We've arrived in Tuscany

Today was moving day, from Relais Corte Cavillari, a spa hotel amidst vineyards, to Hotel Atlantico on the Mediterranean coast at Forte de Marmi.

Our first stop today was at a Parmesan cheese factory and boy was there a lot to learn about parmigiano reggiano. It's a very labour intensive process involving great care at all stages, including after the "wheels" of cheese have been formed. They don't all age exactly the same even from the same batch. They are turned at specific intervals and the typical outer 'crust' is formed. Then they are moved to the storage area where they are aged and inspected for quality. The marking placed on the wheels indicates the level of quality. 

Then we got to taste 12 yr old, 24 yr old and 36 yr old parmesan. But that's not all. There were parmesan crackers, fresh ricotta which was a taste to die for, prosciutto, mortadella and salami, small flat buns that almost looked like pancakesk, and classic balsamic vinegar. You had all you could eat of all of those things and the accompanying beverages were sparking red wine and prosecco. Oh yes, there was water if you wanted any. We did make some purchases of the wine and vinegar and various other tasty offerings. 

Then it was off on the bus again with our first stop being to learn about the production of balsamic vinegar. I blush to admit that what I use at home is not the original traditional Balsamic Vinegar. That has only one ingredient - grapes. There are 30 producers in a consortium and they all use the same white and black grapes, but in unique percentage combinations. The producer where we were uses 80% white and 20% black grapes. Sadly I can't recall the names of the varieties. The traditional vinegar is aged at least 12 years before it is tested. If it fails, it's back to the casks for another year or more. The casks are of five different types of wood and always reused and never cleaned. The woods are: Juniper, oak, cherry and two others I don't recall. While aging the opening in the cask is covered by a piece of white cotton to keep out dust. The aging takes place "upstairs" where it is warmer and the weather plays a huge role in how it ages. 

The tasting was an eye opener. We first tried some 5-year old non-traditional vinegar that uses only white grapes. Delicious. That was followed by the 8 year old version which was a bit thicker and more golden in colour. Even better. Then came the usual black varieties and each was better than the last. Wow. I don't think I'll ever splurge on the traditional type as it is VERY expensive. 

Roadside homage to wine country

After making our purchases, it was a longish bus ride to our new residence for the next four nights. The hotel is on the coast and I have a view of the sea from my balcony. The single rooms are petite, to say the least. We've become accustomed to large hotel rooms with lots of amenities. This hotel scores points for location and cleanliness, but spacious is not a word one could ever use for the single rooms. I don't know about the rooms where people are sharing. 

Dinner is at 7:30 this evening and unlike the previous hotels, shorts are not permitted in the dining room. I hope the meals are a step up from the last location where we had no choices and the options were OK but couldn't hold a candle to what we enjoyed at the Bristol Hotel near Venice. 

Tomorrow we are off to Cinque Terre and the weather forecast is not promising. It will be on the cool side with rain forecast for most of the time we'll spend there. The bus will take us to the boat which will take us to one of the five towns, and a train will get us to another of them. We'll be free to wander and will be given 'lunch money' to spend on a midday meal.