ENOTECA ITALIANA -- SIENA, ITALY -- PART 5

A MUSEUM OF ITALIAN WINES WHERE YOU 

CAN WALK AWAY WITH THE DRINKABLE ART

Enoteca Italiana has hundreds of bottles of fine Italian wine for sale.

Unless you have your heart set on some estate winery's vintage from decades ago, the prices are stunningly affordable.

It's also worth noting that the Enoteca features outstanding wheelchair access to its entrance, bar and terrace dining area.

The restrooms are within ancient walls, but they have been remodeled and feature some of the best barrier-free access we've ever experienced.

IF YOU GO

www.enoteca-italiana.it

0577-228843

Fortezza Medicea, Piazza Libertà 1

enoteca@enoteca-italiana.it

ENOTECA ITALIANA -- SIENA, ITALY -- PART 4

A MUSEUM OF ITALIAN WINES WHERE YOU 

CAN WALK AWAY WITH THE DRINKABLE ART

It really is all about the wine at Enoteca Italiana.

"The wines exhibited at the Enoteca are a representative selection of Italy's finest wines: DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita - Controlled and Guaranteed Denomination of Origin), DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata - Controlled Denomination of Origin), IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica - Typical Geographical Provenance), and especially fine table wines, including sparkling and special wines, distillates and typical liqueurs," the Enoteca's literature explains.

"The Enoteca also organizes courses, meetings, conferences, seminars and cultural events (wine and music, wine and art, wine and poetry, and the like) and, in June, its traditional `Wine Week,' plus the more recent `National [Olive] Oil Week' held in February."

"It exhibits at events and fairs in Italy and abroad and is also publisher of prestige works such as `Il Paese del Vino' - Wine Country."

ENOTECA ITALIANA REVIEW CONTINUES

TOMORROW -- AUGUST 27

ENOTECA ITALIANA -- SIENA, ITALY -- PART 3

A MUSEUM OF ITALIAN WINES WHERE YOU 

CAN WALK AWAY WITH THE DRINKABLE ART

We started at the bar area, tasting an excellent Orcia DOC "Atrium" 2007, by the winery Mencarelli Sonia.

Next came glasses of Chianti Classico DOCG and Rosso di Montalcino DOC.

A sparkling fresh white wine accompanied our lunch on the gorgeous terrace dining area for Mille Vine, the restaurant at Enoteca Italiana.

Chef Alberto Degortes created a special menu for us, opening with a vegetable souffle.

This crispy, tart-like appetizer was like a comforting baby pot pie with a more dense texture inside the crust.

Our main dish the ubiquitous Tuscan treat of porchetta -- slices of baby pig with just the right amount of herb seasoning and served warm the perfect balance of fat inside and crispy skin outside.

A simple side dish of roasted roast potatoes rounded out the savory portion of our wine luncheon.

We capped it off with a Apsic di fragole al Moscato d'Asti -- strawberries in a cold gelatin of moscato.

A strong double espresso helped take the edge off all the wine sampling (we were traveling by taxi within Sienna and taking a train home to Florence, so we were not going to be irresponsible drivers.)

ENOTECA ITALIANA REVIEW CONTINUES

TOMORROW -- AUGUST 26

ENOTECA ITALIANA -- SIENA, ITALY -- PART 2

A MUSEUM OF ITALIAN WINES WHERE YOU 

CAN WALK AWAY WITH THE DRINKABLE ART

In the words of its press material:

"The Enoteca Italiana, a public institution unique of its kind in Italy, was founded in 1960 as a tool for the Ente Mostra Mercato Nazionale dei Vini a DOC e di Pregio (National Fair/Market Board for DOC and Premium Wines), instituted earlier in 1933 and recognized by Presidential Decree in 1950."

"Its purpose is to inform people about Italy's great wines and wineries, and valorize and promote them."

"It is headquartered in Siena, in the northwestern bastions of the Medici Fortress an imposing yet harmonious testimonial to 16th-century military architecture, designed by Baldassare Lanci for Cosimo de' Medici I."

"More than 1,500 wines are on permanent display after having been carefully selected by a judging committee.

"They were chosen from among more than 600 wineries that now, thanks to a computerized system unique of its kind, 'dialogue' with visitors, providing a meaningful look at the Italian wine world."

"Wines can be tasted here inside the Enoteca or on its splendid terraces and bought or ordered for delivery in Italy and abroad; information and documentation are provided about these wines and the wineries."

ENOTECA ITALIANA REVIEW CONTINUES

TOMORROW -- AUGUST 25

ENOTECA ITALIANA -- SIENA, ITALY -- PART 1

A MUSEUM OF ITALIAN WINES WHERE YOU 

CAN WALK AWAY WITH THE DRINKABLE ART

Siena is a beautiful and ancient Tuscan hill town famed for its Duomo (cathedral), Palazzo Pubblico, (town hall), Torre del Mangia (nearly 300-foot tall tower) and Piazza del Campo (public plaza) lined with medieval buildings.

When preparing for a visit, one does not instantly think of wine -- other than the fact that every osteria, trattoria, ristorante and pizzeria worth its salt has plenty of Tuscan and reds and whites on hand.

But near the top of very steep and hilly Siena there is a veritable museum of wine nestled into a wing of a 16th century fortress.

The fort was built by the Medici family of Florence, which sacked its rival Sienna then built a fort not to protect the people of Siena, but to keep them from regaining their city from Medici forces.

The Enoteca Italiana stores more than 1,500 bottles of wine, contributed from every region in Italy.

ENOTECA ITALIANA REVIEW CONTINUES

TOMORROW -- AUGUST 24