Day 43: Let's Go To The Mall
Folklore tells us of this magical place where designer brands can be found for low, low prices. And we aren't talking DFO here, we're talking Tom Ford, Saint Laurent, Versace among others. This legendary place is called The Mall and is a short drive from Florence aaaand on the way to our next stop. How convenient.
Adam is getting quite used to parking like an Italian.
The line up to get into the Gucci store. This was nothing compared to the Prada store. Weirdly, there was no one in the Tom Ford or Versace store, which is where we spent most of our time and zero dollars. Okay, I lie... Adam bought a gaudy Versace tee for €15. It's hideous but amazing.
We then drove down to Greve in Chianti for a bit of lunch before heading to our first winery. There is this butcher in the town square that serves up simple sandwiches and salads alongside a bunch of wines you can purchase tastings from with a nifty pre-paid card.
Sure I look excited about this salad, but my body has been craving something that isn't cured meats and cheese.
We booked in a visit to this biodynamic winery just outside of town called Quercibella. They've been organic since 1988 and biodynamic since 2000 and are making some highly acclaimed wines.
Just brushing up on my wine reading.
Lapo, our guide, took us through the whole wine making process. We were super lucky as it was harvest time so we got to see everything in action. This bad boy sorts out the grapes from the stems. I even got to try one of the grapes direct from the machine. Strangely, this was a highlight for me.
One of the wine cellars.
More barriques.
This cellar is about as old as our country. Also, spot the man in the background.
We loved visiting Quercibella and might even say it's our favourite winery we've visited. From the beginning they were so welcoming and even though we weren't journalists, they took the time to show us what they do and let us taste their wines (even one of their super rare ones). They gave us a bottle opener as a gift (handy) when Lapo found out it was our honeymoon, he gave us a bottle of wine to congratulate us. So generous!
After the winery we took our bottle of wine and some salami to the outdoor tables at our B&B and enjoyed the sunshine. This is the view from the table – not bad.
We picked up a salami from Antica Macelleria Falorni (where we had lunch earlier that day) – these guys specialise in them and it was so good. And that's Aerogard there on the table because mosquitos are a thing in this area so be warned if you plan on going to Tuscany.
The honeymoon gift!
A whole bunch of cheap wines from the supermarket. Something the supermarkets back in Australia are sadly lacking.
