Postcards from Italy 2018

The previous day two of us enjoyed an informal celebration for carnivores in Panzano with Dario Cecchini, the famous butcher of Panzano. Today we would travel as a group of four to a winery 25 miles to the south for a luncheon at Castello di Ama that featured their own wines.   When we planned the trip, we thought that it was odd that Google Maps said that the trip would take an hour. Hmmmm. As we drove south the two-lane roads twisted and turned and we gained altitude over the valleys to the east and west. We were a little concerned as the typical Tuscan forests gave way to scrub oak. The soil became more and more rocky and there were so few people, so few buildings. As the roads grew more narrow and more twisted, we wondered, “Are we really headed toward to wine making estate where we have reservations for lunch?”   Castello di Ama ( Photo source ) Finally, at the highest point of our drive the valley opened up around us and we saw vineyards in all four dir

Dario Cecchini might be the most famous butcher in the world. His butcher shop is in the small town of Panzano in the Chianti region of Tuscany. While the town is small with 1,161 people, his butcher shop is known by people who have read Bill Buford’s book, Heat , in which he describes his time in Panzano and in this New Yorker article . Mario Batali also studied with Cecchini. Part of the antipasti Besides his shop Cecchini operates a number of small restaurants in the town and all are intensely popular. While we were nearby we had to visit the shop and try a meal. The meal began at noon with antipasti served across the narrow street at the butcher's shop consisting of wine, olives, sliced salamis, toasts with lardo, and toasts with oil and salt. The antipasto was so informal that Cecchini had handed us glasses of wine before we were clear who he was. By 1pm the crowd was overflowing into the street. From the choices of many varied menus , we chose the Solo Cicci