May 11, 2018
Good Bye Parma, Hello Tuscany
We checked out of the Palace Hotel Maria Luigia around 9:30am and loaded up the car for our drive to Reggio Emilia. We we scheduled to meet Marta Violi and her husband Alessandro (The family who produce the authentic Traditional Balsamic Vinegar we import) at the business where their daughter works, Ruote da Sagno s.r.l. Ruote da Sagno s.r.l. is an amazing business of sports cars and motorbikes. Part broker, part museum, part restoration shop, and part high end social event center. www.ruotedasogno.com
Once inside, we were introduced to Pierpaolo Zucchetti, the business development manager. Pierpaolo took us on a tour to the entire building. First was the entry with some unique sports cars and motor bikes marked of sale, or already sold. We then moved into the adjoining auditorium complete with a full stocked bar, stage, and hi-def large screen monitors where the company holds social events for sponsors and industry companies. Behind the auditorium is a full service kitchen equipped to handle any event they might host. We then moved on to another adjoining showroom filled with a complete variety of old and newer model sports cars and scooters. Pierpaolo gave us a short history on many of the unique models we walked past.
We then headed upstairs to see the motorbike showroom.
After finishing up in the motorbike showroom, we went back downstairs to see the workshop
area, which was just as much as a showroom as it was a work area. They preform everything
from inspections and general maintenance to complete restoration there.
To say that Ruote da Sagno might be a little overwhelming to the sports car and motorbike aficionado
is truly an understatement. I would guess that their inventory would have to sit at a cool 500 million
dollars at the very least. We thanked Pierpaolo for his generous hospitality and followed Marta and
Alessandro to the parking lot. We followed them to their family estate and Aceto Balsamico Tradzionale
production at San Geminiano, which is now called Castello di Vegnano. It was about a 20 minute drive south
of Reggio Emilia. The weather was absolutely perfect when we arrived at the Castello di Vegnano estate.
Blue sky with some gorgeous white clouds in the distance. Marta and Alessandro when inside to set up lunch and
Darrell went inside to see Marta's mother Paola Violi. Paola's late husband Massimo was the
vinegar hobbyist who first allowed Darrell to purchase his Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale, so
Darrell could be the first to import it to the United States back in the early 1980's and offer it
at Corti Brothers. Here is a link to their website.
I took advantage of the beautiful weather and sent up the drone to get some overhead views of the
Castello di Vegnano estate, vineyard, and surrounding area.
After I was finished with the drone, I took a walk around the property, through the vineyard and
down past the Acetaia (Vinegar house). There were quite a number of very large pheasants on the
property which were quite vocal however skittish. I managed to get a single picture, which took
me a while to snap as they were hard to get close to.
When I got back to the main buildings, I went out to the garden to see the consecrated church that
was built in the year 1000 and sits next to the family's newer home. If you would like to hear the story
of how this church came to be, here is a link to Darrell talking about the church during our visit there
in 2011.
Lunch was ready and served buffet style on a patio near the Acetaia. Rustic bread rolls, a salad
atop thinly sliced beef carpaccio, a local style meat pastry, home made salumi, and broiled
chicken with Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale made for an absolutely delicious lunch.
The day was flying by and we had a a two hour drive ahead of us, so we thanks the Violi's for lunch
and their wonderful hospitality and made our way towards Tuscany. We headed south past Bologna
on the A1 Autostrade and crossed over the Apennine mountains. Half way across, we had to stop for
gas. We found a Ristop, which is a competitor to AutoGrill. You can't go inside one of these places
hungry or thirsty with leaving with something. I was thirsty, so I grabbed a Lemon Fanta soda and
a lemon Italian Ice. They vanquished my thurst.
We continued south on the A1 while passing just to the west of Florence where we could easily see
the dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore at the heart of the city off in the distance. Just
after passing Florence, we merged onto the Autostrade junction which runs between Florence
and Siena. After another 15 kilometers, we were in San Casciano in Val di Pesa township of the
metropolitan city of Florence. Just outside the township, is Podere La Villa, the home of Ilaria Tachis,
her husband, and two sons. Ilaria is the daughter of Giacomo Tachis, who is the creator of Antinori's
Tuscan superstars Sassicaia, Tignanello, Sammarco, and Solaia. He is arguably Italy's most renowned
winemaker. Darrell and I visited her in 2014, but stayed at a hotel nearby. Since then, Ilaria has
renovated their home to include a separate guest quarters with three bedrooms, a living area, and
kitchen. They use it as an agrotourism rental in season. Ilaria invited us to stay there for two nights
while we were in Tuscany. When we arrived, Ilaria showed us to our rooms and we had just enough
time to freshen up and change for our dinner scheduled with Piero Antinori at his Tenuta Tignanello
winery located about 20 minutes south of Podere la Villa. Here is the link to Ilaria's website.
The drive to Tenuta Tignanello was a short 15 minutes. We arrived at 6:30pm, parked, and
walked towards the main buildings. We passed the offices and the winery building, then went
through a gate leading to the Villa. The 16th century manor house was built on the foundations
of an estate that dates back to 1346 Darrell pointed out a number of things he had learned about
the property over the years.
www.antinori.it/tignanello-estate
While waiting for Piero, we walked around the estate and made our way to the rear garden, which
was absolutely beautiful with its stunning view of the vineyards.
As we entered the Villa, we were greeted by staff who said Piero Antinori would be with us shortly.
Piero and Darrell have been friends since the 1960's when Darrell began to source food and wine
from Italy for Corti Brothers. Here is a link to Piero's bio.
The staff brought out some rosé and white wine as Piero greeted us. Darrell and Piero had a
nice chat about what we had been doing in Italy so far. Darrell told Piero that my drone was
a big hit. Piero told me that he has a pretty sophisticated done himself , which is good sized.
I told him that the size and level of sophistication of my drone would really surprise him.
Darrell asked me to get the drone, so I went to the parking lot, got my drone and flew it
through the Villa gates right over to Piero. He was amazed. I then sent it up and over the
estate as well as the vineyards and showed him the monitor as I flew.
We thoroughly enjoyed the wines, which were crisp, clean, and delicious. It was time for dinner,
so we were invited inside the estate to sit for the meal.
The first course was fresh made cheese tortelli followed my salad greens and tomatoes. The
main course was perfectly cooked beef tenderloin followed by a cheese course and dessert.
When Piero found out that it was Shaun's birthday yesterday, he pulled out a bottle from
Shaun's birth year. The 1981 Chianti Classico Reserva was stunningly good and went exceptionally
well with the beef tenderloin.
Darkness fell and our wonderful meal was now in the history books.
We thanked Piero for the delicious evening and said our good nights. It was just a 15 minute
drive back to Podere la Villa and our awaiting beds for a good night's sleep.