As a boy I was lucky enough to travel to the Tuscany region of northern Italy, though unlucky enough to have visited at a time when I was too young to really enjoy the fabulous Chianti wines.



Having liberal parents meant I at least got to taste these unique wines, if not to drink enough of them to experience that glowing feeling which is so enjoyable.
To this day I still remember staying in a majestic Italian villa which had peach trees in the garden. I remember the hot summer weather and being stung by a wasp. And I remember eating some of the best food I have ever tasted.
In a provincial restaurant where the matronly owner had a beard and pinched my cheeks affectionately while calling me ‘Il Bambino’, I tried the wild boar cooked in Chianti Classico. It was an unforgettable experience, as unforgettable as the sweeping vistas in that part of the world and the rooster symbol which adorns the bottle of this great red wine. Wine and food are great bedfellows in Tuscany.

Chianti has had a complicated history over the years and the definition of where constituted the Chianti wine producing region was altered in 1932.



How the wine is made has also been changed. Chianti used to be mainly made from Sangiovese grapes. In the 1800s Baron Bettino Ricasoli, who was a major Chianti producer, decided that Chianti should comprise and equally split 30% of Malvasia Bianca and Canaiolo grapes with the rest being made up of Sangiovese.



But by the 1970s the Malvasia Bianca, a Greek white grape, was gradually being phased out again. For a wine to keep the name of Chianti it must retain at least 80% of the Sangiovese grapes.
Why not find out more for yourself? Car hire in Italy  is the best way to take a Chianti Wine Tour of this magical region, though like me all those years ago you may have to restrict yourself to tasting rather than drinking.

Car hire is not immune to the credit crunch following news of increased rental prices and car rental firms axing jobs.
The Bath based English car hire company Helphire Group plc has had to lay of 130 of its estimated 3,000 staff members who work at about 30 locations across the country. The company sends rental cars to people who have been in accidents for which they were not liable.

Chief executive Mark Adams said: "We are seeking to make a limited number of redundancies across several of our group's companies."

This process will involve a consultation which should be completed sometime during the middle of the summer. Most of the jobs lost will be in the South West region.
Meanwhile another British company, Economy Car Hire, has said that car hire prices will increase over the summer due to a lack of availability made worse by the recession.

Rory Sexton, managing director of Economy Car Hire, said: “Every year we have problems with availability at peak times, and this year it will be much worse - car hire prices will definitely increase.”

This stark warning is being made amid fears that car hire companies may have to reduce their fleets of cars by around a third in the summer. This is due to the reduction in the manufacturing of cars and a big decrease in car sales.
As summer is traditionally the busiest time of year for car hire, this in turn will drive up prices.
And economy Car Hire was not the only company worried about 2009.
Stuart Nassos, managing director of car hire firm Holiday Autos, said: “We have found the start of the year tougher than usual, primarily in locations where the British pound has seen decline verses other currencies, such as the US and within the Euro zone.”

If you want to go somewhere unusual in Europe, Rhino Car Hire Madeira can recommend the sub tropical island of Madeira off the coast of Morocco.

As we continue our preview of good getaway destinations for the summer holidays, Madeira gets two thumbs up for price, accessibility and weather.



Despite being located far out into the Atlantic Ocean, it takes only a few hours to get to Madeira with TAP Portugal being one of the airlines which does good deals on direct flights there. Madeira is considered to be part of Portugal and this is one of the reasons why prices on the island are so reasonable.
If you decide to get yourself a self catering apartment in Madeira you will save more money still as the cost of groceries is very reasonable.

In Madeira you can get lovely two bedroom villas with gorgeous sea views for a little as £200 per week. Often having more than one bathroom, a spacious veranda and ample space in which to cook, you won’t feel much like leaving the villa when the cooling breezes are blowing across the island. Especially as most of these villas in the capital Funchal and the surrounding areas have a swimming pool or pool access too.



Once you have a Rhino vehicle there are many fascinating parts of the island to visit though.

Park in the centre of Funchal and take a cable car up to the botanical gardens which are utterly spellbinding and home to the world’s oldest olive tree, which was around before Jesus was born, among other fascinating things.
Or hire a four by four and head up into the mountainous interior of Madeira. With its highest peak at more than 2,000 metres you will get stunning views across the island here.
But you might just prefer to park up at one of the island’s many great beaches.

 

As we come to the end of the first week of February, many people will be turning their minds to the thought of summer holidays.
Christmas is now past and hopefully we will have paid off our Christmas credit card bills too. The last month has been bitterly cold in many parts of Europe and I bet there is no one out there who wouldn’t jump at the chance of taking a holiday.
The current economic climate may make people hesitant about getting away, but it is unlikely to stop them. However, it will definitely mean that the public are more assiduous than ever before about trying to get a high quality holiday for their money. Things are pretty gloomy right now and the last thing anyone wants to do is pack their bags only to be greeted by rubbish weather and poor service in another country.
And so Rhino Car Hire is making a few suggestions of places to visit. The first of these is Croatia.
Croatia ticks all of the main boxes for holiday requirements. Firstly, it is easy to get to. Most major European airlines offer flights to one of the Croatian cities of Dubrovnik, Zagreb, Zadar and Split. In terms of low cost options there are Easyjet flights from Gatwick and Bristol as well as Zurich in Geneva and Ryanair flights from Stansted to Zadar.
Secondly, how much will it set you back? Right now you can get a return flight from Stansted to Zadar for two weeks in July with Ryanair for only £60. Factoring in our low cost car hire at rates starting from £11 per day, and the availability of cheap accommodation in Croatia and you are looking at excellent value for money.
Thirdly, are you guaranteed good weather? In Croatia the answer is almost certainly yes, and with so much to do in this wonderfully diverse country, you are sure to have a great holiday. Check out our Croatia car hire section for more information.