Rebecca - TUSCAN WINE TOURS

The Italians and their bidet

info@tuscan-wine-tours.com (Rebecca Christophersen) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:08:05 PST

So this is what cracks up most Western visitors when they visit Italy for the first time. The bidet. It’s not an uncommon question that I get during the tours, as it reflects a cultural difference and the curiosity of understanding its usage is given by the frequent exposure to these objects when in Italy. In fact, bidets can be found in all Italian accommodations, both private and public.

Other European countries, just North of the Alps, don’t commonly have this phenomenon of bidets in water closets. This apparently useless device wouldn't logically have any right to take up space in the Northern countries’ often space-deprived bathrooms. As other Europeans, Italians also suffer from space restrictions. But as it is, the Italians would by no means question the importance of the bidet. In fact, they are terrified when travelling abroad to find no such thing as the bidet and most oftenly conclude that the rest of the World must be living in a deprived state of hygienic primitivity.

So this posting comes from the fact that I often get the question of, “so what’s that extra object we keep seeing in the bathrooms”? Some suggest it’s to wash feet in, others that it might be a mini bathtub for kids, or to hand-wash clothes in. That’s not far off from a reality some years ago when a friend of mine had to wash her dishes in the bidet because she had no kitchen! However, the bidet is intended to provide for personal hygiene, on a daily basis.

Having talked to many Italians about it, I have come to understand that it is common to use the bidet several times a day. I’ve been explained that it might not be necessary to do an integral cleaning (like a shower or a bath) every day, so the bidet helps to spot-clean on non-bathing days. A lot of my friends couldn’t possibly shower every day, as it would take too long, especially if they consider washing their hair…

I’m personally from the primitive North, so this logic was quite new to me. However, I’ve come to see the functionality of the bidet, even though I scandalously have a tendency to fill it up with useless toiletries that have no business in the bidet!

Terroir in Monte Bernardi

info@tuscan-wine-tours.com (Rebecca Christophersen) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:58:56 PDT

On Saturday excursions we are so lucky to go and see enologist (wine maker) Michael at Monte Bernardi who is a biodynamic fundamentalist (positive annotation of the word) and a very attentive-to-detail wine maker in his own estate near to Panzano in Chianti, where it is possible o try some of the best wines that the region has to offer.

The Tuscan Wine Society

info@tuscan-wine-tours.com (Rebecca Christophersen) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 04:20:40 PDT

Harvest is happening in these days and the grapes are looking beautiful this year. Here's a photo from the harvest last week at San Polino in Montalcino.

And now for some big news that I would like to share with you all. I have decided to transform the company into a cultural association with the new name of Tuscan Wine Society (translated from its Italian name "Associazione del vino toscano"). This means that whoever wants to join an excursion to the Tuscan wine regions now will become a member of the association and also the farms visited during the trips will be associated to the Society. This opens doors for more cultural and in-depth exchanges of agricultural practices and a deeper understanding of the Tuscan viticulture and eno-gastronomic traditions. So I am very happy to announce this transformation and with it believe that the true nature of my educational activities have been defined in a more appropriate manner.

Here's the new logo of the association, hope you like it!

Cork trick for parties

info@tuscan-wine-tours.com (Rebecca Christophersen) — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 02:07:32 PDT

Summer salute

info@tuscan-wine-tours.com (Rebecca Christophersen) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:53:01 PDT

It's got pretty hot in Italy. In fact, as every summer, I feel a little uncomfortable serving reds (Tuscany being famous for these) that in a few minutes warm up to the out-door temperature that hits the 34 degrees… And, as the wine, the heat has made us all warm, a little slow, lazy and perhaps a bit more crazy...
However, the tours are going strong all the same – except for a week’s pause in August when I will be taking my little girl Louise to the sea-side. I’m sure I’ll give you a reportage of that since we will be residing for a whole week in an exciting wine region right on the Tuscan coast; Bolgheri from where you get important Tuscan wines such as Sassicaia, Ornellaia, Masseto, Grattamacco, Paleo, etc.
My personal life has seen some changes in recent times, however, to the positive I do hope. In the meanwhile, I’ve enjoyed meeting the most interesting people through the tours from all parts of the World. My job is truly fantastic and (quietly in my mind) I thank you all every day for having the possibility of doing it!
My best summer regards to everyone!

Additives in wine?

info@tuscan-wine-tours.com (Rebecca Christophersen) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 11:12:03 PDT

The many kinds of additives in wines is alarming, especially because they are never listed on the label. They are all used as a way to improve an inferior product. The result is a wine-like beverage, not natural wine. Scary enough, most wines available on the market today are merely beverages made from grapes because businesses are failing to do the work to make them a true wine, which takes its time.

Here is a list of 5 additives used frequently in industrial wines:
1. Cultured yeast.
In healthy vineyards with living soils there are plenty of natural yeasts. These native yeasts are also present on the grapes at harvest. The majority of winemakers add commercial yeasts either because their vineyards are not part of a living ecosystem (because they've sprayed too many chemicals on the vines) or because commercial yeasts can add particular flavors to a wine.
2. Enzymes.
Enzymes are proteins added to industrial wines to improve the color, improve the aroma and to make filtration easier.
3. Tannin.
Tannins are often added to industrial wines in the form of powder. Often used in combination with things like oak chips or oak staves.
4. Tartaric acid or malolactic bacteria.
Used to adjust the acid levels in a wine out of balance. This manipulation really would be unnecessary in wine as it is possible for wine to proceed through a malolactic fermentation without manipulating it, but again that requires time.
5. Enhancing the product further.
Many industrial wines are still made with the addition of sugar. Arabic gum is another additive used in industrial wine making (see video below). Many industrial winemakers pump oxygen into the wine, ostensibly to speed the aging and maturation process to make a wine more approachable.

Italians versus other europeans

info@tuscan-wine-tours.com (Rebecca Christophersen) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:34:12 PDT

I don't usually blog about Italians or Italy as such - just because I think there's enough written about it in other sites and blogs. I, however, live right amongst Italians, my boyfriend is Italian and my daughter was born here and goes to Italian school. I very much love my life here in Italy and find the Italians to be warm and wellcoming towards foreigners. However, there's always a "dark" side to any place in the world, and this film underneath describes it very well - LOL!

Should the word "organic" be on the label or not?

info@tuscan-wine-tours.com (Rebecca Christophersen) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 11:30:00 PDT

In Italy, when a winery officially becomes organic certified - which (like in most countries) takes several years -, it has the right to advertise the words "wine obtained from organic viticulture" (translated from Italian words) in the label, but the labels might not necessarily have this writing on them. I already know a few vintners who couldn't care less about certifications, or for that sake think that the opposit is necessary: the farms that do use chemicals should declare so in the label - since the chemicals sometimes could be life threatening! At this point in time, that is not the case with vintners nor with other producers of vegetables and fruits.
Here's the opinion of an organic winery in Montalcino, the spokesman is a good friend of mine Federico:

Biodynamic - the future of viticulture?

info@tuscan-wine-tours.com (Rebecca Christophersen) — Fri, 29 May 2009 09:59:19 PDT

So, have you heard of "biodynamic" wines before???

You've surely heard of organic wines...so, shortly, biodynamic agricultre is sort of a step further from organic - in the direction of being "natural", that is.

In recent years there has been a search for more natural produces including wine, and vineyards are indeed sprayed with many interesting substances that the consumer often is not even aware of.

Basically, biodynamic agriculture follows certain cycles of nature and cosmos such as the moon and position of the planets. Sounds a bit like witch-craft, but actually ancient agriculture always followed the phases of the moon and somehow this knowledge was forgotten about during the industrial revolution in modern agriculture. Today this forgotten knowledge has been rediscovered, tested, and proved to improve farms without having to use any sorts of chemicals, so creating sostainable farms.

Castello dei Rampolla - what a winery!

info@tuscan-wine-tours.com (Rebecca Christophersen) — Sun, 24 May 2009 08:52:45 PDT

One of my favourite places in the Chianti region is Castello dei Rampolla. The estate is in the Conca d'Oro valley just South of Panzano. The winery was one of the first in the area to turn organic and biodynamic back in the 90s. Maurizia is a dedicated host and takes time out of her day to wander through the vineyards and answer all the questions of the visitors. The tasting includes some of the best Tuscan wines such as Sammarco and d'Alceo, the latter is a blend of Cabernet and Petit Verdot and quite singular in its class - possibly one of Tuscany's finest wines.

Wine is fun!

info@tuscan-wine-tours.com (Rebecca Christophersen) — Fri, 22 May 2009 10:14:55 PDT

As you've probably noticed approaching fancy restaurants with extensive, uncomprehendable (to normal people) wine lists, some people take wine very seriously, some even get snobby about it. But in my opinion, wine is just about the funnest thing I know! It's a bit like art in that sense that there are multiple ways of experiencing it, but we all enjoy it. We had this discussion on the wine tour today, and the discussion resulted in a fun little video that you'll find here below.

Doing the wine tours

info@tuscan-wine-tours.com (Rebecca Christophersen) — Sat, 16 May 2009 10:02:53 PDT

How many of us can go: I love my job and couldn't imagine my life without it?!
So, I've been doing the wine tours for 5 yrs now and I haven't got bored doing it yet - on the contrary; every day is like a new challenge and I just love to have the close contact with the wineries and to watch the progress through the year culminating in the harvest in the fall.
Here's a little clip from a wine tour this past week - thought you might enjoy a taste of the tour. Jackie owns a small organic vineyard in the Chianti Classico region and is here talking about the "green harvest" which is done in July to concentrate the grapes.

Cracking the bottle open with a classy touch!

info@tuscan-wine-tours.com (Rebecca Christophersen) — Sun, 03 May 2009 09:47:20 PDT

May has come - and it's got to be one of my favourite months, even if it usually passes by in a second because it seems to be one of the busiest months of the year (I'm probably not the only one who's caught on to this beautiful month in Italy!).

This post is dedicated to a little bottle-opening trick that you can soon learn to do (just practise on a couple of bottles before you do it in front of your friends). The important things are 1) that you get a hold of a proper waiter's cork screw (the only proper wine opener if you ask me) and 2) that the wine you are opening has a foil cover (so not plastic).

Judy Witts at Officina della Cucina Popolare!

info@tuscan-wine-tours.com (Rebecca Christophersen) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 14:27:14 PDT

Cook, teacher, blogger and author Judy Witts and her Tuscan husband came to visit Officina della Cucina Popolare this week. She's just out with her new cook-book "Secrets from my Tuscany Kitchen - Divina Cucina's Recipes" which is also the name of the cooking school run by Judy for many years in Florence. She still does special cooking classes and trips, for example small tours to the markets of Florence.
We're proud to have a her books for sale at our restaurant. Thanks Judy & good luck with your book!
Please see the link above for Judy's impressions of her meal!

Life in a Tuscan town (Colle Val d'Elsa)

info@tuscan-wine-tours.com (Rebecca Christophersen) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 07:22:58 PDT

Bound to the spot a bit more, I'm experiencing the joy of living in a small Tuscan village and being part of its heart-beat. I'm getting to know the townspeople much better and enjoying the banal everyday events that I was so longing after before. From the noisy street-cleanings in the morning to the observation of the people passing on the streets at the same time of day during every single day. Usually the recognition of you comes with a loud "buon giorno!" even if the weather doesn't always promise the day to be that great this time of year.
All in all, the restaurant is really going quite well and we are so pleased. We fill up with locals in the evenings (late, because Italian only eat after 8 pm).
I hope some of you will come and experience our cuisine! Every Sunday and Monday we organize a tour of our town before lunch. Here's a taste of the tour of yesterday:

Tour of Colle Val d'Elsa from Rebecca Christophersen on Vimeo.

Interview on NextTrip Radio

info@tuscan-wine-tours.com (Rebecca Christophersen) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 12:06:56 PDT

http://nexttrip.sbc-inc.net/archives/Shows/Next-Trip-with-Melanie-Cole/-3ATuscan-Wine-Tours/details

http://nexttrip.sbc-inc.net/archives/Shows/Next-Trip-with-Melanie-Cole/Tuscan-Wine-Tours%21/details

Check out my interview on NextTrip Radio!!!

Restaurant "L'Officina della Cucina Popolare" finally open!

info@tuscan-wine-tours.com (Rebecca Christophersen) — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 02:45:18 PDT

We have opened!!! I can't believe it! Finally, after months of frustrating and prolonged renovation, we finally opened the restaurant this week. But the relief of actually having guests coming for lunch and dinner and having a delicious meal is just enormous!

So, if you pass by Colle Val d'Elsa in the future, I hope you'll come see us - even just for a glass of wine!

Here's an initiative that we're running all summer:

Every Sunday and Monday starting at 11.20 am in Piazza Arnolfo in Colle Val d’Elsa.
The tour will go through historic Colle, on a trip that will take you through the Middle Ages and all the way up to recent history, including the back ground of the crystal industry.
An hour and a half later, we will have lunch consisting of samples of typical Tuscan foods at “Officina della Cucina Popolare”. Lunch will be accompanied by a fun wine tasting of two wines of the territory.
Please call ahead to reserve:
(+39) 0577-921796 (Officina) or (+39) 333-7229716 (Rebecca)

2009 - great first tours

info@tuscan-wine-tours.com (Rebecca Christophersen) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 23:10:57 PST

Nothing better than ending a long wet winter season with a couple of wonderful tours.

Actually the weather has gotten much warmer and the buds on the trees are the proof; they are sitting there ready to boost open with the first rays of the serious spring sun!

Here's a photo from the other day - it's still lots of fun to do the juming photos. The person who seems to be flying to the left, is Alan and next to him his wife Joan. They were really interesting to get to know as they are spending some years travelling the Mediterranean in their sail boat. What stories - I wish there had been more time to hear them all. Anyway, I have been peeking at their web-site and there's now a really nice review with pictures up from the wine tours last week: http://www.alanjoanhere.com/2009_Italy_Florence3.html

The other exciting news is that we are really close to opening the restaurant. We believe the opening date will be the 14th of March. I will make sure to post lots of pictures both on Facebook as on this blog so that you can see what it looks like. We've got a restaurant blog as well, but so far it's only going to be in Italian: http://cucina-popolare.blogspot.com/ But you can enjoy the pictures there as well. The wine list is what excites me the most (find the link to it here: http://www.cucina-popolare.com/cucina_vini.htm) and is made up by mainly organic certified and biodynamic wines from wineries that have a heart, so to say. What I mean by that is that I've selected the wines both by their goodness but also because we know the vintners and how well they work.

I suppose that's all for now. I better get back to one of my jobs; these days are full of important things to do but it's just so nice to sit down and reflect...

Restaurant in Colle Val d'Elsa

info@tuscan-wine-tours.com (Rebecca Christophersen) — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 05:13:27 PST

"Officina della Cucina Popolare" (Workshop of Folkloristic Cuisine) is the name of the restaurant that Myself, Nicola and two of our close friends Ilaria and Matteo are going to open hopefully by the end of February '09.

Here's the logo that my friend Raffa has designed (her web-site: http://www.errecomunicazione.it/) and our dream is to really make this a research workshop for popular dishes of the past. The menu will change seasonally and there will be a mix of very traditional Tuscan dishes and other Italian regional dishes.
We're going to select mostly local foods produced organically - the wine list is going to reflect this criteria as well.

All in all, it is very exiting! And I hope to see many of you there in the years to come.

Here we are with the Notaio (notary) signing the constitution of our society. The notary seems to be the happiest as he just earned 1.500 Euro in 15 minutes!!!
The restaurant will be in the old part of Colle Val d'Elsa (our hometown) in the province of Siena. It's a 5 min ride from the highway exit.
Here are the details:
Ristorante Officina della Cucina Popolare
Via Gracco del Secco 86 (Colle Val d'Elsa)
Tel: (+39) 0577-921796
http://www.cucina-popolare.com/ / officina@cucina-popolare.com

Video #33 - Best of Tuscan Wine Tours 2008

info@tuscan-wine-tours.com (Rebecca Christophersen) — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 01:01:48 PST

The wine tour season is almost over and winter is crawling up on us. In the meanwhile, I have collected some of my favourite video clips from this past year in this video below. The background music is composed and sung by my sister, Tabitha, who's currently studying at the Conservatory in Aarhus, Denmark.
Just a little teaser: Very, very soon I should have some very exciting news to announce - so come back and see me soon!

Video #32 - Making of First Cold Press Extra Virgin Olive Oil w/ Tuscan Wine Tours

info@tuscan-wine-tours.com (Rebecca Christophersen) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 03:02:34 PST

I don't think I need to comment much on the following video. I shot it yesterday at my friend's Alberto in Montalcino (http://www.agriturismo-podere-la-fonte.it/) who's one of the few traditional olive oil producers left in Tuscany. The oil is available for shipment everywhere through http://www.tuscany-in-a-bottle-com/.

November

info@tuscan-wine-tours.com (Rebecca Christophersen) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 07:08:02 PST

So, November has come with its cooler weather and shorter days.
It is also time for the olive harvest which is very exciting!

All Saints day was spent in the lovely company of Georgia wine tour guests. With permission I'm linking to the wine tour review: http://susancoggin.blogspot.com/2008/11/day-in-tuscany.html

Today, in occasion of my birthday, I took my friends out in the Chianti area and he had lunch in one of my favourite spots "A Casa Mia" in Montefiridolfi.
And these ary my crazy friends and I on a Chianti road (I'm the one flying in the air to the right). The little girl is my daughter Louise who is almost 6.
I shan't speak too much of my own age, but have taken to me the saying on the picture above - a sign found today in a wine bar in Panzano in Chianti.

Video #31 - Brunello solo IN ITALIA!!!

info@tuscan-wine-tours.com (Rebecca Christophersen) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:19:19 PDT

So, apparently the Brunello scandal is coming to some sort of end. Banfi was kind of cleared and has started selling again (for a much more detailed blog about the subject, do see: http://vinowire.simplicissimus.it/)
Here's a little video from one of the wineries I like to visit during the wine tours, Le Chiuse, an organic farm and on this video we are hosted by Lorenzo.

Very funny story from a Tuscan Wine Tour guest

info@tuscan-wine-tours.com (Rebecca Christophersen) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:42:37 PDT

This morning I received this email and I got the permission to post it on-line. It's really funny!!!

"Hi Rebecca
Hope you have recovered from a busy summer.
We had a great time with you and have made many recommendations for people to visit and have a tour - it made a fantastic day out and we learnt a great deal about Tuscan wines (now we scour the shelves of the local wine stores for Chianti Classico's)

Thought we should share a story with you from the evening of our tour!
Well...we were recommended a great restaurant in Florence and booked a table (The 4 Lions..you may know it?)
Anyway - arrived and ordered from the menu - the wine list was extensive, however, having drunk great wine all day we decided to simply order a 1/2 carafe of the house red -
Well it turned up and was awful!
The restaurant was starting to get busy and a couple came to a table next to us...he was a flashy American and she was very 'City' from London. It seemed quite clear that it was a 'hot date and weekend away and that they were only in Florence for one thing!!
So, the waiter came to their table - they gave their order and the American then asked what the best wine they had was - the waiter told him that he had a 'super tuscan' from Ruffino...the one on the menu was a good year 2005, however, they had 4 bottles of 2003 in the cellar. This was ordered and away he went to get the wine.
As you can imagine, our ears pricked up and we started a conversation with them, telling them that we had heard that 2003 was a great year and that we had been drinking some good Super Tuscans during the day.
They were quite disinterested and did not pick up on the converstaion, prefering to gaze into each others eyes and play footsie under the table.
The wine arrived and they simply poured and drank, making no comment at all...very matter of fact etc.
So our main course arrived and their starter arrived. They quickly finished their starter and all of a sudden got up from the table and left the restaurant...Laura said...well they're in a hurry and we both laughed etc, then noticing the half full Super Tuscan bottle still left!
5 minutes passed. The waiters cleared the table, except for the wine.... then 10 minutes and we then started to joke about trying the bottle. 15 minutes later - much to my suprise, Laura then reached over, picked up the bottle and poured us both a glass...placing the bottle back on the table and telling me that it 'was a great waste' and we should 'just try it'.
We both sat savouring the wine when I saw Laura turn white!...the couple were coming back to their table! They sat down and their main course arrived - apparently they had gone outside for a cigarette!!...Well Laura went red!.. They hadn't a clue, just poured more wine into their glasses - didn't even blink! We finished our meal...called quickly for the bill and left!! - We've never left anywhere so quickly in all our lives....
So that's the Super Tuscan 2003 story!

Hope all is well with you.
Best wishes
Paul & Laura"

Video #30 - Tuscan Wine Tours interviews organic wine producer about Sangiovese

info@tuscan-wine-tours.com (Rebecca Christophersen) — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 09:41:09 PDT

This is one of the wineries I like to visit in the Chianti Classico region, so we are speaking mainly Sangiovese grapes. This video is from the 20th of September 2008 and Piero, the enologist (wine maker) presents the vineyards and speaks about the conditions of the grapes.