This volume offers visual and verbal glimpses of that part of the Tuscan region known for the wine it exports in squat, straw-covered bottles. Here are enticing photographs of ancient castles and courtyards, olive groves and vineyards, and dining tables that invite you to spend the whole evening gathered around them, along with short, atmospheric articles on places to see, regional festivals and theater, local history, and traditional recipes. The book is like a rambling, joyous tour of the Chianti with a lifelong resident who would rather be no other place on earth.