Yesterday my marketing class traveled to two wine vineyards owned by the Frescobaldi Family, an Italian family that has been producing wine for over 32 generations, since the 13th century. Our professor joked that the first vineyard, in Pomino, was more like a vineyard in Germany than in Italy. It was high up in the mountains, with an incredible view of the Italian Landscape nearby. The actual winery looked like a beautiful old villa- the family is always welcome to stay there still, but most live in Florence in order to do business. We had a tour of the winery. First, there were large metal vats for fermentation. The first wine we saw fermenting was a Pinot Noir (mom's favorite!) After the metal tanks, there were the standard wooden barrels- lots of them! Rooms and rooms filled with wooden barrels of aging wine. The wine is first fermented in the metal tanks and then aged in the wooden barrels. Some of the more expensive wines are aged for as long as 5 years before they are even barrelled. Not being super knowledgeable about wine, I found everything about the process of making wine very interesting, and learned several things that I had never known before. For example, where the grapes grow on the vineyard is a very important part of the wine and grapes are sometimes pealed in order to make white wine.
After a few more rooms filled with aging wine, it was time to sit down and try the family wine! We were treated extremely well- 3 different wines were tested and there was an incredible spread of food to go with the wine. We tried a Pinot Grigio, a blend of Merlot and Pinot Noir, and a Chianti. Our host explained different methods of tasting the wine- it is not just a show men like to put on in restaurants!! She had us smell the wine, check the color, the reflection of light through the wine, and pair the different wines with different foods to find the best and worst combinations. The food was delicious, and it was the first time I actually enjoyed red wine- the Chianti was great!
Sufficiently filled, it was time for the class to make our way to another vineyard. Which was again beautiful, and this time featured a castle as well as a villa! It was pretty amazing. We were showed a few more aging wines and fermenting wines, but the best part of this site was definitely the private wine cellar for the family. It is tradition in the Frescobaldi family for whenever a new member of the family is born, either 100 or 300 bottles (100 for women, 300 for men) from their birth year are placed aside in the cellar for their personal use at special occasions. They remain unlabeled until a bottle of wine is taken out, at which time a custom label will be made. There were still wines from the 1800's down in the cellar- undoubtedly undrinkable by now, but very interesting.
All in all, it was a fantastic day, and I have a much bigger appreciation for wines and everything that goes into making them.
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