The Chianti Masterpiece™

Join Pino and Chef Anna in the kitchen for our deliciously tempting Tuscan cooking & wine program in Chianti, Tuscany. Gently sweeping hills adorned with pristine vineyards and grey-green olive groves, pretty country churches and imposing stone castles provide the backdrop for your cooking school vacation. Set in six hectares of vineyards and producing award winning wines, this beautiful residence will be your home for a week as you allow yourself to become intoxicated by your hosts’ unique organic wines, savoring their many healing properties and discovering their hidden secrets. Take a tour of the property’s winery, visiting the vineyard, tasting wines and learning about the Chianti Classico; enjoy accompanying your meals with a delicious selection of house reds and whites; and discover the wonderful healing properties of wine and grapes as you enjoy a wine therapy massage and jacuzzi at the relaxing spa.

Visit Siena, home to the oldest bank in the world, and the villages of Chianti, including San Gimignano with its striking Medieval towers. The program also includes lunch at the restaurant of Italy’s most famous Dante-reciting butcher, Dario Cecchini, and a visit to La Macelleria Chini in Gaiole in Chianti, the first maker of the famous Cinta Senese salumi. Back in the kitchen with Chef Anna, use the Estate’s first pressed, extra virgin olive oil and fruits and vegetables from the garden, to make simple and delicious dishes that reflect Chianti traditions.

Cooking Classes

Chef Anna’s philosophy is “see, smell and eat it” and each day, Chef Anna chooses the best fresh ingredients from the garden and the market for your hands-on cooking classes. The atmosphere in the kitchen is informal, encouraging you to ask questions, roll up your sleeves and get involved. Anna comes from the South of Italy but has worked in many countries and many different parts of Italy, all of which has influenced her style of cooking. She spent a lot of time of his childhood in Tuscany and especially loves Tuscan food. Her favorite ingredients are flour and olive oil, and she loves preparing homemade pasta, risotto and all dishes where we you’ll find fresh seasonal vegetables.

Tuscan cuisine is unique and based on the simplicity of raw materials, cooked with skillful craftsmanship. Tuscan history speaks of agriculture and simple living, therefore dishes are based around the use of the ingredients of common people who could not afford luxuries in the kitchen – olive oil replacing lard, vegetables as a base for the soups instead of meat, chestnut flour, and so on. Together with Chef Anna you will assemble genuine ingredients using ancient culinary traditions and authentic preparation methods, creating dishes such as panzanella, pappa al pomodoro, pici, lasagna, risotto, roast pork loin, duck, tripe, cantuccini and tiramisù.

Each class is 2 to 3 hours long, and afterwards students sit together and dine on the fruits of their labor. All meals are of course accompanied by local wine.

Gaiole in Chianti

The village of Gaiole is located approximately 40 miles southeast of Florence and 15 miles northeast of Siena in the Chianti hills, the most famous region of Tuscany. Gaiole in Chianti, like the whole Chianti region, is famous for its wine, artisan food products, and the unique romantic beauty of its landscapes: beautifully tended vineyards and olive groves, gently rolling hills, restored Medieval villages and farmhouses and characteristic avenues of stately poplar trees. Once a market town on the road from Chianti to Valdarno, Gaiole is still a wonderful place to visit for its wine shops, osterias, and local artisan shops, and perhaps more than any other village, represents the divine Tuscan landscape visitors dream of.

Accommodations

Imagine a beautifully restored Tuscan villa nestled cozily in the Chianti hillside: this will be your home for the duration of your cooking program. Rooms and suites are marked by distinctive and charming elements; for example, one suite has a bed made completely from antique oak barrels. Floors are made of the traditional terracotta tiles, exposed stones and beams give character to apartments and furnishings are carefully chosen to reflect the traditional Tuscan style and comfort. Each bedroom has a private bathroom (some equipped with hydromassage), mini bar, TV, air conditioning, some of which boast private living rooms, and others private terraces.

Suites and apartments available for groups and families of different sizes. Please call for more information on accommodation options.

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Itinerary: 8 Days, 7 Nights

Day 1: Arrival & Check In

• Transfer from airport to the Estate.
• Check in, then take time to relax and settle in.
• Dinner is served at the Estate’s Restaurant.

Day 2: Trip to Siena & Cooking Class 1

• Breakfast is served.
• Full day trip to Siena. In the morning, meet up with your guide in Siena, a UNESCO world heritage town, for a 3 hour guided tour of the city center: the Basilica of St. Dominic’s, the old Via Francigena, Siena’s Medieval backbone, the headquarters of the oldest bank in Europe called Monte dei Paschi, the noble Sienese elegant mansions, the Cathedral and masterpieces of Michelangelo, Donatello, Bernini and Giovanni Pisano and the famous Piazza del Campo.
• Lunch at our favorite Ristorante in the famous Piazza del Campo.
• Time free for shopping then return to the Estate.
• Late afternoon, Cooking Class 1. Get involved and spend a half-day having fun, learning and tasting in the kitchen. Chef Anna supervises and guides you in the creation of a full three course traditional Tuscan meal. The course is 2 or 3 hours long, after which everyone has dinner together, enjoying the dishes made during class. Toast with a glass of wine, included.

Day 3: Visit Our Winery & Cooking Class 2

• Breakfast is served.
• In the late morning, take a tour of the winery on the Estate, visiting the vineyard, tasting wines and learning about the Chianti Classico.
• Light lunch is served.
• After lunch, free time.
• Late afternoon, Cooking Class 2. Spend more time with Chef Anna in the kitchen, creating a different three course meal, focusing on specialties of the season. The course is 2 or 3 hours long, after which everyone has dinner together, enjoying the dishes made during class. Glass of wine included.

Day 4: Wine Therapy Spa Treatment

• Breakfast is served.
• Relaxing morning spent catching up on reading and journaling or simply strolling.
• Lunch is served.
• In the afternoon, head to the spa for a wonderful Wine Therapy Treatment, including imperial bath with wine!
• Dinner is served at the Estate.

Day 5: Chianti Villages; Lunch at Cecchini’s restaurant; San Gimignano

• Breakfast is served.
• Full day trip to Chianti Villages. In the morning, visit to a ceramic workshop: the ceramics are designed, glazed, painted, and fired, in this family-run workshop in Radda in Chianti.
• Lunch in Dario Cecchini’s restaurant Solo Ciccia to visit the famous butcher. Aside from his award-winning Chianina beef, the butcher is also known for reciting poetry, in particular Dante, to visitors of his shop.
• In the early afternoon, visit San Gimignano, and take your time to stroll the streets of the medieval village.
• Dinner is served at the Estate.

Day 6: Cooking Class 3

• Breakfast is served.
• In the morning, Cooking Class 3. Return to the kitchen with Chef Anna and learn a new three course meal. The course is 2 or 3 hours long, after which everyone has dinner together, enjoying the dishes made during class. Glass of wine included.
• After lunch, just relax. There are a lot of activities available like tennis, pool, archery, badminton, darts, etc. and at extra cost, you can also benefit from the small wellness center with its spa treatments where you can indulge in a variety of massages and a host of unique services including vinotherapy and chocotherapy.
• Dinner is served at the Estate.

Day 7: Excursion to La Macelleria Chini; Lunch at Papavero

• Breakfast at Borgo.
• Half day excursion to La Macelleria Chini in Gaiole in Chianti, which was recognized as the first official producer of Cinta Senese salumi.
• Lunch at Papavero, a typical Tuscan restaurant.
• After lunch, just relax.
• Dinner is served at the Estate.

Day 8: Check Out & Arrivederci

• Breakfast is served.
• Check out.

*Note: This schedule may vary due to inclement weather, saint days or festivals. All activities, in the event of rescheduling, are always included during the week.