Val d'Orcia Foodies
Montalcino, Pienza, Montepulciano, San Giovanni d’Asso, Siena… a grand epicurean trip to taste and learn about all the gourmet delicacies of Tuscany South on a luscious gourmand experience that takes you from cellars to oil mills by way of cheese factories, honey producers, organic vegetable gardens and the best restaurants in the Val d’Orcia.
Duration: 7 days, 6 nights
Available: from March to June and from Sepember to November by request
Target: individuals and small groups
Arrival/Departure: Rome (Florence and Pisa by request)
Accommodation: luxury villa in Montalcino
Restaurants: typical Tuscany South cuisine, starred Michelin, homemade farm delicacies, “snacks” at wine cellars, tasting with food artisans, best restaurants...
Food: pecorino cheese from Pienza, saffron from the Crete Senesi, honey from Montalcino, Tuscan Ribollita soup, truffles, cold pressed extra-virgin olive oil, Tuscan Prosciutto, Cinta Senese salami, Pinci pasta, Cantucci biscuits and much more…
Visit: Montalcino, Pienza, San Quirico d'Orcia Bagno Vignoni e Buonconvento...
Day 1, sunday - The Terrace of Wonderland
Our dip into Tuscan delicacies starts on the terrace of wonderland that overlooks Tuscany. Montalcino is the destination of our first transfer from the Rome airport where we meet. Our home for the week is in a luxury villa in Montalcino, the starting point of our excursions into the food and wine treats that await us in the Val d’Orcia. After checking in, we start with a visit to a historic cellar near the town to taste the king of Italian wines: Brunello di Montalcino. For dinner, we feast on the typical Tuscan delicious specialties in a tiny restaurant that specializes in wild game in the heart of this medieval town.
Day 2, Monday – Wheat fields and olive groves: bread and olive oil
At breakfast we meet our local concierge who will accompany us the entire week. With stops in San Quirico d’Orcia, the hot springs in Bagno Vignoni and a guided tour of the Renaissance town of Pienza, our day revolves around two staples of the Tuscan table: bread made with durum wheat of the Val d’Orcia and baked in a wood-burning oven and cold pressed extra-virgin olive oil. We visit two farms to discover the secrets and the virtues of olives and grain while learning to make bread and hearing about the subtle differences between a variety of olive and another. We finish the day with dinner that features a tasting of five different wines paired with authentic local dishes in one of our favourite restaurants.
Day 3, Tuesday – Sheep and bees on the blooming grazing: the cheese with honey
This morning is dedicated to Montalcino with its narrow streets, medieval walls, the Fortress and the city museum. Our local guide and concierge lead us through the history of Montalcino and the works of past pilgrim artists who left their mark on this village as they journeyed over the hills to Monte Amiata. A bit of cultural urban trekking eases our conscience about indulging in all the delicious food that is yet to come. By late morning we head to the Val d’Orcia in search of our fluffy friends. We visit shepherds who produce cheese from their sheep that graze between Pienza and the Crete Senesi and learn about pecorino cheese in the stalls, on the fields and at the table they prepare for us.
On our next stop we learn about the sweet companion to an excellent plate of cheese: honey. We get an up-close and personal look into work of the nomadic beekeeper. Montalcino is not just about Brunello. Until the 1980s, this Tuscan town was the biggest producer of honey in Italy. We discover how honey is made, how bees live and taste 14 types of honey from different plants and flowers. In the evening we enjoy a relaxing dinner in a starred Michelin restaurant recommended by the best international guides.
Day 4, Wednesday – Cows, pigs and Sangiovese: flesh & Brunello
Today we finally head back into the cellar. But first we take a step back in time at the Brunello Museum that houses splendid reconstructions of old artisan workshops and memorabilia from the history and evolution of Brunello wine and life in the community of Montalcino. At our next stop down the road, we go even further back in time at Sant’Antimo Abbey where we admire the travertine and onyx structure in all of its splendour.
We continue on to one of the historical Brunello wineries for a tour of the cellar and a tasting of Rosso di Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino and Brunello di Montalcino Reserve. For lunch we have a special treat: a seminar with an artisan Tuscan butcher in the tasting room of a winery that affords a breathtaking view of Siena, the Val d’Orcia, Montalcino and Monte Amiata. Here we learn about the secrets of the Chianina, an ancient Tuscan breed of work cattle, valued today for its delectable cuts of beef. Our trusty butcher shows you how to select, prepare, cook and serve this superb specialty. The biodynamic winery that hosts us selects five wines for us to taste along with a buffet lunch featuring Tuscan dishes and the famous Bistecca alla Fiorentina, Florentine T-bone steak. No worries, our dependable driver will get us back to town safe and sound.
Day 5, Thursday – Among vegetable gardens, fields and orchards: Sweets, Herbs and Preserves
A must on every gourmet’s list is to go out into the fields and pick different types of herbs, flowers and wild fruits to create a fresh, very healthy and unique salad. Our morning in the fields, woods and over the rolling hills with a local expert takes us back in time when man and nature were more closely linked. We are surprised by how easy it is to find edible wild herbs fit for a king so close to home. We learn all we need to know including what tools are needed, the best time of year for picking, picking techniques, preparing and preserving what is edible and even some tips on therapeutic uses of herbs. We delight in our special snack starting with our colourful salads and their ancestral flavours with much more.
After a little afternoon siesta, our gastronomic adventure continues onward to the sweetness of the Val d’Orcia. What do you say about a visit to an artisan pastry shop where they still make panforte and other delicious local specialities according to age old recipes? We taste both raw and baked delicacies expressly paired with selected wines. If your inner gourmand cannot handle it or is on a diet, you are kindly asked to stay at the villa!
Day 6, Friday – Between soil and subsoil, treasures of the table: Truffles and Saffron
Today we walk a bit more but it is really worth it, because we go truffle hunting! Our favourite truffle hunter and his faithful truffle dog take us into the woods on the edge of the Crete Senesi so we can experience truffle hunting first-hand. These treasured tubers grow buried somewhere between the fragrant trees, streams of water and in the iridescent colours of the land. We join in the search learning to respect time, the rules and their hiding places. For lunch we indulge in two of our favourite and precious truffle dishes: il tagliolino in biancho and l’uovo al tegamino.
Today we also learn about another treasure of the table on our journey across the hills: saffron and its gentle violet flower that blooms early in the morning and requires a meticulous patience to be cultivated and picked after a year-long cycle for just a few grams of pure spice. We finish the day off among the barrels. In the late afternoon we all go to our favourite osteria where a food and wine journalist awaits us to guide us on yet another journey through the magic of the wines of Montalcino: eight wines in a parallel tasting including products that we have encountered throughout the past week on our walk through the Val d’Orcia. There is a little surprise in store for dinner.
Day 7, Saturday - Expiation
Enjoy the transfer back to Rome where you can begin the expiation of this foodie gourmand sin continuing your holiday or catching your return flight home.
