Harvest Wine and Cooking Adventure
Fall is the most beautiful and peaceful time to visit Tuscany. The days are sunny and warm, and the nights have a crisp chill to them. The green, verdant hills mellow into a warm golden landscape, and morning fog gives way to bright, clear days. There is a singular focus for Tuscans during the fall: the harvest. Farmers and winemakers work tirelessly during this period to produce only the highest quality wines and olive oils. Inspired by the harvest’s bounty, local chefs create and teach recipes that celebrate the area’s delicious resources. Join us on this unique wine and cooking adventure to see and experience harvest time in Tuscany.
To book first select the desired dates, then select the room category, and finally the number of guests.
Day 1
Your host will meet you at the Chusi Chianciano train station and transport you to Tenuta Santo Pietro, where you can settle into your luxurious accommodations and adjust to the relaxing pace of Tuscan country life.
Cocktails will be served in the living room around the large stone fireplace or, weather permitting, outside on the panoramic veranda. A special Welcome Dinner at Tenuta Santo Pietro will be served after that, where you will get to know your guide and discuss plans for the week.
Day 2
Following a leisurely breakfast, walk up into the property’s ancient olive grove before heading to a local frantoio. In this community olive press, you will learn about the process of the olive harvest, from picking the olives to bottling the freshly pressed extra virgin olive oil and tasting it.
After returning to Tenuta Santo Pietro for a pecorino cheese tasting, lunch, and afternoon rest, you will take a cooking class in our onsite kitchen. You will learn to make a traditional Tuscan meal, from antipasto to dolce, completely from scratch. This hands-on class starts with a trip to our vegetable garden to pick whatever is fresh. Menu items include the Tuscan pasta pici, traditional sauces like ragu’, and other local specialties like cantucci. These famous, almond-based cookies are dipped in the local sweet wine known as Vin Santo. You will receive the recipes of everything you learn to make so you can keep the tastes and memories of Tuscany alive when you return home. Enjoy the dinner you helped prepare with the group paired with Chianti wine.
Day 3
Spend the morning reading or sleeping in before you head out on a leisurely 3k hike to a nearby Vineyard. Along the way, you will travel on an ancient Roman road made of white stones and pass among giant cypress trees that line the way. Upon arrival, you will take a tour of the vineyard and meet the winemakers of this renowned Chianti. Upon returning from the 30-minute hike back, you will enjoy lunch at TSP with wines.
After a shower and some rest in the late afternoon, our chef will conduct a second cooking class with a special focus on learning to make traditional egg pasta. Once again, you will gather together to enjoy the dinner you helped prepare. For wine, you will pair the fresh pasta with Orcia wine.
Day 4
After two full days of the hard work of cooking and wine tasting, this will be a day of leisure. You may choose to take our shuttle to visit Pienza, the picturesque town founded by Pope Pius II in the 15th century on lands owned by his family– some say representing the world’s first example of urban planning. You may prefer to have lunch in town or to join the group for a picnic lunch at a nearby property with a wonderful view of the surrounding valley.
In the afternoon shuttles will be available to the nearby ancient Etruscan town of Montepulciano, set nearly 2,000 feet above sea level and offering superb views over the surrounding countryside. Inside its walls and fortifications, you will find winding, hilly streets and a wealth of Renaissance-style palazzi and churches. Shop for Tuscan leather goods and cashmere along the main street or discover local artisan shops on the small vicoli around the square.
Return to Tenuta Santo Pietro in the evening for a delicious Fiorentina steak dinner paired with Super Tuscan wines.
Day 5
Depart mid-morning to explore the Crete Senesi area of Tuscany, famous for its white truffles. Crete Senesi is literally ‘Siennese clays’, and the distinctive grey coloration of the soil, so different from the rolling green hills of the rest of the region, is often described as looking like the surface of the moon. After a winding drive through the hills, you will meet your guide for the morning’s truffle hunt. Your guide and his lively hunting dogs will lead you on a walking tour through the countryside and along the way you will learn about the art of truffle hunting, the history of the truffle business, and just what makes them so sought-after and expensive.
Upon your return to TSP, our chef will lead a cooking class using the truffles you bring back from the morning’s hunt. You will learn to prepare homemade pasta with truffles and will enjoy pairing them with a delicious Barolo.
After a rest and some down time, you will head to Montepulciano to visit another local winery for a tour and tasting followed by dinner back at TSP with Nobile wines.
Day 6
Start your morning at Pienza Coffee, a local coffee producer in Pienza. You will learn how the coffee beans are roasted using oak wood and air cooling to achieve the perfectly blended cup of Italian coffee. From there you will explore the beautifully rolling hills of the Val d’Orcia as you head to the pristine medieval town of Montalcino, where The world-renowned Brunello wine is made. After an extensive tasting of wines from various producers, and a typical Tuscan lunch of cured meats and cheeses, you can explore the beautiful village and its 500-year-old medieval castle before heading back for an afternoon of leisure.
You will then be treated to a special farewell dinner at TSP in the evening, where you can exchange contact information with other guests, share photos of the trip and reminisce about your favorite moments of this unique Tuscan harvest adventure.
Day 7
Depart TSP for Chuisi/Chianciano train station or Roma Fiumicino airport.
For more information, please email us at info@tenutasantopietro.com