On the agenda for this morning was a visit to an oil press in the charming little hill town of Castelmuzio, followed by olive oil tasting with Carlo (a professional oil tester from the Provence of Siena), and concluding with a tour of their new property, La Moscadella, which will be open for tourism in March 2019.
The weather on this morning was crisp and beautiful and felt fresh like it always does after a good rain. It was about a 15-minute drive over to Castelmuzio and we found the new property where we were supposed to park, approximately 100-yards down the road from the oil press and production area of Oliviera Sant’Angelo.
A slender Italian man about my age with a man bun, came out to start explaining their process of oil production at this location. As with all tours, it starts with someone telling you that they are 4th or 5th generation and their family has been producing oil or wine on this land for over three hundred years. It is so very common to hear this opening line and it is all true. Apparently the quality of an olive and an olive oil taste comes from it’s freshness and the complexity comes from older trees.
He walked us through each stage of their organic production, which was amazing to see, every thing from where the delivery of new olives go to the final vats they are stored in, topped off by nitrogen so that no air gets inside. It was stressed many times on this day how important it is to not store olive oil for long and the maximum shelf life is really only about one year.
At the end of the tour, we were able to sample their olive oil. We learned the fresher the oil, the more it should feel fresh – like the smell of fresh grass cut, but not with that taste. Just that feeling that you know it is fresh. I was hoping to LOVE this oil as Carlotta had blurted out quickly before we began, ‘If you want to buy oil, it would be best to have it shipped as Cretaiole has run out.’ My eyes got real big. What? This can’t be! At the farm visit the other day, I decided to just order enough to ship home (5 liters) so I could share with family and friends. To hear that they were now out, was disappointing not only for me, but how was I going to tell Dana, Tony and Maddie, Cretaiole ran out of oil before I could purchase it?
I waited for my big taste of olive oil dipped in the bread and well, I just didn’t love it, nor did Carla. Not enough to buy it and have it shipped home. I was missing that peppery finish that the Cretaiole oil has and was kicking myself that they had run out of oil to ship. This is the beginning of the production season and Cretaiole only does small batches, so you have to wait until they have more to produce which involves the grandpa, Luciano, getting out there and picking more olives.
After the oil tasting we walked back down to La Moscadella, the new property, the place is off the charts. The views, the grounds, there is a swimming pool and outdoor bar – you can see how it is all starting to take shape and will be ready soon for guests in the spring. We sat down in the grand entry room downstairs where Carlo and Carlotta began the olive oil tasting process. Carlo’s English is limited so Carlotta does all of the translating during the process.
This was a good refresh from the lesson I had from the two of them last summer and good reminders on how to confirm you have good olive oil, proper storage, to make sure you clean out your storage container after each use so you don’t contaminate the new batch (if you use a refillable bottle), the characteristics of oil from different parts of Italy, and to NEVER use good oil for cooking, the taste will be lost. Only use good oil on items where it will be tasted and you can appreciate the quality of the oil. This whole time they were talking I was thinking, ‘Ugh, I can’t believed I missed out on getting some of their oil on this trip!’
After the olive tasting, Isabella showed up and started showing us around their new property. This is actually the place where Carlo and her had their wedding reception and spent their wedding night many years ago. It was a former monastery which they are turning into a mansion offering 15 suites with luxurious features and sophisticated ambiance, a Tuscan restaurant and an outdoor swimming pool. She led us from room to room and we ooo’d and ahh’d with each room and feature she showed us. Every room and bathroom is different, but they all blend somehow in this classic style.
At the end she said, ‘Oh, and let me show you the cottage.’ When we entered this dream little place, it was a drop the mic moment with a beautiful kitchen, dining area, two bedrooms and breathtaking views. All I could think was how soon can I get back here and rent one these little dream suites or this cottage. Isabella is a perfectionist and truly has a beautiful sense of style that she makes sure is reflected in her properties.
After lunch about 12 of us walked over to Castelmuzio to find a place that would serve us lunch. It was the same place where Dana and I had dinner on the roof with a 365 degree view, last summer. This time it was too cold to go up on the roof so we were happy to sit inside. It was a limited menu mostly consisting of simple dishes and beef stews. As it was a little chilly, most of us ordered a salad and beef or wild boar stew, so much so, they ran out. I offered to give up mine in lieu of something else and he offered me liver stew. I thought about it for one second and said, hmm, no on the liver, let me see, what else. Carla then just offered for us to split which seemed absolutely fine that we could split. And others joined in and said they would share there dish with me also, so really there was plenty for all including 2 liters of house wine they brought out in a jug that was absolutely wonderful.
We all enjoyed this simple lunch and pouring drops of olive oil on our bread with our new ‘expertise’ of wine. We learned to always check the expiration date on the bottle as some restaurants will use the same bottle over and over again and possibly be serving you old oil or lesser quality oil. We checked our bottle and there was literally white out over the expiration date with a new date written on it. The oil actually tasted fine though, so they probably keep refreshing the oil after they clean their containers…at least that is what we told ourselves. I had some sort of watercress salad that was fresh and delicious and a few bits of beef stew and wild boar stew with the olive oil on the bread. It was a perfect lunch and not too filling. We were all happy to not have pasta.
After lunch, the guests that were staying in Castelmuzio offered to show us their rooms, which are a fancier version of where we are staying and offers more hotel service. They clean your room every day and bring you fresh pastries each morning, etc. This is also the property they will stop renting out after next year, when the new property opens as Carlo and Isabella will be moving to the farm to this property to be closer to the new mansion with the fifteen suites.
We walked through a little wooden door to see incredible views of Tuscany in a little courtyard with beautiful sitting areas. This truly was a special little property. We then toured the rooms and were so in awe of the attention to detail and the beauty of the accommodations that are perfect for this setting. First we went into Vicki’s room (who is here solo), and it was so nice to see her beautiful living area and for a girl that decided to come solo, I was so happy she was rewarded with this wonderful room.
We then went into Teresa and Rick’s room (who have been to their properties 7 times and are already booked for next summer). It was another even bigger suite with beautiful views. They started pouring lemoncello, and cream lemoncello, and this Vecchio Amaro del Capo which is supposed to be a centuries old digestive. You can also pour it in coffee. Ever since tasting this Carla has become obsessed with finding a bottle to take home. It truly is delicious and if it works to help digestion, it is definitely needed in this country – especially on this tour. We stayed for about an hour enjoying chatting with the folks that came over to see the rooms, while sipping our apertifs.
After we left we walked around Castelmuzio a bit to take in the views. It started around about this time so out came the umbrellas. The rain still wasn’t bothering us as it is so beautiful around you and makes everything feel so fresh and clean and the feel of no crowds is such a nice contrast from summer time.
We went back to the car and headed over the Montepulciano, another favorite hill town of mine in this area. It was just starting to get dark when we arrived, but was beautiful to see because they have started to decorate for Christmas so there were little lights strung here and there. It felt magical. After we parked and got out of the car, and we were walking around this medieval village, I said to Carla, ‘Don’t let me forget to write about how much I love this fresh rain, and the smell of firewood, and the crispness of the air.’ It is so different from my daily experience living in Southern California, it was wonderful to feel this type of weather in this place after an afternoon of seeing beautiful landscapes and fall colors on the drive out there.
This was finally a town that had some shops open so we browsed around and bought a few things and enjoyed talking with the different shop owners and also just being in awe every time we were walking along the streets of the village and looking at the lights. It had stopped raining and it was just beautiful to see the shiny stone streets, reflect the lights as we walked around.
After a few hours we headed back with our purchases and walked back down to the car. It was around 7pm now it take us 30 minutes to drive back. We each didn’t feel like a big heavy dinner and I knew Carla didn’t want to leave Italy without trying the pizza. I suggest we pick up a pizza to-go in Pienza and open our wine bottle they had given us when we arrived and make a fire. That sounded perfect to both of us so we proceeded with that plan.
We found an open PIzza place in Pienza and ordered one of their favorite Pizza, a sausage marinara of sorts with fresh cheese and waiting 15 minutes while they made it fresh for us in their wood burning oven. I was shocked that they actually had to-go boxes, but they do. I was thinking it might be too Dominoes Pizza mentality to expect they would have a to-go pizza box but apparently it wasn’t.
We proceeded with our dinner as planned and sipped our wine and ate our pizza in front of the fire and kept saying, ‘This pizza is so good. The crust. Wow.’ It absolutely was a perfect dinner for us on a cold fall night and it wasn’t too much – just enough. Our gluttony was catching up with us and we were trying to dial back, shocked every morning that our pants still fit.
After dinner, Carla washed up and laid down to just rest while I blogged (If you are reading this daily, you have to know, this takes time and so I’m letting you know the windows I am using to blog – in case you asking yourself, ‘when does she have time for this?’ Now you know.) With the crackling fire she ended up falling asleep. I ended going out to get more firewood at some point and ran into Roy who offered to help me carry it back. I knew Carla was covered up, so when he asked ‘Can I just bring it in for you?’ as it was heavy, I said, ‘Sure, please.’
Well of course as soon as he brings it in, two of the cats decide to dart into the room. I’m highly allergic so I’m wanting them out as soon as possible but not wanting to touch them. Carla wakes up and sees Roy in our room and us trying to get cats out of there and she blurts out, ‘OMG, what is happening?’ Ha, ha. I am sure that was an abrupt and disorienting awakening to her late evening ‘nap.’ We laughed about it after Roy left and she laid back down.
I continued blogging and about 15 minutes later I hear a knock at the door – it is 10:30pm. I think it is one of the girls upstairs and there is Luciano, the grandpa, who drove his old fiat over from the farm and is inviting Carla and me to come to the veranda for grappa and Vin Santo and to further tempt me he shows me he brought a tub of Ricotta cheese. I’m thinking, hmmm, I usually am not interested in ricotta unless it is surrounded by sauce and lasagna noodles, but okay. He is so sweet and is all dressed up to visit with the visitors. I say, ‘Ah sure, okay, I will meet you over there in 30 minutes.’ He speaks no English so I am hoping he got the jest of it, I kept saying, ‘30 in Italian,’ and then saying ‘minutos.’ Thinking that is probably how they say minutes or close enough.
I close the door and say, ‘Come on Carla, get up, we need to go visit with Grandpa.’ She says, ‘No way, I’m not getting out of bed, it’s too cold. I’m already in my PJs.’ As she is half laughing. I say fine, I’ll go meet him. It’s kind of like the thing to do here is to go spend some time with grandpa for an hour or so. Eventually he turns on Frank Sinatra dance music and all of the ladies get a twirl on the dance floor with him . He literally comes just about every night knocking on doors and whoever is available goes and visits with him.
I went to the enclosed veranda and Lynette and Stacey showed up about that time from dinner with their family. Stephanie was also there at first but gave the ol ‘I’ll be right back’ never to return line. So it was the three of us ladies with Luciano, and we all had some grappa (he said he had a new flavor) and took our turn on the dance floor. Stacey and I got the giggles several times and would make eyes at each other when he was dancing with either one of us. Especially when he was pulling her a little too close and kissing her cheek. What is happening? When I took my turn, I turned into a fancy dancer and told him I dance more like Dancing with the Stars so there would be lots of moves and twirling and less pulling me close and cheek kissing. I think the didn’t know what to make of me, but his eyes were dancing and he was laughing.
At the end of the night – after we each had about 2 dances and we made Lynette do the final dance, we told him we had to go sleep. It was about midnight and we had an early wake up the next morning. He wouldn’t let us leave without taking some ricotta cheese to go on a paper plate. Is this a thing here? Lynette was trying to protest and Stacey blurts out, ‘Mom, he is like grandpa he’s going to do what he wants, just take it.’ It was very funny.
So we all left with our little plates of ricotta cheese and Carla was up when I got back the room and said, ‘OMG, what happened and why do you have a plate of ricotta cheese in your hand?’ We both laughed and I gave her the update before I headed to the shower and then to bed. It was definitely a full day. But full of surprises and wonder and completely satisfying in so many unexpected ways. Tuscany is quite an amazing place and I went to bed again so grateful to be here.