16 adults walk into a villa

I have some of the best people in the world as friends, truly. They are diverse in every way, yet mostly stick like glue through life's challenges. When I mentioned that we were all staying together, many exclaimed 'yipes...that will be interesting'. Pretty negative if you ask me.

We arrived to the villa on a beautiful sunny evening in time for our chef curated meal in the piazza. One thing we all have in common...we love to eat. All the things, all the time. So naturally this was no different. The ambience, company, and food set us up for a week of adventures!

First day: the wine van

Sometimes it's best to let a local professional show the way. We were staying in Chianti land, but the more sought after vines are often south of this in the Montepulciano and Montalcino regions, the home of Brunello. Brunello is, in my opinion, some version of heaven in a glass. Made entirely of sangiovese grapes with traditional aging methods, it is the cream of the crop for most small and large producers alike, so naturally we figured we should have a look.

Our first stop was Montepulciano at Pietra Del Diavolo, a Tuscan farm on a hillside which also has a agrovilla. They are a very small producer at 6-9k cases per year, situated high up on the windward side of the mountain for very compact, flavorful grapes. We sampled a rose, a nobile, and a special limited blend, all of which were very unique. Most impressively, however, was talking with the wine maker himself to gain insight to their history. The pride in your product is one of the greatest parts of venturing past big manufacturers.

Second, we dined at one of my favorite restaurants of all time, Osteria la porta in Montechiello. A michelin star restaurant with stunning terrace views, impeccable wine list, and diversity on the menu featuring unique local specialties (including pigeon of course). They did not disappoint and we left in a food coma for the next jaunt to Montalcino.

I have been to several places in Montalcino, the haven for brunello, in the past. The town itself is on a steep hill with a church and very old cellar at the top, but there are small wineries dotted all over the higher portions of the countryside. We went to https://www.facebook.com/poggiorubino Poggio Rubino for our visit this time. The grounds here are gorgeous, and of course, the winery cats and one mildly ornery chihuahua are fabulous as well. We tried several red varietals here from their younger nobile to their 'special occasion' brunello. They also provided a lovely arrange of meat and cheese snacks.

This location offers several levels of tours and tasting on their website so if you don't have a driver, you can still go with a bit of planning.

Once we bid goodbye to our driver at the villa drop off, we decided to go for a stroll. The live music at Sting's place had started up again and we were determined to see someone crooning away to Country Roads at an al fresco pizzeria. From our villa, a 10-15 minute walk down nicely marked paths leads you to the oasis at il palagio. On a weekend, it is recommend you reserve via phone or their website, because locals in search of great pizza flock here for wine, food, and live music. https://www.il-palagio.com/

They also have horseback riding, villas, a recording studio, farmhouse, wine shop and tasting, classes, cooks, yoga, you name it. Fame and fortune did not keep them from keeping to tradition in many ways.

It's so funny to be as an aside. When we were on Santorini in Greece, every restaurant seemed to be playing Sting songs, most often from Summoner's Tales album (my favorite). The funny part is many of those songs never made prime time aside from Fields of Gold, right? Well, everywhere Sting has a house, the locals play his tunes. It was actually pretty surreal to hear one of my favorite albums in 2 gorgeous European locations.

Ok back to pizza. Get it. share it though, the pies are big. My pizza was a masterpiece of bresaola, arugula, lemon zest, olives, and cheese drizzled with basil olive oil. That with a 'message in a bottle' really finished off that night amazingly.