AUTUMN MAGIC AND CULINARY MEMORIES: VINEYARDS, TRUFFLES
AND HILL TOWNS IN CAPTIVATING VAL D’ORCIA
AUTUMN MAGIC AND CULINARY MEMORIES: VINEYARDS, TRUFFLES
AND HILL TOWNS IN CAPTIVATING VAL D’ORCIA
Imagine surrounding yourself in the beauty of Tuscany, immersing yourself in the local cuisine, visiting local producers of delicious seasonal foods, sampling superb wine vintages in charming hilltop towns and celebrating la dolce vita in your own welcoming villa.
Your villa is situated in the heart of the Crete Senesi, a dramatic terrain with a sere, lunar-like landscape punctuated by isolated farms with undulating hills and stately rows of cypresses dotted with medieval towns. Some of your visits will take you through the UNESCO world heritage site of the Val d’Orcia, an area of rolling hills filled with grain fields and sunflowers, a dreamscape of castles, villages, towers, monasteries and thermal springs, along with vineyards producing such masterpieces as Brunello di Montalcino.
You have the choice of enjoying two entertaining cooking lessons, under the personalized guidance of a talented and experienced Chef whose class menus will be based on seasonal products, or savoring a pair of delicious dinners at area Michelin-starred restaurants.Autumn is the perfect time to visit. Enjoy a truffle festival and join in a truffle hunt, sample some of the world’s finest wines and learn how olive oil and pecorino cheese is made.
6 days / 5 nights
- 5 nights’ accommodation at a private luxury villa
- Private drivers’ transportation to and from Florence or Rome
- Tuscan-style aperitif and welcome dinner on the first evening
- Daily Italian style breakfast
- 4 light lunches
- 2 cooking classes with Chef followed by dinner accompanied with wine (alternatively dinner(s) at Michelin-starred restaurant )
- 1 truffle themed dinner at the Truffle Festival
- 1 dinner at a Michelin-starred restaurant or equivalent.
- White Truffle Festival Market visit in San Giovanni d’Asso
- Truffle Hunt
- A full-day wine immersion at famous area wineries near Montalcino
- Olive Oil Mill visit
- Pienza Pecorino Cheese visit
- Wine tasting of Vino Nobile and Rosso di Montepulciano in an Underground Cellar
- 1 Bid Farewell dinner on the last evening at a Michelin-starred restaurant or equivalent
- Private transportation for all excursions with English-speaking drivers
- Daily private concierge service for all activities
- Wine and beverage at restaurant dinners
- Optional Gratuities for Staff, Drivers, Guides, Wine and Food Experts
At Additional Cost, your private concierge can arrange:
- Transportation to and from other airports in Italy
- Optional personalized trip extensions for additional nights at the beginning or end of your culinary retreat to experience the cultural and culinary highlights of other Italian locations
- Private art historian guides to historical sites and museums
Your daily itinerary
Arrival at airport of choice, where your private driver will meet you and take you in comfort to your Villa. Relax and settle in to your room, then get to know the other guest participants during a wine tasting and welcome dinner at the villa.
Discover the art of producing extra virgin olive oil with a visit to an olive oil mill. Learn about the harvesting of the olives and the various phases of production of extra virgin oil, followed by a tasting.
Today you will learn how the famous Pienza Pecorino cheese is made through the various stages of production. Sample a tempting array of the Pecorino varieties at different levels of aging and with delicious added ingredients. Then a lunch will be served in an herbal restaurant nestled in the scenic Val D’Orcia.
Then stroll through the beautiful hilltop town of Pienza, savoring its expansive vistas and shops full of local produce and crafts.
After returning to the villa from your culinary adventure, the piece de resistance will be your evening first cooking lesson. Alternatively you can enjoy dinner out at one of the area Michelin-starred restaurants.
Escorted visit to San Giovanni d’Asso. This is the heart of white truffle territory, and these rare delicacies are mostly harvested during October, November and December. Here in the village center truffles take center stage, but the festival also features markets offering all manner of local products to eat, drink and discover. There is also a Truffle museum located in the underground vaults of the 14th century castle.
Here you will experience the sights, tastes and aromas of the White Truffle festival and demonstration market. Then get ready for a special experience, a truffle hunt during which you will see how truffles are found first hand.
Tonight’s dinner will feature the King of the truffles, the white variety, as the center piece ingredient!
Enjoy a full day wine tasting excursion in Montalcino, one of the most beautiful hilltop towns in Tuscany, equally world-famous for its Brunello, Chianti, and Rosso di Montalcino wines. Here we will visit one of its most prestigious wineries and enjoy a guided visit of the cellars, and its Brunello Museum and private tasting along with lunch. Afterwards there will be time for exploring the charming village.
After returning to the villa from your culinary adventure, you will enjoy your evening second cooking lesson. Alternatively you can savor dinner out at one of the area Michelin-starred restaurants.
Visit Montepulciano, a beautiful medieval hill town perched on a ridge between the Val D’Orcia and Val di Chiana. There you will have time for visiting the unique shops, admiring the Renaissance palaces and strolling the Piazza Grande with its cathedral and town hall.
Then tour the Underground Cellars of the Ercolani winery and enjoy a tasting of its Vino Nobile and Rosso di Montepulciano wine.
Tonight the bid farewell dinner will be a tasting menu at one of the area Michelin-starred restaurants.
Enjoy breakfast at your villa, then pack up your culinary memories and relax as your driver comfortably takes you to your departure airport.
