Another day, more Chianti villages to visit

The Chianti region is quite hilly and has continuous windy roads so it does take some time to travel short distances. Today we headed for Castelina in Chianti, passing through Strada and Greve on the way. The morning views of the vineyards were lovely but alas, stopping along the way for photos is not easy.

Castelina in Chianti is only 35 kms from Siena so it experiences tourists from both Florence and Siena. It is 578 metres above sea level and this makes a lot of difference. It was cooler than we have been experiencing but what we really noticed was the potplants and flowers everywhere. Such a difference to all the dead pots, and to the look of a town.

It was quite busy as it has mainly tourist-type shops. It doesn't look like it in this photo because every-one was having lunch. There are many restaurants, wine tasting and sales points, up-market souvenir shops such as pasta, dried herbs, olive wood products, art and gelato shops (which we sampled).

We couldn't find a light lunch spot we liked so we continued on to Radda in Chianti. Again lots of flowering pots and greenery. Lots of families, most with dogs, and the same wine sales and tasting opportunities.

After a visit to the Church of San Niccolo, which dates from 1260, we found a cool place for lunch. We entered saying we would have a panino (sandwich) but left having had  pasta (wild boar for one, duck for the other), wine and a torta della nonna dessert.

Further to my comment earlier, a family came in and gathered together several tables beside us - seven adults, three children, one baby in pram and three dogs. No wonder we found it difficult to get a table.

This was a REALLY bad hair day! Hats and hot, hot weather don't go well together.

Then it was on to Volpaia, a place we had not visited before, but which has a very high reputation in wine circles. It is primarily a castle on top of a steep hill with a small surrounding village, all dating from1172. More pot plants and flowers, two old churches, several restaurants and accommodation are what you see, but what you don't see is a large wine making business hidden within the walls of the castle.

The family who own this castle continue to restore it to its original plan thus maintaining the integrity of the small village.

I peeped through a slightly opened door and here are the hidden workings of the winery.

The photo below is obviously not mine, but it shows you this very interesting little castle village that camouflages a top class winery within its walls.

Home by 4 pm, a little nap and then we were sitting outside enjoying the cooler evening when a few drops of rain fell. Unfortunately that was all it was.