Montepulciano

Tuesday in wine class we learned about and tasted Montepulciano! Montepulciano is the home of the "Nobile" wine which has descended from the Etruscan times.  Montepulciano is from the south east part of Tuscany. Montepulciano brings something with every sip, glance, and tasting. The whole Montepulciano community feels ownership of the wine and the process that goes into making it. The 1960s brought about a big awakening in wine growing of Vino Nobile rather than Chianti. In 1965 the Montepulciano consortium was founded. The consortium protects the quality of the wine by establishing precise regulations  for the production of the wine. A year later in July 1966 Montepulciano was recognized as a DOC.  In July 1980, it was recognized as a DOCG. Montepulciano was placed among one of the most prestigious wines of Italy.  It is composed of  70% Sangiovese grapes, up to a maximum of 20% other varieties of grapes that are recommended by the province of Siena. Montepulciano must be aged for at least two years. It can be aged three different ways. It can be aged for 24 months in wood. It can be aged for 18 months in wood and the remaining six months in a different type of aging vessel.  Or it can be aged for 12 months in wood and for the remaining months be aged in a different aging vessel. Montepulciano cannot be released before the end of two years maturation prescribed by law. 

After wine class on Tuesday I had to go to the immigration office in order to finish my visa and immigration process. There were a bunch of students from my program there. You got a number along with some papers and unfortunately had to sit and wait till you were called. Two hours later my number was finally called. They took 2 passport sized photos of me and fingerprints of both my right and left hands. Being in the immigration office reminded me of the scene from The Proposal when they are in the immigration office. Once all of that was settled, some friends and I rewarded ourselves with Pino's for lunch. Pino's is the best panini place in town and we have become regulars there! It has finally come to that time when visitors are starting to arrive. Tuesday afternoon Steve's parents and brother arrived in Florence Tuesday night Mia's parents also arrived in Florence. Tuesday night Deanna and I went for a walk and sat on the steps of the Santa Croce and soaked in the cool crisp air. Believe it or not it is still very warm here during the day, but gets a tad bit chilly at night. 

Wednesday morning when I was walking to class it was SO foggy that you could not even see the top of the Duomo when walking down the street! Wednesday evening I made homemade chicken salad for dinner! Hmmm hmm good!  Yesterday was a productive day in the library trying to get ahead to prepare for midterms which will be here before I know it. It seems that every weekend there is something going on in the Piazza di Santa Croce. Luckily for me its only a stones throw away from my apartment! This weekend in the Piazza di Santa Croce there is an international fair. Last night my roommates and I went and indulged in some delicious food. We basically ate our way through the fair. We started with gyros from Greece, sangria from Spain, and concluded the night with crepes with dutch syrup from Holland! Needless to say we will be making an appearance there every day throughout the weekend! Tomorrow I have another field trip for my art class, but this time we are going to Arezzo. I can't wait for sunday because I am going horseback riding through the vineyards in Chianti, followed by wine tasting and dinner! Stay tuned for updates! 

the top of the duomo is missing!