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Dario Cecchini – The Butcher of Chianti Classico

March 13, 2021 by Joe Becerra

As we all gradually become vaccination against the COVID disease, we can begin planning travel trips to far away wine country. I am reposting this article in anticipation of tourists thinking about a trip to Chianti. This article is about our unforgettable meeting with one of the great Italian chef and butcher, Mario Cecchini.

If you ever travel to Tuscany, don’t pass up the chance to dine at Dario Cecchini’s Solocicca restaurant and to visit to his butcher shop, Antica Macceleria. We can guarantee this will be one experience extraordinaire you will not soon forget.

Dario Cecchini, the butcher of ChiantiBefore I left the U.S. to embark on my wine adventures in Italy, I watched YouTube videos of the famous butcher of Panzano in Chianti with utter fascination. We were to dine at his restaurant along with fellow wine bloggers and experience the “Whole Steer” dinner. I wasn’t really sure what that meant, so I watched the videos to mentally prepare myself. Dario Cecchini is an 8th generation butcher but he has taken his skill to another level from his predecessors. Not only does he have innovative ideas about his profession, but his amazing outgoing personality, and his love for his trade and the people that come to his butcher shop and restaurant, are what sets him apart. He is truly a living legend in the land of Chianti Classico.

Dario Cecchini butcher shopFirst we walked into Dario’s butcher shop directly across from the restaurant. The first thing that catches your attention is a mannequin with a human body but with the head of a steer. The steer head is eyeballing you as if to say “Hello” and welcome you to the butcher shop. A variety of meat appetizers are there to sample. Jug Chianti wine made by Dario is offered. Suddenly, the living legend appears behind the counter and with a loud and booming voice Dario shouts out: “To Beef or not to Beef, that is the question!” That’s Dario in a nutshell. The music is turned up and people begin to dance, it is an impromptu party like no other.

In the Cave of Solo Ciccia

The Whole Steer dinner is a menu of many beef items, all delectable, including a spicy meat ragu on toast, boiled beef with vegetable salad, and braised beef very tender and tasty. The “Whole Steer” menu consists of ten different items for 30 Euros per person. This is quite a reasonable price to pay for such an extraordinary meal. In San Francisco, I suspect something similar would be well above $50 per person. For an extra 3 Euros, you can get a liter of Dario’s jug wine, or you can bring in your own, and there is no corkage fee. Dario’s vision is to use the steer responsibly and to search for ways to use as much of the steer as is possible for food. In his shop and on his website, he has done something I have not seen before. He has created a diagram outline of the steer which maps the various parts of the steer he uses for each entrée on his restaurant menu or item he sells in this butcher shop.

Dario makes several appearances at our table to toast us and to expound on his philosophy as a butcher. To say the least, he is quite an interesting person. We left very full of food, fun, and happiness and a night never to be forgotten.

Check out this video of the impromptu party at Dario’s shop, Antica Macelleria in Panzano in Chianti. I don’t think you will find this same experience any time soon at your local butcher shop. In fact, I am showing this video to my local butcher and ask him if he could start serving wine and meat goodies while I shop.

Filed Under: Italy, Restaurants Tagged With: Antical Macelleria, Chianti Classico, Dario Cecchini, EWBC11, Solo Ciiccia, Solociccia, Tuscany

Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano

May 10, 2016 by Joe Becerra

vino-nobile-wines

Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano

A wine country getaway to Italy would not be complete without a visit to the hilltop town of Montepulciano and the surrounding vineyards that produce the very fine wines of Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano.  Montepulciano is located in Tuscany and very near the Umbrian Border. Several years ago we took a day trip to Montipulciano from Umbertide, a small town in Umbria where we had rented a farmhouse. Montepulciano is a very quaint town with many excellent restaurants and places to taste Vino Nobile de Montepulciano. Our wine club recently tasted six Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano wines in a blind tasting. The main grape of Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano wines is a clone of the Sangiovese grape known as Prugnolo. Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano wines can be 100% Prugnolo, but often the wine is blended with small amounts of other Italian red wine grapes. The Prugnolo grapes are planted on hillsides about 600 feet above sea level. Below is a list of the wines we tasted and in the order that we ranked them.  It should be noted that we also tasted these wines afterwards with an Italian luncheon. The wines tasted so much more delightful with our food. Vino Nobile is a food-friendly wine. Use Wine-Searcher.com to find where to purchase Vino Nobile wines near you.

  1. Fattori La Braccesca Antinori Family Reserva “Santa Pia” 2012 – 100% Sangiovese
  2. La Ciarliana Vino Nobile 2012 – 100 % Sangiovese, 5% Mammolo
  3. Poliziano Vino Nobile 2012 – 85% Sangiovese plus Colorino, Canailo, & Merlot
  4. Casale Daviddi Vino Nobile  2010  – 90% Sangiovese
  5. Montemercurio Vino Nobile  “Damo” 2009 – 80% Sangiovese, plus Colorino, Canaiolo, Mammolo
  6. Vecchia Cantina Vino Nobile Briareo 2009 – 100% Sangiovese
vino nobilr

One of the many places to taste and buy Vino Nobile

Resources for visiting  Montepulicano and surrounding area

  • Calboccia – Farmhouse in Umbria
  • Montepulciano visitor information
  • Chianti Classico

Filed Under: Wine Tasting Results, Wine Tourism Tagged With: Montepulciano, Tuscany, Vino Nobile

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