Rebecca Uncorked

Pleased to introduce myself, I'm Rebecca.

I've been involved with Tuscan wines since I first came to Italy in the mid 90's. First, as a restaurant co-owner (Enoteca Baldovino - see pics below) in Florence together with friends, David and Catherine Gardner who have opened a beautiful country hotel in Greve in Chianti (Villa Bordoni). The mid nineties was when the Super Tuscans had really caught on and we had the unique opportunity to be around local wine enthusiasts and had the possibility to taste many a wine... While running the Enoteca Baldovino, we all did the 3-year Sommelier course in Florence.

In 2002 my wonderful daughter was born and the restaurant business became too hectic and so instead I started a company named Vinalità (a blend of words "vino" (wine) and "qualità" (quality)) and have since then worked as a wine broker and exporter for many smaller wineries in Tuscany.


Above: 2007.
To the left: Firenze Spettacolo 1999.
To the right: painting by friend Signe Olander 2000.
 

I'm a member of the Italian Organization of Sommelier (AIS). When I find the time, I join professional wine tastings and get a lot of contacts by attending the important wine fairs and exhibitions of Italy.
 

My general curiosity has led me to travel extensively in the wine country here in Italy, Tuscany in particular. I adore the wine country for its unique beauty and admire the people involved in the wine making. And I haven't yet found anything that matches the diversity of Italian vine varietals and regional wines - a never-ending experience full of pleasant surprises and satisfactory discoveries. Lately I have taken on a love of organic and biodynamic wineries that are usually small, family run farms with lots of love for their land and their products. So, I hope to express my enthusiasm for this contagious subject to my customers.

I have also become a member of the local Slow Food Delegation and attend short seminars - and I support preserving local foods & the traditions that come with them. So to make a long story short, my deepest passion is wine and food and I have made it a lifestyle!

I started Tuscan Wine Tours in the spring of 2004 and it gives me an incredible pleasure to show my guests the best of the wine regions here in Tuscany. Therefore I make a point out of doing the tours personally.
The farms and people that I will take you to, take pride in their work, are friendly and honest. As mentioned, many of the farms are organic or ethically nature friendly. About my own company, I think you will find that I'm pretty easy to be around, I am a complete WINO and am extremely enthusiastic about my job. As you probably also do, I love to be in good company - hopefully in yours very soon!

I have about a trillion wine mottos to sum up my life in Tuscany, such as "No time to waste? No wine to waste!", "Too much wine, too little time" and so forth... but I shan't bore you with all my "wine philosophy" now...

If you want to know more about me, I would like to invite you to my blog which I only began in 2007: http://tuscan-wine-tours.blogspot.com/. If you would like to ask me questions, just go the forum: http://tuscan-wine-tours.forumattivo.com/

I hope to see you in Tuscany!

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