jj

Will be renting a house with family (no kids) in Tuscany from December 27 until Jan 3. Is there a new years celebration, tradition, event etc..that we should not miss? thx.

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Cristina

Tuscany is a large area. What part will you be in so we can give you appropriate advice.

jj

Thanks Cristina- I will be staying about halfway between Florence and Siena. My request should have been more specific although I do not mind driving within a 100 mile radius (I love driving in the Tuscan countryside). We will have several cars available so transportation is no problem, unless it snows a lot!

Alice Twain

There is an open air celebration in San Gimignano, or at least there used to be one until a couple of years ago when a friend of nime went there. Music, fireworks, crowd. Panettone and spumante (traditional Italian christmas cake and italian sparkling wine) at midnigt but you must pay for that (and quite a lot), better if you bring your own bottle.

jj

Thanks Alice, I would think a bottle (or two) of Chianti would suffice, no?

Alice Twain

Desopite the fame that Chinati wine has all over the world, I do not particularly like Tuscan red wines (the taste like wood to me! Too much &quot;tannino&quot. Also, most of what is sold as &quot;Chianti&quot; is not _real_ chianti, it is just a wine produced somewhere in Tuscany. Buying only &quot;Chianti Classico Docg&quot; labelled bottles. You will still get a wine that I do not like, but at least is will more easly be a decent wine. Yet, if you wnat great red wines... Go to Piedmont!<BR>Having said this, on festivities like there you do not drink Chianti-like wines, which can be drank with red meats (white meats are already too delicate for these wines). You drink spumante (Italian sparkling wines). Get yourself a bottle of spoumante, make sure it is not &quot;secco&quot; (dry) and pop the cork in the crowd at midnight.

jj

The fact is I cannot drink sparkling wine but I suppose I could drink Vernaccia. Alice, I do love a good Barolo (Piedmonte, as you suggested)but, as a recovering wine snob, it is difficult to find an aged Barolo without paying more than I care to pay. Regarding the Chianti area, the '97 Brunello is suppose to be a killer product (the latest release). I can't imagine that you wouldn't like a Brunello unless you are more accustomed to sweeter wines. <BR><BR>Again, thanks for the info

barb

I just finished reading &quot;Vanilla Beans and Brodo&quot; which describes New Years eve celebrated in a Tuscan hill town. Check for it at your local library.

jj

thx. Other than the New Years celebrations, was it a good book?

Alice Twain

jj:<BR><BR>The best Chianti still tastes somewhat like woodbark to me ^_^

jj

Alice-those who do not like Chianti, and I was one of them many years ago, don't realize that it is a very high acid wine. A young, powerful Chianti can be difficult to enjoy for many (it needs to be consummed with food to cut the acid). The Brunello I mentioned to you is aged for five years prior to release and uses a &quot;superior&quot; clone of the Sangiovese grape which makes it a much more friendly, and expensive, wine (It is not really a Chianti). It still has the black cherry taste but is also more complex and subtle. If you haven't tried it, I think you will be pleasantly surprised (no woodbark).

Jill

JJ,<BR><BR>We were in the Chianti region last June,(and enjoyed many '97 chianti classico's, yes DOCG), but we did manage to find wonderful buys on the '97 Brunello's on our trip to Montalcino. We managed to bring a case back with us, my husband had that lucky job of schlepping it on and off the plane (not too bad) and was I ever glad we did after seeing the price on the same wine back in the States. As for New Year's I say if you enjoy CHianti, bring it, you may want to bring a bottle of Prosecco or Asti just for a toast at midnight, but drink what you like - that's always worked for me!

Alice Twain

jj:<BR><BR>It is not that I do not like chianti. I do not like, or at least I have not yet found one that I like, any Tuscan red wines.