in Camigliano  on the calendar. The first weekend in October wakes this sleepy corner in the municipality of Montalcino to its busiest time of year. The grill, tents and tables are set up, the  Pozzo  dance floor is swept clean and, most importantly, the kitchen fills up with different generations who come together to prepare local specialities. Days of preparation and lots of laughter

 Osteria Sant'Angelo Foodie pit stop in Sant'Angelo Scalo Sant'Angelo Scalo is one of those Tuscan villages that tourists keep missing out on by driving straight through.  Utterly lacking in noteworthy sites, Scalo (as the locals call it)  doesn't have medieval town walls or great views, let alone any Renaissance art.  If anything travelers slow down their car to ask for directions to the nearby Castello Banfi and Col d'Orcia wineries (two of Montalcino's biggest Brunello producers).  The small village on the way to the Maremma, is just so not the Tuscany you were dreaming about when booking your flight a few months ago. But for once, fo rget about art, culture and quaint medieval hilltop villages. Join the locals instead, binge on Tuscan food and wash it all down with one of Italy's best wines.  The Orcia a Tavola food festival will make sure you'll remember the Val d'Orcia not just as a Unesco World Heritage site with cypress ...

Montalcino's festival season has had its peak in July, but you can still get your share of live music if you don't mind a bit of a drive. Sarteano doesn't do Jazz & Wine but Jazz & Blues and the 2012 edition of the Sarteano Festival will be jammin' it from the 23rd to the 26th of August.  Without doubt one of the highlights of the festival is the concert of Italian jazz pianist Rita Marcotulli and Argentinian saxophonist Javier Girotto on Sarteano's piazza San Lorenzo (August 25 at 9.30pm).  Other gigs will take place in Catiglioncello del Trinoro, a medieval hamlet a few kilometers from Sarteano.  If you travel with children also check out some of the free concerts in Sarteano. Each day a marching band will tour the streets of the medieval town center. Not just listening but above all watching them will be fun with the kids. August 24 - Zastava Orkestar August 25 - Piccola Orchestra Casabei August 26 - Large Street Band The...