MAPPING TUSCANY

In the wine world the Tuscan coast equals Bolgheri and Sassicaia. No other wine has done as much to turn the lay-back beach side paradise south of Livorno into a famous wine growing region as the prestigious Sassicaia from Tenuta San Guido. But whilst the rise of Supertuscans blended from French grape varieties may resemble a fairy tale story, it shouldn't keep you fro m drinking Sangiovese wines in the smaller and lesser known wineries along the Tuscan shore. 

My favorite Tuscan wineries use organic or sustainable approaches to winemaking. But what is it all about? Read Carlo Pandian's take on the biodynamic and organic wine movement in Tuscany.  When you think of Tuscan wines, the words natural  and organic  probably aren’t the first to spring to mind. More likely you'll think of Chianti Classico or the bottles hailing from Montalcino – Italian appellations that incorporate the history and tradition that the region is famed for. Nevertheless, like in other winemaking regions throughout the world, a committed group of producers have contributed to the growth of natural wines in Tuscany in recent years.  But what is 'natural' wine and how has this philosophy impacted upon this famous area? Manual only vineyard work at the biodynamic winery La Maliosa in Southern Tuscany

In its third year the Maremma Wine and Food Shire has changed approach and moved the fair from Braccagni into Grosseto's historic town center. Originally designed for trade, Maremma's wine and food fair is also a great place for any foodies hooked on Southern Tuscany's locally produces delicacies. Taste your way through sheep cheese from the Tuscan hills, organically produced wine, salami and prosciutto, saffron, pickled vegetables and fish egg (bottarga) from the coast.  All of it in the lay-back center of one of Tuscany's lesser known cities. Grosseto may not be able to compete with Siena, Pisa or Florence when it comes to art and culture. But the city makes up for it with a car and tourist free town center,  historic city walls, friendly inhabitants and noteworthy architectural details if you only care to look out for them.  Maoist China? A Tuscan cyclist on Grosseto's main shopping road 

Recovering in the shade (photo Flickr user Toby Leah Bochan) Florence with children? Visiting the city of the Renaissance with a bunch of unruly kids sounds like your worst nightmare? I’m with you: art, culture and Tuscan wine and food make of Florence a perfect adult only destination.  But then,  the most vivid memory I have from my last child-free visit at the Uffizi isn't of Leonardo da Vinci or Botticelli, but of myself downing over-prized espresso at the museum café in a desperate attempt to get over last night's han gover . In this sense Florence in the company of a few inquisitive kids seemed like my last resort to skip the wine and see the art instead.  Once we'd decided to bring the kids, the question was how to go about it. FIRENZE CARD: SKIP THE LINES AND ENJOY THE ART WITH THE FLORENCE MUSEUM PASS If you have three days in Florence there is no better way to see frescoes, paintings and sculptures of the Renaissance masters than with the...

On the way to Castello Banfi - Montalcino If you love Italian wine as much as classical music , with the  the 2012 edition of the  Melodia del Vino  festival being in full swing,  this is the time to cruise Southern Tuscany . All concerts of the second part of the festival will take place in the fabulous locations of some of Tuscany's most prestigious wineries in the provinces of Siena and Grosseto. Tenuta Rocca di Frassinello,  June 30: Sayaka Shoji (violin), Marc Laforet (piano).  The Japanese violinist and Premio Paganini  winner and  the French pianist will play works of Janacek, Beethoven, Debussy and Brahms at Rocca di Frassinello . The winery has been designed by Italian star architect Renzo Piano and sports a marvelous  barric aia (a wine cellar dedicated to French barrique barrels only), which makes for a fantastic concert space.  Tenuta Rocca di Montemassi, July 3: Laure Favre-Kahn (violin), Nemanja Radulovic (...

Trekking in Cinigiano: beautiful views, lovely tracks and - oh boy -  plenty of Tuscan wine and food. SATURDAY, MAY 5 - "TREKKING DE' CITTI" . Kids' trekking ('citti' means 'bambino' in Tuscan dialect) 3pm registration at Cinigiano's tourist office. The children's trekking is for free, but registration is necessary (for insurance reasons). Apart of insurance for the day, the kids will get a nice gadget to take home. 3.30pm Start of the trekking in Castello di Porrona (a lovely medieval hamlet five minutes from Cinigiano by car). From Porrona the kids will be taken on a  guided walk trough the Tuscan countryside with animal watching and flower picking. Once back on Porrona's beautiful piazza there will be a snack and lots of fun games waiting for everybody.  Kids from 6 to 12 years of age. Younger children can join if accompanied by their parents. Older ones may want to join the trekking on Sunday morning. 

Tuesday May 1 - Workers' day in Sant'Angelo Scalo near Montalcino The month starts full speed with a festival in Montalcino. No, not Brunello tasting (again!), but  donkey races   and anything else that will make sure you and your kids spend a fun international workers' day in Tuscany .  The festival can be reached on a steam train from Siena (read my post should you be interested in this or other  festivals paired with steam train traveling ).  Saturday May 5 - Italian Folk Music at Sant'Antimo Abbey A wonderful concert in an enchanting location: the male SAT choir singers will  present their latest program of Italian folk songs at Sant'Antimo Abbey near Montalcino. A video and the detailed program can be found on our Montalcino Blog . Rather go for some trekking? This spring's  Tuscany walking festival continues with two more dates in the Tuscan Archipelago National Park :  May 1- trekking, broad beans and Pecorino cheese on the I...

Petra Winery by Mario Botta - one of the venues of the Melodia del Vino Festival Waiting for Montalcino's Jazz & Wine 2012? Nope, the program isn't out yet - Banfi  obviously likes suspense. All we know so far is that it's going to happen in the second half of July, so book your room anyway. Nevertheless there are good news on Southern Tuscany's festival front. Three prestigious classical music festivals have already presented their rich program for the summer 2012.  AMIATA PIANO FESTIVAL  - three cycles of classical music in July, August and at the beginning of September.  The jazz lover in you will rejoice, as one of the concerts in Collemassari's stunning wine cellar is going to host wonderful Italian jazz pianist  Danilo Rea ,  who will play a tribute to Fabrizio de André . Poggi del Sasso/Montecucco near Cinigiano (half an hour from Montalcino and Grosseto): Baccus July 19 - 22 , Euterpe August 2 - 5 , Dionisus August 30 - September 2...

I t's all snow over Tuscany: schools are closed, highways are in a mess and airports are total no goes. If you happen to be stuck in Siena you'll be able to kill time with a few  life events . Not so if you happen to sit on a Tuscan hill, cut off from the rest of the world  - nightmare or bliss? I'd say enjoy the forced winter break in Tuscany: put another log on the fire, open a bottle of wine and get those dusty records out... Paolo Conte Vieni via con me -  live in Amsterdam 

Cinigiano - Festa dell'Uva Harvest festival 2011 No better time to become infatuated with my beloved Tuscan village than this weekend. Most of the 500 inhabitants are in some way or another involved in the Festa dell'uva, the annual wine harvest festival. 

Still dreaming of that tailormade Italian suite? This is the weekend to get hold of it! Grosseto's MABRO  - handmade in Tuscany  is putting everything on massive sale. And once  you've got your marvelous new piece of Italian clothing you may as well stay on to explore the Maremma a bit further: 

September is my favorite month in Tuscany. Stunning weather, perfect for long days at the beach or series of Cappuccinos or Prosecchi on medieval Piazzas. And all of it with much fewer tourists than in overcrowded August. The only downside is that you'll have to sip your aperitivo on your own. At least if most of your friends turn out to be Tuscan winemakers...

No doubt, the Dionisus cycle of the Amiata Piano Festival is one of the hidden gems in Southern Tuscany's summer festival scene. The Collemassari  wine cellar (designed by Italian architect  Edoardo Millesi ) makes for a stunning setting for the 4 concerts, which are quite rightly dedicated to Dionisus, the greek god of wine and wine making. The musicians match the prime setting; the pianist and artistic director Maurizio Baglini  has put together a selection of Italian and international musicians who'll guarantee for fantastic performances. 

Sitting on our terrace we see majestic Mount Aquilaia and Mount Amiata as a background to our neighbor's well kept vineyard. And all through summer we sit on that terrace drinking the white wine which is made from the vines we are looking at. Yes, that's rather romantic. However  the striking bit about this information is that we actually CAN afford to drink our neighbor's wine ON A DAILY BASE - which is quite something if you're aware of Tuscan wine prices! The vineyard that gets us through the summer But no, I won't tell you who our neighbor is. The thing is he doesn't produce a lot, and we'd rather not risk having to sip some Chilean or Australian white when sitting on our terrace. That would kind of spoil the view. However there are a few other Tuscans out there who keep producing affordable wines, and at times they are a as good as our neighbor's. To make sure you get to those bottles before they get emptied by somebody else - s...