Italy 2025

First Days at the Rocca di Castagnoli Winery

Monday at the Winery

What do we do when one of us wakes up at 11:30 am, misses breakfast and there is no lunch served at the restaurant? Well, you just go for a walk, drink lots of water and eat the granola you thought to bring on the trip! It saved the day and because we had so much to eat on the plane and at the restaurant Sunday evening, we managed to avoid starving all day long. 

The area around the winery is gorgeous; even got to see them harvesting the grapes to make the delicious wines they offer here and to see the machine that separates grapes from the vine stems. Jet lag forced us to relax much of the day so that was a good thing. We captured a few photos and on one of our walks, I met my new little friend – no barking, just running up to the fence to say hello and allow me to hold his paw and have a little chat! 

Entrance to Rocca di Castagnoli, Gaiole in Chianti
View from an apartment window
Interior of the castle; restaurant is up those steps
The pool. A little chilly for us today.
The conveyor moves the stems from the machine that separates the grapes from the stems. The stems become compost.
Fran’s newest friend!
Above the vineyards and olive groves – and what a beautiful day.
Another very nice backdrop, including young grape vines. This area really is beautiful.

At the end of the day, we headed up to the restaurant for another fabulous meal.

Interior of the restaurant, il Celliere di Castagnoli
Appetizer was Porcini and parsley
Fran’s Primi was short pasta with great artwork on the plate!
Gnocchi for Jim
Beef tips were Fran’s Secondo
and Jim had lamb chops

Tuesday at the Winery

Nicola was at the winery on Tuesday so he suggested we go to this little town nearby to walk around – Gaiole in Chianti – it was very small but it did have little shops and bars to eat at. 

Gaiole in Chianti – a cute little town with friendly people.
Covered sidewalk in Gaiole
The symbol of the Chianti Wine Consortium and of Chianti Province

We walked all around, found a shop that said “Hey Fran, come in and see what we have” so of course I went inside and found the cutest purse that I really had to have. They had some gorgeous sweaters but they were made of wool and I cannot wear wool so I just admired them. The owner of the shop has a large open area with her sewing machines and she makes everything in the shop to sell – not the purses – but the clothing was different and unique and the men’s shirts were very nice. 

First purchase this trip – a purse?
And Jim was there also.

After walking around and going into the church, we went to one of the bars for a drink and all the folks were very friendly. After 2 hours of roaming around, Nicola picked us up and we returned to the room. We were still tired from our trip so relaxing was a blessing for us. Without a car we can’t do much around here but it has been nice to just relax for a change. We went to dinner at the restaurant again and decided to have their steak which in fact was Steak Florentine – big, thick, juicy and rare. We could not finish it all but perhaps 90%; it was delicious. Got back to the room at 9:30 and decided to read for a bit then hit the hay and hopefully after a good night’s sleep, feel more human again in the morning. 

The window and view from our table
Appetizer tonight was a really different but magnificent bruschetta
The leftovers from our 35 ounce Steak Florentine including the bone

We were having such a grand time eating that we simply didn’t think to take pictures of the rest of the meal but we did have salads and roasted potatoes. We felt bad about not eating all the steak but believe me, we ate a ton, and as I said, a good 90% of it. Meraviglioso!

The sky at Rocca di Castagnoli just after sunset, and the end of our day. Buona notte.

Tomorrow we’ll be in Orvieto.

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2 thoughts on “First Days at the Rocca di Castagnoli Winery

  1. Connie Graf says:

    What beautiful views and the food looks amazing. And of course the photos of the business class lounge and airport are so cool. Very unique place to stay and relax also. And the events leading up to your big trip were wonderful. Enjoy!

  2. Alex Aversano says:

    Fran, just catching up on your trip and love the pictures and comments.
    Lyn and I know Gaioli, as we stayed at B&B Borgolecchi in Lecchi Chianti when we were in Italy (2015); it’s about 9 km from where you are. We too had a wonderful couple hosting us and they opened their kitchen and shared their culinary skills as well. What a wonderful experience!
    I am filled with mixed emotions reading and looking at your journal. I am so happy for you both but also yearn to be there with you! Thanks for taking the time and effort to create this journal, its the next best thing to living the actual experiences. You and Jim are creating wonderful memories. Thanks for sharing them!
    Be safe and Buona fortuna! Ciao, Alex

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