On our second full day in Tuscany, we headed to Montepulciano, which is about an hour’s drive from our Siena VRBO. But first let me share one of the most shocking moments from our trip. Danny, a member of our little gang of travelers, rose early one morning, before anyone else was out of bed, and captured this photo of a gorgeous sunrise.

The magnitude of this can only be appreciated if you, like Bob and I, had lived next door to Danny and his wife Melodye for 32 years and know that they are night people. I’d expect a good sunset picture, but this! What a delightful surprise and great documentation of the part of the day that I rarely experience. But now to our rental cars and another hill town.

Montepulciano is a magnificent medieval and Renaissance hill town. It is a delight for the eyes and the palate, especially if that palate is fond of wine. As is constant in Tuscany, there is beauty everywhere – from architecture to landscapes to the richness of history. They know how to do “old” over there.

We met Sarah, our engaging, informative tour guide as we entered Cantina Ercolani. Cantina translates cellar and Ercolani is the family name. Citta Sotterranea means underground city, and that’s where the wine cellar is. We followed Sarah through the passageways, and it felt like we went back in time.

Bob and I had been to this area before, and I was excited to show our friends Montepulciano. On our first trip here, nine years ago, we enjoyed tasting the wines of the region while walking through this town. I was especially eager to show my friend Debi, who writes the blog the Romantic Vineyard. She has a huge penchant for wine and I knew she’d love the experience. You can check out her blog including some of her takes on our trip here.

You could caption this picture anywhere between

Drunk on wine knowledge to Is it time to taste the wine yet?

I looked at those huge barrels and never once imagined anyone having to clean them out. Kind of like the top of the refrigerator or the backseat of a mom’s minivan, I assumed they never got their due attention. But, in order to have great wine, periodically those barrels have to have the sediment removed and that is a job for a big wine lover of small stature. Notice the bottom of the barrel where the faucet is. The wood looks like a cartoon mousehole with a locking mechanism affixed to it. That gets removed and someone crawls through the hole to extricate sediment from the barrel. Sarah is holding up a video on her cell phone that shows a man climbing through that hole. That is commitment to good wine!

These barrels are made from French oak. Smaller barrels intensify the wood flavor in wine. The glass on top of the barrels is an aerator. It is said to have been invented by Leonardo di Vince to keep air from ruining the wine. That begs the question – why do we let wine breathe after opening a bottle? After a few sips of wine, I decided it doesn’t matter.

These are white wine barrels and I felt like I needed to give white wine its due, especially since I am a red person. These are chestnut barrels from Tuscany. The white wine will age in them for 5 – 10 years.

We mustn’t forget about olive oil.

All that lecture-based education lent itself to some hands-on learning. That’s right – it was time to taste the wine. We were offered ten varieties of wine to sample, each paired with various antipasto to enhance the wine’s flavor. By the time we hit the seventh taste, though I hate to admit it, I was getting tipsy. Don’t tell my kids. They would be so embarrassed of me. I guess I had been so concerned about my stamina to do all the walking that I had neglected building my wine-drinking stamina.

This was about the point that I knew I needed more food and less wine. The food pairings were delicious, and the small wooden plates with a slot for the wine glass were adorable.

The fresh air did us good as we again walked up, up, up while taking in the views and doing a little shopping along the way. We were happy to find a place to enjoy a late afternoon snack as well, and the view was amazing as always.

Little did we know that this was our last warm day of the trip. Like Mary Poppins, change was in the wind.

One last parting shot. It’s been great, Montepulciano!