Around the corner from the villa we found a local winery, Rocca di Castagnoli. Our original intent was to buy a bottle of Chianti for dinner; but Christina, the proprietress, invited us to tour the winery and taste a selection of wines. Sampling a crisp chardonnay, a 1998 Chianti reserve and a lovely Vin Santo, we lingered and sampled a wide palette of wines. We ordered a variety to ship home.
Our GPS directed us from Rome through the hills of Chianti where we were greeted by Tatiana and Stefano at Castellare in Chianti. Our shared villa second floor apartment was luxurious including a queen size bed, convertible sofa, full bath, dining area, kitchen and a view of the courtyard. A garden with arugula, lettuce and fruit, which is available to all the guests, made our evening meals extra special. After day tripping in Sienna, Arezzo and Florence the villa pool was refreshing. The end of our stay included a “family style” meal for all the guests with pizza made by a quest chef in the courtyard’s wood fired brick oven.