THE PROGRAM
Day 1 Accommodation at the Wine Estate
Meet with our Tour Leader at Florence Airport and transfer to your accommodation in Montalcino, the Wine Estate which will host us for 7 nights.
At our arrival we will be welcomed by the winery manager for a first introduction and presentation of the Estate.
Our dinner with wine pairing will be at the Villa, in a historic hall. We will have a first taste of the excellence of this company: the wines, the extra virgin olive oil and to finish tasting the Grappa di Brunello.
Day 2 Discover the Wine Estate and Montalcino
The day is dedicated to discovering the estate: we will meet the oenologist and the agronomist who will explain us the work they are doing to get more and more valuable wines from terroir. we will be accompanied by a visit to the vineyards, both the oldest and the new plants, and the historic cellars where, since 1580, great wines were refined. We will reach Montalcino for a walk in the historic center and we will have a lunch in a Trattoria, where we can taste the best Pici (local handmade pasta) of entire Tuscany.
Then we will go back to the Wine Estate where we will have the opportunity to visit the master villa and finally before dinner we will have an aperitif in the vineyards.
Dinner at the villa.
Day 3 Montepulciano and its wines, Pienza and its Pecorino
Today we will discover the Orcia Valley, UNESCO heritage, its art treasures such as Pienza, the pecorino and the great wines of Montepulciano.
In the morning we will reach Montepulciano for a walk through the historic center of this beautiful Medieval Village and we will have the pleasure of visiting an absolutely unique winery, a young company, born 30 years ago, which has given a great mission: quality research, both in the vineyard and the cellar, with a close attention to the peculiarities of the grapes.
Manual harvesting, non-sulphite vinification, native yeast, Tuscan government, big barrels and tonneaxu. These are the tools for obtaining deliberately soft and elegant wines, with pronounced and unique perfumes at every grape harvest.
The owners have always had great attention to sustainability and wanted to create an off-grid cellar (energy saving is the first source of energy supply) and technologically innovative.
The lunch will be at the restaurant of the winery , in a terrace on the vineyards.
In the afternoon we will visit Pienza, a Renaissance jewel, than we will reach an organic cheese maker near Pienza where we will enjoy a private visit and Pecorino tasting.
Then transfer back to the Villa for dinner.
Day 4 Bolgheri e Suvereto – Sassicaia wine & Ornellaia wines
After breakfast, our journey will continue to the Tuscan coast, land of very refined wines (like Ornellaia and Sassicaia), the result of very happy intuitions by the oenologist Giacomo Tachis, the man who has revolutionized the way of conception of winemaking in Italy and especially in Tuscany, making history of the great wines of this territory.
In the morning, in Bolgheri, we will visit the headquarters of World Wine Town in Italy, where we will be welcomed by the oenologist who will introduce us to the world of Bolgheri DOC wines (Sassicaia, Bolgheri, Guado al Tasso, Ornellaia and many other superb wines). We will then visit one of the most important winery in the area: Ornellaia.
Our guide will accompany us to the first discovery of historic vineyards around the estate. Then our visit continues in the cellar, where we will be greeted by contemporary artworks that are part of the “Vendemmia d’Artista” project. Then we will reach the barrel cellar, the “Barricaia,” where the French barriques enfold and mature the base wines that will make up Ornellaia and Le Serre Nuove dell’Ornellaia, ther second winery.
Lunch at the winery will follow.
We will then reach the Petra Cellar, disegned by Arch Mario Botta, in Suvereto, a unique wine cellar in many aspects: climate, soil, wine quality, and architecture. We will be welcomed by the manager, who will talk about the company, that we will visit with him and finally will taste some of his important wines.
Petra is located near Suvereto a few minutes from the coast of Tuscany, the sea brings the Libeccio wind to the estate, distributing its salt to the hills. All around: innumerable landscapes, a myriad of soils, a series of different microclimates in an ever-changing setting that produces differences. And it is the difference of this hardy soil that produces the authentic wines of Petra, a natural evolution that undergoes no manipulation.
Back to the Wine Estate and dinner in the Villa.
Day 5 Chianti Bio Wines & Ama Castle
A day devoted to the discovery of Chianti. Around the village of Panzano, probably one of the most enchanting and intact areas of Chianti, we will meet some small producers who have spontaneously created a district where only organic Chianti wine is produced. And we will also meet the person who with his studies first spread the culture of organic wine in this area.
We will visit Fontodi winery a certified organic estate which extends over 130 hectares of which about 70 are planted with vines.
The protagonist of the lunch will be the best steak in Tuscany, by Dario Cecchini undoubtedly king of steak. In addition to the classic Fiorentina steak, we taste the meat declinated in many, innovative ways.
In the afternoon we arrive at the Castle of Ama, near Gaiole in Chianti, a company that produces Chianti wine, which has been awarded many prizes since 1600. This small hamlet contains several treasures: few perfectly refurbished houses, the villa-castle, the home of the prestigious winery and an important collection of contemporary art.
We will have dinner at Ama, at Il Ristoro, as it offers the opportunity to enjoy the quiet of the small village in the evening, offers an enchanting view and, last but not least, chef Giovanni offers genuine cuisine.
Then back to the Wine Estate.
Day 6 Wines and Truffles
This morning we will experience a truffle hunting followed by truffle lunch, we will leave the Wine Estate in the early morning and after 30 minutes drive we will meet the truffle hunters and his dogs. Our truffle search will start through the woods and hills of the Orcia Valley. Then we will reach the farmhouse where will have lunch enjoying dishes prepared with truffle.
In the afternoon we will visit the new Antinori Chianti Classico cellar at Bargino, a very famous building because it is virtually invisible from the outside and looks out onto the countryside alone through a terrace surrounded by the vineyard, and was built according to the most modern energy saving criteria.
Back to the Wine Estate where our chef will prepare us for a dinner with fresh vegetables.
Day 7 Flagship wines from a biodynamic wine farm
Today we will discover a unique biodynamic farm producing flagship wines in the heart of the Orcia Valley.
The estate boasts almost three hundred acres between Castiglione and San Quirico, between vineyards, arable land, woods, olive groves, pastures and gardens. Where Chianina cows and Cinta Senese pigs live in semi-rough state, chickens are nomadic because hens are always in the fresh grass, hives are moved between chestnuts and fir trees. The owner of the farm, has decided to lead the company according to the principles of biodynamic agriculture. Which means no chemical treatments, in the face of a fertile soil and robust natural compost, worked with a light hand so as not to compact it and allow the roots to look deep in the water. We will have our lunch at Trattoria near the winery , and after that, we will continue our visit of the estate.
Back to the Wine Estate and dinner.
Day 8
After breakfast, check out and transfer to Florence Airport.
To find out how we can create your dream holiday or event in Italy, please do contact us at info@stendhaltours.it
