Greve in Chianti

This town used to be simply "Greve"

So why is it now officially called "Greve in Chianti"? It has to do with history and the business of naming wine. It turns out that Chianti is not simply a geographic area.  Historically, the name applied only to a few municipalities that were part of the ancient "Florentine Military League of Chianti". More recently, wine regulations were changed so that Greve and other municipalities  officially were included into Chianti which meant that they can produce "Chianti Classico" wine and use the black rooster symbol. Greve was officially renamed "Greve in Chianti" in 1972 after the change in wine regulations. They're very serious about their history and their wine here but people aren't fussy about the name. It's commonly referred to as "Greve".  

The "gallo nero" or black rooster is a popular emblem all over Chianti

I'm glad my home town isn't called "Williams Lake in the Cariboo". 


I'm writing a guidebook

When my wife and I first came to the hills of Chianti, we came with a guidebook that sounded perfect for us - "Walking and Eating in Tuscany and Umbria". We had some problems with it though so I developed a system for finding walking routes on my own (described in a previous blogpost https://iberianpixels.blogspot.com/2015/11/our-customized-walks-in-tuscany.html). On our third walking holiday to this beautiful town, I half-jokingly said to her "I should come back here and write a guidebook". Six months later, here I am! This will be the guidebook that I wish I could have bought more than a decade ago when we first came here. 

The walks we go on aren't particularly special - country roads, trails in the woods, lovely views. It's not wild country but rather a diverse cultivated landscape that's been inhabited and used in the same ways for thousands of years. In a couple of hours we can walk by vineyards, olive groves, wineries, managed forests, and vegetable gardens, sometimes on the same roads that were in use before the Roman Empire. The feelings of history and human geography are strong but what's most special about walking in this countryside is simply that we're in Tuscany before, during and after each walk. There's nothing like stimulating our appetites when we're in a place with such good food! 

Working up an appetite near Greve

Saturday market in Greve

On walking days, we eat anything we want!