Food & Wine tours in Val d’Orcia
Discovering the medieval villages during the tours in Val d'Orcia, among excellent wines and culinary art.
Tour in Tuscany: Val d’Orcia
Tuscany is a rich and varied region: each area offers something
new and exciting to do. With the food and wine tours in Val
d'Orcia (Orcia Valley), we discover one of the most fascinating
areas of Tuscany, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2004.
Rolling hills, vineyards, olive groves, woods, ancient villages,
millenary roads, breathtaking landscapes: with these tours in
Val d'Orcia you can enjoy not only wine and food but also the
environment around you.
Val d'Orcia is located in the south of Tuscany, between the
province of Siena and Grosseto. Its unique landscape is the
result of the skillful millennial work of natural elements and
of mankind who has shaped the earth since ancient times to take
advantage of it.
Etruscans and Romans
The Etruscans inhabited the area leaving amazing artifacts in the necropolis; the Romans knew the sources of thermal water and built here the Cassia road to connect Rome to the north; in the Middle Ages, the via Francigena crossed the Val d'Orcia and brought thousands of pilgrims to Rome. During my food and wine tours in Val d’Orcia, the goal is to make this beautiful region known at 360 ° and to achieve it we must dedicate at least one whole day to it.
Villages, ancient abbeys, amazing landscapes
The tours in Val d'Orcia can be diversified according to the needs and interests and therefore, before booking the tour, I recommend contacting me to design the most suitable itinerary together. The day can be dedicated to a greater extent to the food and wines of the area with the opportunity to try many excellences for the palate. Alternatively, the day can be scheduled in such a way as to combine the food and wine tour with a historical-cultural tour to discover villages, ancient abbeys, enchanting landscapes.
The excellences of this land
As for food and wine, two products symbolize the area: Brunello di Montalcino and Pecorino di Pienza. Other specialties of this area are honey from the Val d’Orcia, extra virgin olive oil from Castiglione, salami from Cinta senese, the truffle from San Giovanni d’Asso. Was your mouth watering at the thought of being able to taste all these delicacies in front of a world heritage landscape? Then the food and wine tours in Val d'Orcia are just what you need!
Montalcino and Pienza: Food & Wine tours
During food and wine tours in Val d'Orcia we drive across many beautiful villages. Some are famous and frequented by many tourists every year, others are more secluded and therefore perhaps more authentic, where you can breathe the true spirit of the Tuscan countryside. Montalcino and Pienza need no introduction: the fortress of Montalcino welcomes the visitor on the top of a hill overlooking the valley and which in the past was, therefore, a strategic place of fundamental importance. The town consists of two main streets and a square on which the tower of the Town Hall stands out to remind us of the ancient splendor of Montalcino. Pienza takes its name from its founder Pope Pius II who wanted to transform the small birthplace of Corsignano into the ideal city of the Renaissance. To do this he hired the best architects of the time who transformed the small medieval fortress into a Renaissance pearl in a few years.
Ancient villages in Val d’Orcia
Other villages that can be visited during food and wine tours in Val d'Orcia are San Quirico with its magnificent Romanesque collegiate church, Bagno Vignoni, in whose main square there is a pool of thermal water, Castiglion d'Orcia with its fortress controlling the passage in the valley below.
“Nobile di Montepulciano” wine
With the food and wine tours in Val d'Orcia we can then drive a little further and get to Montepulciano, on the border with the Val di Chiana (Chiana Valley), place of production of another Tuscan excellence: the Nobile di Montepulciano, a red wine intense with a persistent taste that goes well with traditional dishes from Montepulciano.
Churches and museums
The visit to the city is pleasant and can reserve surprises since in the churches and museums of Montepulciano are preserved Artworks by excellent artists that you would never imagine to find here. A name? Caravaggio, for example!
Food & Wine tours
The food and wine tours in Val d'Orcia are suitable for everyone: for those who love wine and good food, for those who love nature, for those who love history and art. Not to be missed!
Your holidays in Tuscany
Tuscany is not only an Italian region, it’s a place of the heart