Additional services

Cook like an Italian Domestic Goddess

Nobody, but nobody, cooks with the full-on passion, love and determined sense of mission of an Italian nonna. Spend an afternoon or an evening with your very own Italian grandmother-for-a-day and learn a few secrets of Umbrian and Tuscan cuisine. There are no pre-programmed lessons: you select the menu to suit your cooking skills and lifestyle. For example, choose dishes requiring time and patience – like making pasta by hand (and I mean by hand, using a rolling pin only; no hand-cranked pasta machine here) and then shaping and filling it – or opt for traditional, but surprisingly simple and quick, Umbrian pasta sauces, roasts, or desserts.

Hunt for Wild Mushrooms

With Franco – a suave, charming Tuscan – as your guide, enjoy an afternoon in the fresh air hunting for mushrooms in the local forests.

Wine testing

Further your oenological education by tasting wines in the process of vinification. Winemakers will pull samples of the various varietals from the fermentation and holding tanks, offering you a taste of the must as it changes from early fermentation, aging, and blending to the final, bottled wine, and explaining what is happening at each stage. Can be done at one or more wineries, approximately 1-1/2 – 2 hours needed per winery. Can be combined with a lunch at the winery and/or a full, sit-down winetasting accompanied by local cheeses and other simple dishes. A Villa Gioianna exclusive.