From garden to table

By Claire Lardizabal

CHIUSDINO, Italy – Mint perfumes the air as you walk through one of Tenuta di Spannocchia’s three gardens. The hard-boiled eggs at breakfast came from the hens, the salad lettuce for lunch was just picked this morning and the rosé wine served at dinner was vinted and bottled here just last year.

As you pass the four lemon trees and step into the garden below, the endless slope of vegetables and herbs can become overwhelming. What don’t they have? I thought to myself as we gingerly tried not to crush rows of potatoes, carrots and basil.

Carmen Zandarin is the mastermind behind all this and has been for the past 12 years. She runs and maintains the gardens with the help of eight farm interns a year. On Mondays, she walks through the gardens then discusses the following week’s meals with the kitchen staff, depending on what’s…