Organic Wine Tasting in Chianti, that was our next activity during our tour with Km Zero Tours in Tuscany two weeks ago. Arianna and Alessio (Km Zero Tours) drove us to Il Bacio, where the vineyard owner Franco was waiting for us.
The location is just marvellous, serene and green rolling hills covered with vineyards and olive groves wherever you turned your head. With this scenery I believe already you would go into a slow mode and just enjoy what nature has to bring. If you will go to Il Bacio you will also see some of their cats, their adorable dog Agata and even donkeys! They are very animal friendly at this place :-)
Franco, the owner warmly welcomed us and we walked down to his vineyard to have a closer look. We wandered around while he showed us the tiny grapes that had started to grow on the trees. It wasn’t until 1990, when Franco and his family left Florence for a simple life close to nature, that they started to work at this vineyard and producing wine. Already from the beginning they knew they wanted to use organic methods, he was one of the first 100 winemaker who recieved the organic certification in Tuscany. They managed to turn their passion into a business and produced both wine and olive oil. The vineyard is 3.5 hectares with the grapes San Giovese, Cabernet and Merlot.Il Bacio’s vineyard is located not so far from the Chianti Classico DOCG wine region, in fact only a few kilometres from the zone, even though the soil is very much the same their wine cannot be labelled as a Chianti Classico wine, but Chianti DOCG wine.
In the field they only use copper and sulfur to protect the grapevines from fungus and molding and in order to keep the level of nitrogen in the soil in a natural way they use fava beans among the lines of vines. When it’s harvest time the grapes are handpicked and during the fermentation Franco and his son Daniele add no yeast, but very little sulfites (even less than what’s allowed in organic standards) and they don’t filter the wine in order to maintain it’s natural taste characteristics. And at Il Bacio nothing goes to waste. From the first pressing they obtain the bottled labeled top wine, from the second pressing they obtain a house wine and the remaining skins are sent to a distillery nearby to produce grappa. Amazing how how different end products you can get from the same grape!
We found it interesting to listen to Franco while he was explaining the organic practises that they follow. I respect very much farmers who don’t use pesticides and works in harmony with the nature, I believe thats the optimal sustainable metod if we want to continue grow and produce through the earth. If you are into wine, you most probably know about the phylloxera epidemie in the late 19th century, where almost all vineyards in Europe were effected. As a solution, the vineyard owners grafted plants on to American rootstock which were resistent, and replanted their trees. This is the case on all vineyards in Italy including Il Bacio.
Before we continued to their ancient wine cellar Franco showed one of their beautiful and impressive olive tree. It was soon about to bloom, perhaps in a few days. Did you know that in average with the olives from one olive tree you can produce around 2,5-3 litres olive oil? That really doesn’t seem to be alot, but given that only 13-15% of the olive becomes oil that pretty much makes sense. Il Bacio have 4.5 hectars of olive groves and they produce organic olive oil that you can buy straight at their farm.
When we entered the cantina (the winery) Franco showed us the wine tanks and explained the procedure of making the wine and we also got to enter their wine cellar with the wine barrels in oak where the wine was aging in.
After this educational tour it was finally time to samle their wine ☺ Franco offered some bread with their own olive oil, cheese and chocolate to accompany the different wines we were about to sample. I’ve not tasted many Chianti wines, one of the reasons why I wanted to do this wine tasting, but I must say the wines from Il Bacio were very tasty and delicious. It was easy to tell that Franco and his family has a big passion for what they are doing and with all the love they are putting into their work no wonder they produce incredible wine, and most important, they do it in harmony with nature.
Agriturismo and Organic vineyard and winery in Chianti, Il Bacio, Strada Bonazza, 35, 50028 Tavarnelle Val di Pesa FI, Italy
Tour organized by KmZeroTours – Slow Travel in Tuscany
The sign of Il Bacio welcoming you to a little paradise nestled among the hills in Tuscany
The vineyard of Il Bacio, surrounded by green rolling hills. We were lucky with the weather, look at the beautiful sky!
We started off by visiting the vineyard where Franco showed us the tiny grapes
He explained to us that all their wines are made of handpicked grapes
Il Bacio, organic vineyard and winery in Chianti
As we were heading to their wine cellar we passed by this beautiful olive tree soon to be in bloom!
Il Bacio is also an agriturismo, you can stay in this idyllic farm, wake up by the birds singing outside the window and enjoy the breathtaking views of the surroundings
In the wine cellar Franco explained about the procedure, they add very little sulphur
The organic wines produced by Il Bacio, with beautiful label with an illustrated lip = bacio
The wine cellar, these oaks have a life span of 3 years, then they are used as firewood
After our tour in the wine cellar we had a seat around a big table outside in beautiful garden. Franco had out plates for us with cheese bread with olive oil and chocolate to eat while sampling their wines
Organic Wine tasting at Il Bacio in Chianti
Chianti 2014 Sangiovese 95%, Cabernet 5%, harvested by hand, aged 6 months in wood and refined in bottles during 6 months
Savium 2014, Merlot 70%, Sangiovese 25%, Cabernet 5%, 12 months in wood and 12 months in bottles, harvested by hand
Cabernet 2012, Cabernet Sauvignon , in wood 10 months in bottle 6 months
We enjoyed our wine tasting alot, get to know more about the Chianti wine and especially Il Bacio’s organic producethe view was breathtaking
Grazie mille to Franco for having us and showing us around at his vineyard and letting us sample their delicious organic wines, and to Arianna and Alessio (KmZeroTours) for introducing us and taking us to this wonderful place!
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