Cooking in Chianti

at Podere Ciona with Franca and Mimma

My brother Alan is a wine merchant, and his importer of Italian wines arranged for a visit to one of the small Chianti vineyards in their portfolio, including a cooking class for all of us!  Two sisters of the family, Franca and Mimma, do the classes at the winery, and also on tour, including in the U.S.  

Sharon and Alan

Alan and Sharon, Liz and Jeremy, and we headed for Podere Ciona in a two-car caravan one bright spring morning.  We arrived late because we got lost (it happens every time we go some place new!).  After introductory hugs, they put us in aprons and to work in the kitchen. 

Liz gets instructions from Franca, then she and Jeremy are ready to cook!

Sous-chef Maria tells Alan to keep his hands off the pancetta; Sharon thinks that is funny.  Can you tell that a previous class was a group of Jayhawks?

Gary grates parmesano; the amatriciana sauce and scaloppine di pollo al limone are ready!

The table is set.  Tutti a tavola!

We then sat down to eat our four-course Italian meal, each course with a pairing of Podere Ciona's wines:

• Antipasto:  Insalata cipolle e rucola
• Primo piatto:  Penne all'amatriciana
• Secondo piatto:  Scaloppine di pollo al limone; contorno alle zucchine
• Dolce:  Tiramisu

After lunch, Franca's husband Franco gave all of us the tour of the vinyards and winery while he and Alan had serious conversations about their approach to winemaking.

Here come the grapes!

By the time we were done, clouds had rolled in and rain was threatening.  Mimma told us that while we were in the area, we really should go see the nearby Roseto Fineschi, a botanical garden dedicated to roses, which were now in the peak of bloom.  Our visit there will be in our next post...