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A Taste of Cooking & Brunello Wines Tour In A Villa In Southern Tuscany
Fall in love with the cooking and beauty of Tuscany, drink some of Italy’s top reds like Brunello, stroll on magnificent country paths, explore ancient hill towns. Experience the sweet life as you cook, eat and laugh with a wonderful variety of fun loving, local Tuscans, like a chef, olive oil producer and winery owner, who soon feel like your new friends. Outside Montepulciano, relax at a beautiful 15th century, four star villa hotel with pretty gardens, olive trees, swimming pool and splendid views over hills of vineyards and farms.
Experience cooking Tuscan specialties with a charming restaurant owner/chef in a small mountain hamlet and an artisan olive oil producer who shows you his exotic, organic gardens and how he makes olive oil with a traditional granite wheel. Learn about Brunello in a private tasting at a medieval castle wine shop. Discover Vino Nobile di Montepulciano with a winery owner in his 14th century wine cellars. A Tuscan buffet for your senses and soul!
Includes:
- 3 nights at the villa or hotel, with private bath and breakfast
- 2 cooking classes with full menu meals
- all meals except 2 lunches
- excursions in the itinerary
- private transport with a guide
- pick up and drop off at Chiusi train station
Not included:
- 2 lunches
- wine with meals
3 Night Itinerary
Day 1
Arrival is about noon, so our driver can pick you up at Chiusi train station and drive you to the cooking class today.
On the way to our cooking class in the country, a highlight is visiting the 1000 year old Romanesque Sant’Antimo church. Set in an absolutely idyllic valley, you’ll stand in awe, admiring a quintessential Tuscan view of cypresses zigzagging up hills, olive trees, vineyards and fields.
We arrive at an organic farm, abundant with exotic trees and plants where the smiling and proud owner, Alberto still makes olive oil like others before him using the granite wheel. You’ll be enraptured as he tells how they made olive oil in the old days and why he sustains those practices today.
He’s a fabulous cook too! In your cooking class in his cozy farmhouse kitchen, he’ll share how he has resurrected the art of cooking traditional Tuscan dishes—with the farm’s olive oil—that were vanishing from the local cuisine. You’ll dine on your delicious creations around a wood table in his cozy olive oil production room.
Day 2
This morning enjoy a stroll in Montepulciano with your guide to marvel at the splendid panoramas, taste Vino Nobile di Montepulciano in wine shops that welcome you, and browse in the many shops for tablecloths, housewares, leather, art and more. You may also experience the weekly market in Montepulciano, where local people shop for everything from cheese, to tablecloths, to underwear.
For your light lunch on your own, why not be like a Tuscan and at a market stall get a freshly made sandwich bulging with the local porchetta, pork with savory rosemary and other herbs.
In the afternoon, drive to Pienza, a medieval jewel walled town, famous for its many kinds of pecorino cheese. Taste cheeses, browse in shops, walk along the top of the medieval walls to admire lovely views of the Val d’Orcia. If you wish, you can take a magnificent walk along a country road along a ridge with 360 degree views of farms and hills.
On your way home, stop in the little town of Montefollonico for a wine tasting in the 14th century cellars of a welcoming winery owner to taste his great Vino Nobile, Rosso di Montepulciano and Vin Santo. If fine weather, enjoy your tasting out on his terrace garden with incredible views of the valley and Montepulciano.
Back at the villa, stretch out for a bit and then relax at the villa’s fine restaurant for a sumptuous dinner of dishes like a sformato (heavy flan) with carrots with a tasty pecorino cheese sauce, hand-made ravioli with tomatoes and fresh basil, country style chicken with herbs, vegetables, red wine and a semifreddo with contucci, the local almond biscuits.
Day 3
Today we take a scenic drive for about an hour up into the hills of Monte Amiata to a tiny hamlet with lots of chestnut trees to a restaurant well known for its outstanding cuisine, especially its mushroom dishes, praised in many guidebooks.
You’ll cook beside chef and owner Roberto, our most popular chef. He is the epitome of warm hospitality, an excellent cooking teacher and a charming man passionate about food and wine.
Dine on your creations with wines specially chosen by Roberto.
On your way back, stop at a winery in the country owned by a friendly local family to learn about Brunello wine, tour the cellars and taste their Brunello di Montalcino and Rosso di Montalcino as you discuss the wines with them.
Nearby visit Sant’Antimo, an amazing 1000 year old Romanesque church set in an idyllic Tuscan valley with vineyards, olive groves and cypresses zigzagging up the hill.
Drive 9 km to Montalcino, famous for its Brunello wine and enjoy a stroll with your guide to taste more wines in the Medici fortress, visit the shops or simply hang out and watch local life go by.
Your “arrivederci Tuscany ” dinner will be at home at the villa. After your multi course lunch, you’ll want to eat light!
Day 4
Checkout after breakfast and return to the Chiusi train station, marking the end of this unforgettable food, wine and cultural immersion, sparkling with tales of good times you shared with wonderful local people.
After four days in this special region, you’ll take with you a host of new cooking skills, an appreciation for garden-grown fresh produce, herbs and some of Italy ‘s top red wines and the joy of life under the Tuscan sun.
Note: Itinerary is subject to minor changes. We will do our best to keep them to a minimum.
