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La Dolce Vita's Tuscan Trek Tour
Tour Duration : 7 Days  Day 1:
HIKING MONTALCINO'S WINE TRAILS We shuttle from Florence to our hotel in Montalcino, a fortified town crowded by an imposing medieval fortress. From here we begin to explore the area famous for its Brunello, a well-structured, long-lived red wine that grows in Tuscany’s highest vineyards. After a welcome lunch, we hike through the vineyards that encircle the town. Along the way, we’ll visit two wine estates that exemplify the region’s different styles of winemaking: the innovative Il Marroneto and the traditionalist Livio Sassetti. For the first of our gourmet wine dinners, we go to Re di Macchia, an elegant restaurant that offers superb renditions of traditional Tuscan cuisine, including tagliatelle with porcini mushrooms, wild boar (cinghiale), and rabbit stuffed with black olives. Day 2: HOLY WINE & THE BIRTH OF BRUNELLO We’ll march back in time as we trek to Sant’Antimo, a beautiful medieval abbey deep in the pastoral countryside where monks still live and work. The road leading out of Montalcino offers plenty of scenic views of the city and its vineyards, then proceeds through lush forests until we arrive at the Romanesque abbey, perhaps in time to hear the monks sing Gregorian chants. On our walk back, we’ll stop at Poggio San Polo, an up-and-coming innovator in Brunello and Super Tuscan wines, then shuttle to the famous Biondi Santi estate. It’s here Brunello was born in the 1880s, and the estate proudly maintains its status as standard-bearer of the traditional methods. We cap off the day with dinner at the Fattoria dei Barbi, a farm and noted wine producer whose Brunello rivals that of neighbor Biondi Santi. Here we’ll learn the proper way to dip almond cookies (cantucci) in Vin Santo, a golden dessert wine first created by medieval monks. Day 3: MEDIEVAL MONTEPULCIANO & RENAISSANCE PIENZA The ability to make Pecorino Toscano cheese was once considered so valuable a skill that women could list it as part of their dowry. We’ll find out their secrets during a visit to a Pecorino shop in Pienza. While known for its cheese, this hilltown is even more famous for its Renaissance town design, commissioned by Pope Pius II. After visiting this model piazza, we set off on foot for our hike through a classic Tuscan landscape, with cypress trees marking our path over the rolling hills. We end up in Montepulciano, where we’ll visit some tasting rooms and try another of Tuscany’s prized red wines: Vino Nobile. Our stops include the elegant 16th century palace that houses the Azienda Agricola Contucci. We return to Montalcino for a visit to the 14th century fortress of Montalcino, which houses an enoteca (a wine collection and shop), and dinner on your own. Day 4: THE ART OF SIENA Today we’ll take a break from country hiking in order to spend the day in Siena. We start with a tour of Siena’s serpentine streets and splendid Piazza del Campo, then visit the Palazzo Pubblico, which houses several masterpieces of Italian Gothic fresco painting by Simone Martini and Ambrogio Lorenzetti. We’ll also visit Siena’s massive black-and-white striped cathedral, home to works by Michelangelo, Donatello, and Pinturicchio. After lunch and time to shop, we’ll reconvene for a wine tasting at the Enoteca Italiana, Italy’s national wine collection/wine bar, located in an imposing Medici fortress. Here, for a change of pace, we’ll sample wines from Piedmont in the north of Italy, including the obscure Rucche’, a lively Dolcetto d’Acqui and an opulent Nebbiolo d’Alba. We then drive to our new accommodations which offer a splendid view of San Gimignano, a hilltop city that bristles with medieval towers. Our wine dinner at the Ristorante Il Pino will offers elegant nouveau renditions of traditional Tuscan cuisine. Day 5: TREK TO SAN GIMIGNANO Today’s hike along the wine roads of San Gimignano proceeds past groves of silvery olive trees and immaculate acres of Vernaccia grapes, which make the area’s crisp white wine, Vernaccia di San Gimignano. We’ll stop by one estate that has been making Vernaccia since medieval times, Pietrafitta, and pick up some bottles for our picnic lunch. Refortified, we’ll continue down a country lane that provides wonderful views of San Gimignano’s stone towers, and stop by another winery, Pietraserena, a family-run estate that produces Merlot, Spumante di Vernaccia and a magnificent Chianti. Before dinner we’ll have time to roam San Gimignano, get a tour of the magnificent fresco cycles in the town’s main church, and possibly climb the tallest tower for a breaktaking view. Dinner is home-cooking style at the borgo of San Donato, where we’ll be treated to regional specialities like as garlic toasts (bruschette), peasant vegetable soup with bread (ribollita), king-sized lasagna (pappardelle), and grilled meat skewers
WALK THE ETRUSCAN BYWAYS Before Roman rule, Etruscans controlled much of this area and planted its first vines. We’ll revisit this ancient civilization on our hike to Volterra, which takes us along a mountain ridge lined with cypresses, farms, and dense woods. In town, we’ll explore this Etruscan stronghold and visit the Etruscan museum, as well as its famed alabaster workshops. For our afternoon wine tasting, we’ll head back to San Gimignano and visit the Azienda Agricola Cesani, a small family estate that produces a superb Super Tuscan and a grappa flavored with the local saffron. Our farewell dinner is at Dorando, whose owners have meticulously researched the food of Etruscan, Medieval, and Renaissance times. Their updates include bici pasta laced with mint and walnuts, tagliatelle with pumpkin and truffles, rabbit with spices, and a refreshing homemade lemon sorbet. Day 7: BUON VIAGGIO! A shuttle to Florence and assistance with your travel plans.
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