Villa Ortaglia™

Join property owner & Terenzio and Chefs Maria & Luca for a fun-filled week of hands-on cooking classes paired with excellent wines that explore the cuisine of Tuscany in the VIP Premium program. In this food & wine lovers’ dream vacation, Nicola, member of the ONAV (National Organization of Wine Tasters) of the AIS (Italian Association of Sommeliers) and of the Society of Wine Educators, will escort you through a culinary tour of guided tastings. Together you will explore the secrets of Tuscany and its food & wine.

Villa Ortaglia offers an exciting Tuscan culinary experience set on the hillside of Montepulciano. Throughout time, Tuscany has been known for its diverse cuisine and now you can learn the secrets of Tuscan cooking in an intimate and authentic setting.

Hundreds of years of war and battle, from the Roman times through the Middle Ages and the two World Wars, have taught Tuscans how to use food in the most creative and effective way. Tuscans developed a cuisine based on the quality of the ingredients. Under the guidance of Chefs Maria & Luca, participants will learn the secrets, history and culinary traditions of Tuscany’s cuisine with three diverse menus.

Tuscany has also been the cradle of the arts in Italy throughout time, and the villa’s location makes it a short distance to the nearby towns of Montepulciano, the jewel of artistic and architectural treasures, properly called the “Jewel of the Renaissance.” Pienza, an achievement of a dream of Pope Pio II Piccolomini; Chiusi, a most important and powerful Etruscan town, which now has an open-air museum where you can visit the tombs and the museum of the first inhabitants of Italy. Also nearby is Montalcino, with its great Fortress and home to the world famous Brunello di Montalcino~ a must see. Also not to be missed is Orvieto, Perugia, Assisi, Gubbio, Arezzo, Cortona, Siena, San Gimignano and Firenze.

Cooking Classes

Classes are held a professional kitchen with Chef Luca in Montepulciano and with Chef Maria at Villa Ortaglia. The villa is a beautiful farmhouse that was built in the 17th century and has recently been restored. The renovations, while keeping the original character, transformed the farmhouse into a five-star luxury accommodation. Each suite is decorated with exquisite antiques, maintaining the traditional feel of old-world charm in the heart of Tuscany.

Ortaglia Relais is privately owned by Terenzio, and cared for by his his son Nicola and the family. After several years in the hospitality industry, the Biscardo family decided to offer cooking classes that explore the regional cuisine of Tuscany. The property is surrounded with the family’s vineyards, vegetable gardens, Tuscan sunflowers and a private swimming pool. The ancient town of Montepulciano can be seen in the distance.

Each suite has been named after the eight districts of Montepulciano, created by the City Stature in 1337. They are San Donato, Voltaia, Poggiolo, Talosa and Gracciamo. All of the bedrooms have been furnished with great attention to functionality and elegance. Interior decorators have carefully selected the colors, paired the cloths and blended the various antique pieces with simple Tuscan handicrafts. The rooms are magical! In the three suites guests can enjoy a tonic jacuzzi sipping a glass of the best Spumante Classico. All the rooms are equipped with TV, refrigerator and telephone.

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The Ortaglia estate boasts a well-furnished wine cellar where you will discover the thousands of flavors in the Italian oenology. The underground wine cellar in the farmhouse, which keeps it well protected from light, vibrations and changes of temperature, guarantees that the selection of wines are kept in perfect condition.

Tuscany is noted for its Chianti Classico, the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, the Brunello di Montalcino and the Vernaccia di San Gimignano. The villa’s wine cellar offers the following: Barolo – Porta Rossa, Chianti Classico – Borgo Pretale, Pinot Grigio – Gaierhof, Prosecco – Banear, Amarone – Corte Vecchia Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi – Bonci and Vernaccia di San Gimignano – Signano

The cooking classes and dinners are available exclusively to the guests of the country house in order to maintain the prestige and unique atmosphere of the Relais. Cooking classes are in small groups with a minimum of four people and a maximum of eight. The cooking classes start at 5 pm and last approximately three hours. During the class, Chef Maria will teach a full menu from appetizer to dessert, starting each course from scratch and using only local seasonal products.

The entire menu changes daily according to Maria’s inspiration and seasonal local ingredients. At the end of each class, participants eat the fruits of their labor at dinner. Local table wine is included.

Chef Maria’s Tuscan Cooking Classes
Tuscan Cooking Menus

One regional appetizer such as crostini toscani, assorted bruschetta appetizers made with unsalted Tuscan bread slices seasoned with fresh tomatoes and herbs, or fegatini (liver pâté), regional cold cuts including capocollo, prosciutto, pancetta and lardo di colonnata.

One first course: homemade fresh pasta with different types of seasonings such as pici all’aglione. Maria will never let you go without teaching you how to prepare homemade fresh pasta, and there is nothing more traditional than pici. Pici is a type of pasta similar to spaghetti, but is made in much longer and thicker strands, which are twisted into neat little coils before drying. When the pasta is cooked, it separates into individual strands. Aglione is the typical roasted garlic and fresh tomato seasoning used on pici. You may prepare the world-famous ribollita toscana, a traditional soup made with day-old unsalted Tuscan bread and fresh vegetables cooked in a big clay pot. Ribollita, meaning re-boiled, gets its name because the dish is always re-boiled before being served the first time, and is often saved for the next day and boiled again.

One second course: typically meat, because in Italy they say, “Tuscany means meat!” Ortaglia is located in Montepulciano, which lies between two valleys famous for bistecca fiorentina, a unique Tuscan meat. Bistecca fiorentina is a big steak, similar to the American T-bone, which comes from a unique white cow, chianina, which lives only in Val di Chiana, Tuscany. Tuscany is also a land of hunters, so we will suggest different dishes of game such as cinghiale (wild boar), piccione (pigeon) and anatra (duck). The scottiglia is a traditional main course of southern Tuscany which includes rabbit, chicken, veal, pork, pigeon, lamb and turkey. Of course there is always chicken, but Maria’s pollo con olive is special. The chicken is sautéed with local olives of Grosetto (olives that are cured in brine and marinated with grated orange zest, fennel and a little garlic) for a unique Tuscan flavor.

One dessert: Maria’s desserts are her specialty. She will show you how to make traditional cakes and biscotti like the world famous tiramisu and cantucci (hard biscotti, traditionally dipped in Vin Santo, a unique dessert made in Tuscany). Another time-honored cake is the stracciata alla fiorentina, a sweet pizza made for the religious feast of Carnivale. The traditional pannello con l’uva is a sweet bread made with fresh grapes and usually served during the time of the harvest.
These dishes are just a sample of what Ortaglia’s cooking school has to offer. Please join us in Tuscany for an emotional and delicious new experience!

V.I.P. Premium Program

8 days ~7 nights

Sunday

• Arrive and check in.
• Welcome apertivo and meet & greet with Terenzio.
• Dinner at the Trattoria Diva e Maceo.

Monday

• Breakfast
• Visit at your leisure the town of Montepulciano.
• Spa treatment *
• Cooking at 5pm, dinner following with the foods prepared in class.
• *Monday or Wednesday afternoon, depending on the availability of the Terme di Montepulciano.

Tuesday

• Breakfast
• Take the day to explore the Tuscan country-side on your own including Arezzo, Cortona, city of “Under The Tuscan Sun,” Lake Trasimeno.
• The driving is easy and the country-side is very picturesque.
• Dinner at the Ristorante La Grotta in Montepulciano.

Wednesday

• Breakfast
• Cooking class: the class focuses on the art of fresh pasta making, ravioli, and gnocchi. This class is held at Le Logge del Vignola.
• Following, Terenzio will meet you at Crociani winery for a seminar tasting of the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.
• Light lunch at Ortaglia with cheese, salami, first press Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and Vin Santo with cantucci.
• Relax, stay by the pool, or do some shopping in town.
• Dinner at Le Logge del Vignola with the pasta you made, other creations of the chef included.

Thursday

• Breakfast
• Tour of Valdorcia with lunch in a wine cellar in Montalcino.
• Dinner on your own.

Friday

• Breakfast
• The morning is free to relax, stay by the pool, or do some shopping at the famous designer “Mall”, featuring all the Italian designers, and just a short drive away. Terenzio will assist with directions to the shopping Mall.
• Cooking class at 5pm. Dinner follows with the foods prepared in class.

Saturday

• The entire day is at your leisure. Suggestion, take a drive to Siena through the beautiful landscape of the Crete Senesi, noted as the clay hills of Siena, or catch an early morning train to Florence and tour Italy’s famous art city.

*This schedule may vary due to weather, feast days, market days, openings and closings of vineyards, etc.  If you happen to have a specific private activity in mind, please let us know so we can check your final itinerary.