Archive for 'Wineries & Breweries'

Tuscany, with her rolling, picturesque landscapes, excellent food and wine, pretty villages and impressive cities, beautiful coast, stunning buildings, and truly incredible works of art is an inherently romantic destination. It birthed great poets and writers of singular devotion to one beloved such as Petrarch and Dante. It boasts some of the most spectacular sunsets in the world. It is overrun with gorgeous palaces and cathedrals. The pace of life is perfectly suited for focusing entirely on someone special. Really, Tuscany simply is a perfect place to dash to for a little city break for a long weekend or to escape to for an extended getaway with your Valentine.

If you were considering planning a Valentine's getaway in Tuscany together or surprising your love with a
vacation rental in Tuscany this Valentine's Day, you're sure to make incredible memories that will last a lifetime. Here are a list of some of the most romantic things to get up to in this impossibly romantic location....

Bottega Pecchioli is a highly-regarded family-run winery and vineyard in Carmignano, Tuscany, not far from Florence. If you have found a vacation rental in Florence and are thinking about setting aside a day to go wine-tasting and to learn some more about wine and Tuscan culture, then it is an ideal option.

The history of the winery is long and goes back to when the surrounding area of Poggio alla Malva was a small farming village. The first note of the family institution records the Bottega Pecchioli and its “storage area of salt, oil and wine, corn, candles and coal.” In the second half of the 18th century, it became a precursor to what we know a food store to be today and over the years it has been various kinds of business including a tavern, bakery, milk and butter shop, a post office, and wine bar.

Montepulciano is one of the most famous wine areas of Tuscany, where some of the most delicious and lauded wines come from. Contucci is the oldest wine producer in Montepulciano and one of the oldest in the world and outdates the second oldest in the region by 900 years.

The Contucci name appears in written records in Montepulciano around 1000AD and they seem to have always been linked to agricultural pursuits. The current property that still serves as their wine cellar to this day is a property that has been in the family since 1646 and was originally built by a Del Monte Cardinal, then owned by the Medici Grand Duke of Tuscany Ferdinando I, then it became part of the guardhouse of Montepulciano, and finally was adopted as a palace with a wine cellar for the Contucci family.

There are lots of wine producers and wineries based in Tuscany. In fact, one is completely spoiled for choice when it comes to picking a place to go and learn about wine-making, tour a vineyard, and sample some delicious Tuscan wines. However, among these incredible, and often historic, wineries, a newer generation and batch of different and more innovative establishments have cropped up in the last decade or so. One example of such a place is the lovely Frank & Serafico winery, located in the heart of the Maremma. If you have found a vacation rental in the Maremma and are looking for a wonderful foodie experience, it is an ideal choice.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Frank&Serafico (@frankeserafico) on Feb 11, 2016 at 1:49am PST

A post shared by Fattoria Betti (@fattoria.betti) on Apr 25, 2018 at 6:23am PDT

Fattoria Betti is a vineyard and winery that was founded in 1900 and is located in Montalbano in Chianti. A quiet and beautiful part of the region that is made up of sleepy medieval villages, little churches, rolling fields of olive groves and vineyards, and old Medici villas.