“Wine is the most healthful and most hygienic of beverages.” ~ Louis Pasteur

If the above quote is true, and I have no reason to believe it is not, after all it is a quote from Louis Pasteur, then our group of travelers should be the most healthy people ever.  Today we visited not one but two wineries with tastings, before lunch! I wish I could remember what I learned during the tours but for some reason I can not recall much! The first winery was San Felice in the Chianti region.

After a lovely wine tasting experience we got back in the vans and headed to Badia a Coltibuono.  This winery had been originally an 11th century abbey  in a beautiful setting high in the hills.

The wine tasting was not one of my favorites.  Perhaps it was best described by Tom Haas when tasting one of the red vintages and he said,  “I am getting notes of gym bag.”

We then toured the cellar which had a collection of some very old wines covered in mold, which according to the tour guide was a good thing!

We returned back to our farmhouse for yet another adventure to a very interesting dinner, deep in the woods called “I cche ce ce.”

It was, shall we say, a quaint little gem hidden up winding roads in the woods. The drive seemed endless up gravel roads, it seemed like we might never arrive.  I had visions of Hansel and Gretel in a cottage in the woods.  None the less dinner was delicious and there may have been additional wine consumed.

“Accept what life offers you and try to drink from every cup. All wines should be tasted; some should only be sipped, but with others, drink the whole bottle.” ~ Pailo Coelho