MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM A WHITE TUSCANY IN THE SNOW

Pictures of the snowstorm and my best holiday wishes to all.

Everyone associates Tuscany and the Chianti with summer, but we do have our winters here too. They are usually a lot milder than those many of our friends face in northern Europe or in some areas of the United States and Canada, but we do have snow and cold nonetheless.

These pictures are of the rather off-season and unusually copious snowstorm that covered most of Italy from coast to coast with snow during the better part of Friday night, December 18th. We normally have freezing cold weather right around Christmas time but it rarely snows, so this is a big event for the Chiantigiani.

The problem is that while the towns and provinces are fairly well organized to clean and salt up the major roads, all the backroad dirt tracks that make this area so dusty in summer and are part of its inherent charm, are left to their own devices. This means that either you move the snow using your farm tractor and machinery or you wait for it to melt on its own.

The Chiantigiani are all out happily playing in the snow and stocking up in the shops in case another blizzard comes, but when they have to go back and forth to town, out come 4-wheel drive SUV's and tractors and chains adding to the confusion that is part of the fun and excitement.

The town authorities and those who have to clear the roads spend half their time avoiding running into the variety of vehicles that are braving the snow and more time helping pull cars out of snowbanks. I think snow is best left to fall up in the Alps where people can ski on it and are prepared to deal with it properly.

In Chianti, we are warm people and I think we do best with our long summers and fine wines and a normal snowless Christmas season.

With all my heart, I wish everyone a great Christmas and a fantastic 2010, and a special thanks goes to those of you who keep writing to me.

Raymond

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