Siena is close enough to Rome that I was able to go on a day trip to see the town. I’ve been wanting to learn more about Tuscan wine and to try some so while I was there I also planned to take a class with the Tuscan Wine School. The train ride is only about 3 hours from Rome and once I arrived I took a bus from the train station to the center of the city. In reality I could have walked because Siena is small enough to walk across in about 20 minutes.
The center square, Il Campo, is well known as a busy piazza and a place to relax. It is divided into 9 brick sections because Siena used to be ruled by 9 leaders at one point in time. This is also well known for the center of the horse races that Siena holds in July and August.
After exploring for about an hour, I went to my class at the Tuscan Wine School. The class was called a gastronomy which basically in Italy is a lunch buffet. We started by tasting 3 different olive oils, one of which had just been pressed the day before! Rebecca, our teacher, gave us 4 different meats and 4 different cheeses along with one white and two red wines.
My favorite cheese (the second from the left in the picture above) is called “toad’s skin” because of the texture of the outer skin on the cheese. Apparently it was a mistake because they were trying to make a cheese like parmigiano and it ended up coming out much softer. They decided to try it and boom! the best cheese ever made. Seriously. I have never tasted a better cheese.
Of the four meats one in particular was specific to Siena because it comes from pigs that are only raised in the area. (Shown on the left on the top of the plate) These special pigs have happy lives because they are not kept in captivity but are allowed to roam and find their own food. It is like a softer salami with little peppercorns in it for flavor. Also very good!
Rebecca explained all of the different designation of Italian wine. 70% of wine made is vino di tavolo which sounds nice but is actually the worst for you. The second classification is an IGT which is made with specific grapes but gives you a little freedom with the recipe. We had the chance to try a red wine of this kind. DOC and DOCG are designations used for the most regulated types of wine. Apparently to be a Chianti Classico (a DOCG which Tuscany is famous for) it must use a specific kind of grape and be made using a specific recipe. This is the bottle on the left in the center with the white cap. Best drank while you are eating because it clears your palette.
The fourth and final wine I tried was a dessert wine which I have never had before! It smelled like it had a very strong alcohol content but it did not taste like it. It was very sweet and we had traditional cookies from Siena to eat while drinking it.
Both the class and the city itself made for one of my best days abroad! It was so informative and enjoyable at the same time! I hope some day to come back to experience the horse races in the summer time!
Location: Siena, Italy
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