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Chianti Classico, the place, is as delectable as Chianti Classico, the wine. The first mention of the Chianti region, south of Florence, dates to the latter 13th century. In 1719, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, by ducal decree, established the boundaries of the region in which Chianti wine could be produced. Time and world demand for the product has extended the region beyond the Grand Duke's initial design, generating a debate among purists as to the true borders of Chianti Classico. Regardless, it is the allure and romance of the land that is the soul of both the wine and place.
"On my first couple of trips to Italy, I would head south from Florence on Strada del Chianti Classico, the main route into the region," says June Carey. "Each time, I ended up at this ancient farmhouse. I would get off the Strada at different places and meander in different directions, but I would always seem to be delivered to this spot. Florence is so beautiful and so Italian, but once you arrive here you say 'This is it! Chianti Classico!'"
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The little farmhouse in Pennsylvania where I grew up was always alive with
singing, laughter and a love of the arts. My father, a voice instructor,
introduced us to the steady flow of eccentric, larger-than-life characters
found in his greatest passion – the dramatic world of the Italian opera.
Aida’s rich theme always seemed to be playing in the background as I went in
search of a reality I could call my own, escaping into the quiet roar of the
singing crickets and song of the meadowlark. I could lose myself in the
turquoise twilight magic of a summer evening or breath of sweet fields of
winter wheat beneath the rising sliver of a moon. I found my true love and
years later found myself longing for the beautiful fields of my childhood,
where everything was the way it should be. My passion springs forth through
the beauty of the fertile earth, which has always been my real teacher.
I began painting full time in 1982, doing my time as a starving artist while
raising my young son. I was happy to trade this tragic cliché for the happy
success of sell-out gallery shows and award banquets. In 1991, I married
maritime artist David Thimgan, and we thrived together. On one late summer
afternoon escape, traveling to the Mendocino coast, I discovered the
California wine country. I was so happy to have found a place in California
that reminded me of my long lost fields of Pennsylvania. I painted my first
vineyard scene in 1996 and, as time passed, this interest has taken me to the
countryside of Tuscany, where I feel I probably lived in a former lifetime. My
Italian opera theme song has never left my heart, and somehow life seems to
have come full circle, to connect, again, the passions of my life.
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