Wine Tasting in Tuscany
We had to get back to Tuscany! We booked a room, wine tasting, and cooking class all at Torciano Winery in San Gimignano. In September, we visited this winery only for a wine tasting, and we loved the atmosphere, wines, and food. It is family-owned, and they genuinely care about their business, image, and wine. The grounds of the winery are picture-perfect, and the small cottage like accommodations we had were fantastic.
Sipping Wine and Cooking Italian Favorites
When we arrived on Friday, the owner welcomed us with big glasses of wine, a small tour of our accommodations, and a peak at where we’d take our class, have dinner and taste wine.
About an hour later, we met the owner and his cousin in the kitchen. Another glass of wine in hand, we learned to make dishes such as ragu, saffron risotto, lasagna, steak with green peppercorns and sauce, ribolitto (a typical Tuscan dish made with vegetables and bread), and crepes. All of these dishes were then brought out for us to eat while we tried eight more wines.
Afterward, we thought we were going to burst from all of the food! This was undoubtedly an amazing experience that we’ll remember and treasure forever.
Exploring Tuscan Towns (and Wineries) at our Leisure
The next day, we woke up with no set plans for the rest of the weekend. Since we had been to the town of San Gimignano before, we drove to a different town in Tuscany: Volterra. This is about 30 minutes away. We made frequent stops to take pictures of the beautiful landscape.
On the drive back to Torciano, we stopped at two wineries. The first winery overlooked endless valleys and San Gimignano. They were very hospitable and welcomed us without hesitation when we showed up at their door. They, too, have nice grounds and accommodations with an outdoor pool. We felt like we couldn’t wait to come back (and later, we did!).
After we came back from exploring, we bought a bottle of wine from Torciano, enjoyed the wonderful weather, and played a game of Bocci ball. That night we went to dinner in San Gimignano. We walked the empty streets and picked a random restaurant that looked good… and it was! You can’t go wrong in these beautiful towns of Tuscany.
