Travels in Tuscany--San Gimignano Revisited (Part 1 of 2)

We recently made a return trip to San Gimignano--this time with Sally who was visiting from Florida. 

Before arriving in San Gimignano, we stopped off for another farm lunch at Fattoria Poggio Alloro.  Below is a photographic tour of the farm.

Aerial view of Fattoria Poggio Alloro, with a view of San Gimignano in the distance.

We walked through the winery and then visited the vineyard.  We noticed something interesting. At the end of many rows of vines were the customary rose bush, a sort of canary-in-the-coalmine to detect disease and pests before they attack the grapes.  At the end of other rows, we saw something else--an artichoke plant (pictured below).  Like roses, artichoke plants show signs of disease and pests earlier than grapevines.

During the tour, we also went to the barn to see the farm's very large Chianina cattle (pictured below), one of the oldest and largest breeds in the world.

While touring the farm, we enjoyed a view of San Gimignano across the valley. 

San Gimignano--"The Manhattan of Tuscany"

After the farm tour, we enjoyed another wonderful lunch, made all the more enjoyable with four wine pairings.  We started off with Vernaccia di San Gimignano, followed by two reds--a Rosso and a Chianti Riserva, ending with Vin Santo for dipping almond cantuccini.  All the wines are produced on the farm.  In fact, most of the meal (roughly 90%) was produced on the farm.  So, the distance from farm to table is very short. 

Wine (Vernaccia di San Gimignano) with Tuscan-style bruschetta

Wine (Chianti Riserva) with pasta

Wine (Rosso) with meat and cheese

After the meal, we enjoyed some wine-fueled creativity and took the photographs below.

Next Up:  Another visit to San Gimignano.