On the way to the Castellano di Verrazzano vineyard today, my group stopped in Greve in Chianti. The Slow Food movement began in Italy in 1986, and Greve is a “slow city.” You’d better believe there were a lot of jokes beginning with “I know this is a slow city, but…”

We spent about 45 minutes in the main Piazza where there were some shops and cafes as well as a butcher shop, Macelleria Falorni. I don’t really eat meat, save for fish, but I find it kind of fascinating. Perhaps if I could be assured that my meat was ethically raised and killed (oxymoron, no?), I’d eat it, but I was content just to look around the shop taking pictures of things that amused me (like the bacon that came with forks) rather than buy any of the vacuum-packed offerings.

Outside the shop was a stuffed wild boar, so of course I had to have my picture taken with it. There were wild boar pictures and stuffed wild boar heads all over the place. I also learned that apparently Verrazzanno means “Wild Boar Land.” Go figure. One thing I loved was that the wine tasting took place with lunch. Good thing for me & my low tolerance. I had the vegetarian option, which was a good choice for me, as everyone else was served a giant platter of cured meats. We tried four red wines, one sweet dessert wine, and grappa. It was a really nice way to do it.