Autumn in Tuscany
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2024: 1–11 November
2025: 31 October–10 November Availability: 2024: 3 places | 2025: 10 places Sign up for our newsletter to receive updates The scents of Tuscany are vivid in the autumn air. The sweet smell of roasting chestnuts, the acrid smoke of wood fires, the grassy aromas of new olive oil, the mouldy scent of wet leaves, the musky odour of truffles and the heady perfume of new wine in the cellar. Reawaken your sense of smell as you meet the farmers and producers enthusiastic to introduce you to their traditional food and wine. You stay on an olive oil estate, pick olives and visit olive presses. After your olive oil class with a professional taster, you’ll be on the way to becoming an expert. You’ll hunt for truffles, spend a day in the chestnut forests of the Pistoia Mountains and taste wine at some little-known vineyards in Chianti. It will be a season to remember. (Really small group: 8–10 people) Click on topics below for more information To request a booking form email [email protected] Sign up for our newsletter to receive updates |
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Itinerary at a glance Florence to San Miniato Day 1 — Pick up at Florence airport and welcome dinner Day 2 — Hunt for white truffles and truffle lunch at truffle hunter’s home, visit crocheted replica of Cerreto Guidi Day 3 — Olive oil tasting, white truffle fair, Brunelleschi castle & dinner at home of professional oil taster Day 4 — Vineyard visit and wine tasting in Chianti, dinner bistecca fiorentina San Miniato to Lucca Day 5 — Circle Pisan Mountains visiting a potter and the Certosa di Calci, lunch with an olive farmer & visit to his olive mill, dinner at Villa Buonvisi where we stay Day 6 — Guided tour of Lucca, lunch at gelateria, visit Tuscan cigar factory Day 7 – Pick olives, Italian worker's lunch, visit olive mill, learn to make watermarked paper, Tuscan cocktails & pizza for dinner Day 8 — Forage for edible wild plants, cooking lesson with wild plants and new olive oil, visit aqueduct, dinner at our villa Day 9 — Free time for shopping in Lucca, make olive oil gelato, dinner at rustic restaurant at a vineyard Day 10 — Chestnut day in the Pistoia mountains: chestnut drying hut and mill, chestnut lunch, private concert & farewell dinner at our villa Day 11 — Departure Highlights of tour Gastronomic experiences
Art, architecture, music & sightseeing
For more details, please click itinerary tab above To request a booking form email [email protected] |
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Florence to San Miniato Day 1: Friday Pick up at meeting point: Florence airport. One pick up to coincide as nearly as possible with everyone’s arrival times, but no later than 3 pm. Transfer to Hotel Miravalle, in the mediaeval town of San Miniato. Already the scents of autumn tickle your nose. Welcome dinner at hotel restaurant. Accommodation: Hotel Miravalle, San Miniato | Meals: dinner Day 2: Saturday Edible truffles can be found all year in Tuscany, but this is the season of the most prized of all: the white truffle. Some people claim the truffle is all scent and no taste. You’ll get to judge for yourself at your truffle-loaded lunch. First, we meet Riccardo and his truffle hound in a private truffle wood. He explains the life cycle of this curious underground fungus and how he trains his dogs, whose noses are better than the best of ours. Since this is a real truffle hunt, Riccardo hasn’t buried any ahead of time, and when the hound starts sniffing and digging frantically, you’ll experience the thrill and suspense of not knowing what the result will be. Will there be a truffle or is it a false alarm? Don’t worry about your lunch; Riccardo scours the truffle territory every weekend and has lots at home for our four-course lunch cooked by him and his wife. Elisabetta Sebastio, our olive oil expert, will be there for your first glimpse into the vast universe of olive oil. Light supper at Piccola Osteria del Tartufo. Accommodation: Hotel Miravalle, San Miniato | Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner Day 3: Sunday Prepare your nose and palette for our first serious lesson from Elisabetta in how to taste the juice of the olive. You're in for a surprise if you've never tasted new Tuscan oil. We visit a truffle fair where local truffle hunters and food producers are selling their products. Best of all is the stall of the local butcher who has enticing goodies to choose from to fill your lunchtime panino. Now we follow the banks of the Arno River to Vicopisano, a strategic point in Pisa’s defences against the Florentines. Unfortunately, it wasn’t good enough and in 1406 Pisa fell to the Florentines, who sent in their star architect-engineer Brunelleschi, architect of the dome of Florence’s cathedral, to design a new fortress. The theatrical Giovanni gives us a tour from the dungeons to the top of the tower. After stopping at the parish church to see a remarkable 12th-century altarpiece, we're off to Elisabetta's for a home-cooked meal. Accommodation: Hotel Miravalle, San Miniato | Meals: breakfast, dinner Day 4: Monday More nose-work today as we visit two vineyards in a little known area of Chianti. Lamole used to produce the top vintages of Chianti, but who has heard of it today? We visit a winemaker who believes he’s discovered the secret of its decline. A hint: he’s obsessed with dry-stone walling. At another vineyard we compare theories over lunch, each course paired with one of their wines. Dinner at a traditional restaurant at Cerreto Guidi whose speciality is bistecca fiorentina grilled over coals. Accommodation: Hotel Miravalle, San Miniato | Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner San Miniato to Lucca Day 5: Tuesday Today we set off to circle the Pisan Mountains. In fact, they’re not much more than a few high hills, but they successfully kept arch-enemies Pisa and Lucca apart for most of their history. Our first stop is at a potter, the only one remaining in a town that used to be chock full of them. Guido Nesti helps you get the hang of turning a pot on his wheel. On the Pisan side of the mountains we ascend a steep hill amid terraced olive groves for a tour of a private olive mill, lunch and an olive oil tasting with owner Francesco Elter, another professional taster. We can't leave this area without a tour of the Certosa di Calci, a former Carthusian monastery, paved in marble and dripping with gold leaf. Next door there's an opportunity for a quick visit to the Natural History Museum of Pisa University and it's spectacular whale gallery. Our destination is Villa Buonvisi on the olive estate Fattoria Mansi Bernardini. Traditional Lucca dinner at the villa. Accommodation: Villa Buonvisi, Segromigno in Monte (Lucca) | Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner Day 6: Wednesday It's time to give our noses and palettes a rest, and delight our eyes instead during a private tour of Lucca. With its renaissance walls, its churches, its towers, its amphitheatre and its human size, Lucca is a little gem. Lunch at the Cremeria Opera, where you get to taste the first-class gelato you'll learn to make on Saturday. Tobacco was an important crop in Tuscany from the 1400s until the 1960s and the sigaro toscano, a fermented cigar, is made at Lucca. Smoking should not be encouraged, but this piece of Tuscan social history is worth remembering. We have a private tour of the cigar factory, including watching the women who hand roll the deluxe cigars. Dinner at a seafood restaurant. Day 7: Thursday You've already learned a lot about the production of extra virgin olive oil after the olives have been picked. This morning Marcello and Leo Salom, owners of the organic olive estate where we're staying, allow us to help their workers pick the olives. You'll understand how much labour goes into getting olives from the tree to the mill. We have an Italian workers lunch in the village where the Salom's have their olives milled, and visit the village church whose secret is an early Leonardo sculpture. At the olive mill it's all hustle and bustle as private and commercial olive farmers bring their olives to be transformed into oil. What a heavenly smell of new season oil! We're just over the hill from Pescia where we're having a tour of the old paper mill and a hands-on paper making lesson. Time for a 100% Tuscan cocktail and pizza at Chiara Cantini's and Tommaso Cecchi de' Rossi's home. (Tommaso teaches on our Wine to Dye For tour, and you just might find a nice souvenir for yourself or a special friend in his leather handbag workshop.) Accommodation: Villa Buonvisi, Segromigno in Monte (Lucca) | Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner Day 8: Friday The terraced olive grove at Alle Camelie provides the ideal habitat for wild edible greens. Owner Claudio Orsi and chef Elena Pardini are expert foragers. They guide us to choose the right ones for our cooking lesson and lunch. In the farm’s kitchen, Elena shows us how to clean our herbs and teaches us some simple dishes which we make for our lunch. If it's open, we'll visit a traditional olive mill which still grinds the olives with with a stone and presses the oil out of the paste. Very picturesque, but does the modern mill produce better oil? After a short walk in Parco Nottolini to see the neoclassical canals and 'temples' which supply drinking water to the fountains of Lucca, we return to our villa for dinner cooked by agrichef Francesca Buonagurelli. Accommodation: Villa Buonvisi, Segromigno in Monte (Lucca) | Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner Day 9: Saturday Do you sometimes despair at the lack of fresh winter vegetables? See what Lucchese farmers grow at a farmers' market. Then walk down Borgo Giannotti, where you can still see remnants of a once thriving artisan quarter. Free time in Lucca for shopping and lunch. Olive oil gelato? I had the same doubts until I tasted it. See what you think after your gelato lesson with Mirko Tognetti of Cremeria Opera, one of the best gelaterie in Italy. Dinner at a crazy restaurant in a vineyard. Owner Antonio has perfected the traditional Lucchese dish of fried chicken and rabbit. Accommodation: Villa Buonvisi, Segromigno in Monte (Lucca) | Meals: breakfast, dinner Day 10: Sunday We spend today in the wild, rugged mountains of the Pistoia Mountains because it’s chestnut season. Dishes made from chestnut flour were the staple food of the mountains until very recently and the new flour is still eagerly awaited every autumn. We visit a chestnut-drying hut, where you are introduced to the mysteries of how chestnuts are turned into flour. Then on to a mountain paradise where the Pagliai family raise animals, make cheese and serve us a homemade lunch consisting of all the delicious dishes based on chestnut flour. We can’t stay near Lucca, birthplace of Puccini, without hearing his music. Baritone Mattia Campetti, his soprano wife Michelle Buscemi and their pianist Nicola Pardini enchant us with a pre-dinner concert at our villa. Accommodation: Villa Buonvisi, Segromigno in Monte (Lucca) | Meals: breakfast, dinner Day 11: Monday With noses by now finely tuned, you say farewell to your autumn adventure in Tuscany. After breakfast, transfer to Florence Airport. One transfer will be provided no earlier than 9.00 am (allow an hour to get to the airport). Lucca train station might be possible too. If you need to travel earlier, a taxi can be arranged at your own expense. For more details, please click itinerary tab above To request a booking form email [email protected] |
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Erica JarmanFollowing Heather’s careers as archaeologist, orchestra and artist manager and chef, she Italianised her name to Erica and came to Lucca to pursue her passion for traditional artisan food. Her tours, inspired by her infectious curiosity, open captivating new worlds to her guests.
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Fattoria Mansi Bernardini, Segromigno in Monte (Lucca) This olive estate was in the Bernardini family at least since the 1500s. The family enlarged the estate and in the 1800s bought the adjoining Villa Buonvisi, where we stay. In 1890 the last female heir married a Mansi, and in 1944 Laura Mansi married Leo Salom. We will be guests of their son Marcello and grandson Leo Salom surrounded by reminders of their ancestors. On-site swimming pool, wifi. |
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Price Per person: 3900 Euros Single supplement: none (single room included in fee) Deposit: €300 when you book Balance: due 8 weeks before tour starts Claim your 5% loyalty discount if you've booked a small group tour with us before. Includes Friendly knowledgeable English-speaking guide throughout your stay 10 nights welcoming, relaxing accommodation, en suite bathrooms Local ground transportation for 11 days (includes one group transfer between meeting point and accommodation and one return after the tour). Please check with us before you book your travel to make sure it fits the tour schedule. Transfers at times other than those provided for the group will be at your own expense. Daily continental breakfast, 8 lunches, 10 dinners Guided visits and workshops with artisans, cooking lessons, entrance fees Does not include Airfares Travel and cancellation insurance (compulsory) Wine and drinks other than those served with meals, additional meals Personal expenses Meeting point Arrival: Florence airport. One pick-up around 2.30 pm depending on the various arrival times of members of the group. If in doubt, check with us before booking your travel. If you are flying from outside Europe, we suggest you arrive a couple of days early to recover from jet lag so you can fully enjoy your time with us. We are happy to advise about where to stay and eat and what to do before and after your tour. Departure point One transfer to Florence airport will be provided no earlier than 9.00 am (allow an hour to get to the airport plus check in and boarding time). A transfer to Lucca train station might be possible too (allow 30 minutes). If you need to travel earlier, a taxi can be arranged at your own expense. Diet Most dietary requirements can be accommodated as long as you tell us in advance. There is a space on the Booking Form for this information. Please bear in mind that the tour focuses on the art of choosing, cooking and eating good food. If your diet is very restricted, you may not get full enjoyment from it. Physical fitness You must be fit enough to walk on steep cobbled streets and rough farm tracks. One day is not suitable for people with a fear of heights. Dress Informal. Jeans or smart trousers are acceptable everywhere. Raincoat/jacket advisable. Good walking shoes are required for farm visits and steep cobbled streets. Weather in August / September Weather is no longer average, but here’s what the statistics say: 6–15°C/43–59˚F, precipitation 122 mm/4.8 in The itinerary is subject to change if necessary due to weather or agricultural conditions or other events outside our control. To request a booking form email [email protected] |
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Loved loved loved the trip! It was an amazing trip to places we would never have gone to on our own or with other travel companies. Your company is a “jewel” Erica! Thanks again!
Liz & Mark Shireff, Canada, Autumn in Tuscany, November 2023
I enjoyed every moment and every aspect of both tours I took with you! The farmers, artisans, were so kind and enthusiastic and so willing to share their homes and their knowledge with us. We feel very privileged to have spent time with these very talented people in such beautiful settings. You are amazing to have created such extraordinary tours in the small towns and villages in Tuscany (and Sardinia). The fact that you keep the tour groups small is a huge bonus. Participants are able to get close and personal with the farmers and artisans. We see the special bonds you have built over the years with these farmers and artisans that, now, you call them friends.
Ying Mark & Andy Warkentin, Canada, Autumn in Tuscany, November 2023
Sapori e Saperi tours are not like any other tours! We enjoyed the opportunity for in depth learning and appreciation of the unique foods of Italy. We met local farmers, vintners, gelato producers and so much more! We experienced amazing restaurants off the beaten path! We fell in love with the history, people, and beauty of Tuscany. Thank you Erica for a once in a lifetime experience!
Susan & Craig Armstrong, Canada, Autumn in Tuscany, November 2023
The Autumn in Tuscany tour was truly an adventure. It was thoughtfully curated by Erica who introduced us to her friends … authentic Tuscan artists, artisans, chefs and farmers who generously shared their passions with us. She helped us appreciate the great food, wine and history of the region she truly loves. From tasting olive oils to enjoying dinner at an exquisite steak house, every day was an adventure. Her assistant Simone was a treat to have on the tour too. His good nature and personal stories of life in Tuscany made it even more personal .
A trip to remember !
Orrin Morishita, Canada, Autumn in Tuscany, November 2023
This is my fifth trip to Italy but I was amazed by how much more I learned on this curated tour. Erica’s passion for sharing the culture and foods of the Tuscany area was evidenced by the experts and regular folks that Erica brought in who work and live in the area. These people included award winning olive oil and wine producers, to local restauranteurs, to farmers of chestnut farms. We ate at high end restaurants and at the homes of local folks. We tried our hand at picking olives, tasting olive oil with a pro, and were treated to an evening of opera at our 16th C villa. What an experience. PS… I definitely failed at olive oil tasting.
Judia Pelech, Canada, Autumn in Tuscany, November 2023
I will never taste wine, olive oil and gelato without knowing what perfection there is in artisan production. I came on this tour totally ignorant of the theme. I depart with such a rich amount of knowledge and wonderful experiences.
Barbara Hughes, USA, Autumn in Tuscany, November 2016
These past ten days have just flown by. From truffle hunting with that delightful dog, to tasting olive oils and watching chestnuts roasting, it has all been wonderful, enlightening and especially delicious.
Wendy Newman, Canada, Autumn in Tuscany, November 2016
Thank you, Erica, for not only letting us ‘peek behind the curtain’, but allowing us to walk through and personally meet the artisan wizards! You took us on the path less travelled while we intimately observed what truly makes Italy—its food and its people—so wonderful.
Natalie Herman, Canada, Autumn in Tuscany, November 2016
This tour has delivered everything it promised! We have seen and tasted everything I wanted to see and do and taste. Thank you for showing us these glimpses of rural and artisanal Italy. Thank you for your attention to detail. Thank you!
Sally & Wilfrid Mennell, Canada, Autumn in Tuscany, November 2016
We had the most wonderful time on our tour. I knew I would enjoy myself but I was blown away by how much Bryan enjoyed himself. I have not seen him so relaxed. We all got on so well and loved all the things we did and saw. Just wanted to say thank you for organising such a great tour. I would recommend it to anyone.
Kaye & Bryan Dillon, Australia, October 2010, Truffles, Olive Oil & Chestnuts
We had so much opportunity to learn, not just by observing the producers, but by cooking, tasting and eating and, of course, being involved in all aspects of olive oil production. It was just brilliant to be able to pick, process and bottle our own oil.
Fiona Richmond, UK, November 2005, Olive Oil, Chestnuts & Polenta
Your tour was the highlight of our seven-week absence from home. There were so many highlights that it is difficult to single out one experience above another, but I must say that the contact with the olive trees was very special. Above all it was your preparation and organisation and great communication with us all that will remain with me forever.
Gillian & Max Poole, Australia, October 2008, Slow Food Tour to Lucca & Salone del Gusto
The pleasure hasn’t waned and I have already prepared food differently and made a big veg soup, bruschetta with OUR oil and the mondiola. Went to my local Sainsbury’s last evening and was totally depressed at the range and quality of the veg … My life won’t return to exactly where it was before the trip, truly: I shall experience greater satisfaction and greater frustration!
Elizabeth Hartley-Brewer, UK, November 2005, Olive Oil, Chestnuts & Polenta
When people ask what I liked best, I must say that I rave about our trip with you — it was excellent and a real contrast with all the big city tours we did.
Neroli Blakeman, Australia, October 2011, Truffles, Olive Oil & Chestnuts
This is the most relaxing vacation we have ever taken. We even forgot what day it is! What a varied number of experiences. Heather has shown us an Italy we could never have seen on our own.
Bryan & Victoria Poppe, USA, September 2012, Autumn Harvest
Thank you so much for having created such a memorable and unique travel experience. There were so many highlights in this tour, it’s difficult to say which my favourite was. I feel I have seen sides of Tuscany which I would never have discovered if I was travelling by myself. Your local knowledge and connections to the community has made the whole experience much more authentic.
YL, Canada, October 2012, Truffles, Olive Oil & Chestnuts
