{"id":57,"date":"2012-06-13T21:43:09","date_gmt":"2012-06-14T04:43:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/suitcasejournal.com\/?p=57"},"modified":"2012-07-08T13:53:51","modified_gmt":"2012-07-08T20:53:51","slug":"le-cantine-taste-and-learn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/suitcasejournal.com\/?p=57","title":{"rendered":"Le Cantine – Taste and Learn!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Le Cantine<\/a>, located in\u00a0Greve in Chianti,\u00a0boasts that\u00a0it is\u00a0the largest enoteca in Tuscany.\u00a0 It\u2019s very easy to believe this claim \u2013 you walk down a set of stairs into the tasting area and find yourself surrounded by what seems like an unlimited amount of wine tasting machines.<\/p>\n

This was a perfect way for Ryan and I to spend our morning in Greve in Chianti (we took a half day trip from Florence – more on this later). \u00a0It’s not the personal experience you’d receive at some places, but it worked for us! \u00a0You purchase a card with a certain amount of money on it (we paid for 25 euros on our card) and decide which wines to taste.\u00a0\u00a0The underground enoteca has mechanical wine dispensers. \u00a0You simply find a wine you wish to taste, stick your card in the slot, place your glass under the appropriate spout, and press the button for the corresponding\u00a0wine. \u00a0Each taste has a price clearly marked above the bottle. \u00a0The prices\u00a0started at 0.60 euros and\u00a0go up from there. \u00a0Ryan and I generally tasted wines between 0.60 and 1.20 euros, which allowed us to sample plenty of different wines.<\/p>\n

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A close-up view of the wine dispenser machines.<\/em><\/p>\n

We love tasting wines and learning about what we\u2019re drinking.\u00a0 Le Cantine has a supply of wine guides available in several languages which provide an explanation of the different wines available to taste.\u00a0 Since we were heading to Montepulciano right after Florence, we were interested in the famous wine of that region \u2013 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.\u00a0\u00a0Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is always made up of at least 70% of a Sangiovese grape clone,\u00a0called Prugnolo Gentile,\u00a0which\u00a0is used exclusively for this wine.\u00a0 The remaining 30% is generally made up of Canaiolo, Merlot, and\/or Cabernet Sauvignon.\u00a0 In general, I preferred the mix of Sangiovese and Canaiolo.\u00a0 We also tasted several Chianti Classico wines, which are also made up of mostly the Sangiovese grape (at least 80%). \u00a0Both the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Chianti Classico are D.O.C.G. wines, which certifies that the wines are made within a certain region using specific methods and\u00a0are tasted for quality\u00a0by the government\u00a0(bottles are marked with a pink label across the top).\u00a0<\/p>\n

The majority of the wines offered at Le Cantine are red, but there\u00a0are also some white wines and sparkling wines to choose from, as well as Vin Santo (dessert wine) and grappa.\u00a0 In addition to wine, olive oil tastings are offered through the same style of dispensing machines.\u00a0 And best of all – they are free to taste!\u00a0 There is also free salami provided at the front counter (shown in the first picture), along with other foods available for purchase.<\/p>\n

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If you have a limited amount of time in Greve in Chianti and wish to taste several wines of the region, Le Cantine is a must!\u00a0 It won’t be the same experience as touring a winery of the area, but it will provide a lot of wine and information.\u00a0 It’s open from 10am-7pm, daily (check the website for any holdiay closures) and is located between the\u00a0Piazza Trento\u00a0bus stop and the main piazza in Greve in Chianti.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Le Cantine, located in\u00a0Greve in Chianti,\u00a0boasts that\u00a0it is\u00a0the largest enoteca in Tuscany.\u00a0 It\u2019s very easy to believe this claim \u2013 you walk down a set of stairs into the tasting area and find yourself surrounded by what seems like an … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[16,12,13,14],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/suitcasejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/suitcasejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/suitcasejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/suitcasejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/suitcasejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=57"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/suitcasejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":168,"href":"https:\/\/suitcasejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57\/revisions\/168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/suitcasejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=57"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/suitcasejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=57"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/suitcasejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=57"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}