Livorno Italy is a popular port on a Mediterranean cruise. It's no wonder. Livorno provides easy access to so many popular, historic, and famous sites in Italy. Among these are Florence, Pisa, and Tuscany.
For our recent wine cruise with Pearmund Cellars, we chose -- what else -- Tuscany and specifically the Chianti Wine Road. This excursion was perhaps the best excursion I have ever taken in my life. Many of our fellow cruises shared that assessment.
Although the bus ride from the port into Tuscany and the wine region was long -- about 2 1/2 hours -- it was well worth it. Our first stop was Castello Di Verrazzano, a famous winery that sits high atop a hillside. The setting is absolutely picture perfect, with vistas of the rolling hills of Tuscany below, dotted with Cypress trees, wild flowers, and all the colors you associate with Tuscany. The day of our visit was a Sunday, and the winery, normally closed, openned especiallly for us. Filipo, one of the winery's employees, served as our humorous and knowledgeable guide. After a tour of the winery, complete with a look at its 800+ year old cellar, enormous collection of wines, and production facilities, we came to the highlight of our visit -- the lunch.
Oh the lunch! Castello Di Verrazzano has a full restaurant onsite with stunning panoramic views from the windows that line all three sides. What awaited was nothing short of a veritable feast. From 10 courses that consisted of proscetta, brusetta, cheeses, pastas, salads, and desserts, to 5 varities of wine with unlimited supply, it was truly delicious and delightfully unexpected. After lingering over the views and the good company, we reluctantly left more than an hour behind schedule to visit our next winery, Castello Vicchiomaggio.
Regretably, we only had a short time to enjoy our second visit. Nevertheless, we made the most of it. From a quick tour of the stunning grounds, to being served yet more food, to a marvelous tasting of premium wines, our group left full, satisfied, and regretting we had to leave.
Collectively, I believe we all agreed a return visit to Tuscany is high on our agenda.
