I made this article a few years ago and I completely forgot to post it.
So, here you can find a little description of my first hike to Tramonti and the reason why I decided to include a wine tasting in my Amalfi Coast Driving and Guided Tours (http://en.zialucy.com/amalfi-ravello-wine/).
2006. Although the weather was uncertain we went to the Valley of Tramonti, driving along the Amalfi Coast and began the hiking from Maiori. We did a loop trail, we passed through many villages with medieval churches and chapels, surrounded by “peschiere” (stone basins used for rainwater harvesting) and lemon groves, in the lush Mediterranean nature crossed by streams and springs.
Along the way we had two pleasant meetings: the first, a boy from Gete (one of the little towns in Tramonti) who kindly accompanied us along the way, showing the beautiful hidden corners of his village; second, during a lunch break, (well, it was a picnic with some local Provolone del Monaco cheese, salami and bread) a gentleman offered us homemade wine and other cold cuts.Nowadays, this way of interacting with locals is rare, quite extinct, and thanks to these little-big gestures our walk was even more enjoyable.
The name Tramonti means “between the Mountains”, a small valley on the Amalfi Coast sited between the sea and our incredible Monti Lattari. Here you can find 13 small towns where the population lives on agriculture and tourism.
Although uncertain, some historians believe the origins of the first village can be dated to the Third Century. During middle ages, Tramonti was linked to the Maritime Republic of Amalfi.
2008. Later in the years, when I became an official tour guide and thanks to my brother who arranges Shore excursions for Positano Drivers (http://www.positanodrivers.com)I discovered an incredible vineyard called Tenuta San Francesco (http://www.vinitenutasanfrancesco.com) and soon one of their wines, called é iss, became my favorite.
About Tenuta San Francesco: in 2004 four winemakers founded a unique wine estate in order to relive the ancient tradition of grape growing. All the vineyards are characterized by high density plant and situated on steep sloped terraced lands between 200 and 600 meters above sea-level. Between all the indigenous grape varieties, which all produce great wines, it’s worth to mention Tintore, a vine that survived grape phylloxera diseases during the 19th century. The wine produced from Tintore grapes in Tenuta San Francesco is called “é iss” and in our dialect means “it’s him”or “this is it”, indicating the uniqueness in grapes, production and taste of this incredible red.
I love arranging a lunch/ wine tasting at Tenuta San Francesco during my Amalfi Coast Drive and Guided excursions as I believe you can’t leave the Amalfi Coast without having experienced it all!
For any extra info, feel free to contact me: info@zialucy.com