Archive for 'Food and Wine'

When you book a villa in Tuscany for November, you will arrive to a landscape transformed: rolling green hills draped dramatically more often in fog in the mornings and dotted by forests and woods with foliage in a stunning array of golden, russet, and crimson shades. Tourist crowds will have finally thinned to their smallest for the year, giving you plenty of space to explore towns, cities, and attractions and to admire views and magical scenery without having to bob and weave around people's heads. Best of all, you'll find that kitchens are well stocked with rich harvests to make hearty seasonal dishes that are ideal for warming up after days of hiking, strolling around historic centres, and dashing between attractions and museums like the Uffizi. Here are the incredible foods that you can indulge in while staying in one of our incredible luxury villas in Tuscany this November...

Whenever we recommend basing yourself in one of the wine areas of Tuscany, we have certain images of these sorts of vacations that immediately come to mind: cycling between nearby vineyards in the Chianti area, wine-tasting in a historic cellar or a beautiful room overlooking the famous rolling green hills of Tuscany, picnicking among the vines, or dining in a more formal and excellent restaurant with the vineyards as a backdrop. If you are interested in the latter, in particular, then you might be interested in the list of the best vineyard-restaurants around the world that was recently put together by renowned viniculture publication Wine Enthusiast magazine. 

Of the 57 spots listed all around the globe, four are located in Tuscany alone. So, if you want to plan a perfect pairing of food and wine during a stay in one of our villas in Tuscany, then read on and discover these wineries that serve both in beautiful spaces...

Love to eat well? Then that already makes Tuscany an ideal destination as you’ll find all sorts of incredible meals at amazing price points in all kinds of eateries, excellent regional dishes, perfect ingredients at markets, delicious street food to eat on the go, food festivals, guided tastings, and much more besides. For foodies, Tuscany presents endless options and food experiences and for foodies who like more exclusive opportunities, it offers a long list of Michelin-starred and Michelin-recognised restaurants. Recently, four new restaurants have been added to Tuscany’s Michelin Guide for 2026. So, if you want to add some fine-dining experiences to your trip and to get ahead of the crowd then these are the newly listed gems that you should add to your itinerary...

November is when olives are harvested in Tuscany and for foodies who prize the highest-quality ingredients it is an excellent time to plan a stay at one of our luxury villas in Tuscany. Not only will many harvests have taken place in recent weeks, ensuring that there are lots of delicious ingredients about but you'll also get to sample them in hearty and satisfying seasonal dishes. 

If you want to spend a vacation in Tuscany discovering incredible wines in Chianti or one of the other excellent wine regions, exploring historic towns like Lucca and famous attractions like the Uffizi in Florence, and making the most of the natural beauty of the region made lovelier still by autumnal shades, then this is an ideal time to plan a foodie visit in particular. Attend food festivals, try local dishes that are perfect for warming you up, and savour many ingredients at their freshest. 

Many people are now aware of Florence’s wine windows as they are a regular feature on the social media accounts of those who visit the city. These buchette del vino, once-ubiquitous windows through which one could purchase wine directly from noble families’ palaces, are dotted all throughout the city. In total, there are at least almost 200 known examples that still exist today, though only a small number are now functional once more.

A unique way to engage with Florence’s history and a fun foodie experience that may be a little bit touristy but is worth it nonetheless, this is one thing we think any wine-lover should add to their itinerary if they are booking a villa with pool in Florence!

Now that they’re so popular, however, you may have lots of questions. Here’s our complete guide to the wine windows of Florence!