Brunello Wine Tasting and Cooking Class:

Overview

Roll up your sleeves for a hands-on Tuscan cooking class set in a historic castle and winery. After a guided tour of the estate, you’ll learn to make a full four-course meal - think abundant antipasti, fresh pasta, hearty mains, and a classic dessert - using seasonal local ingredients and age-old techniques. In the company of an expert chef, you’ll uncover the stories behind each dish and discover what makes Tuscan cuisine so timeless. After the lesson, sit down to enjoy your creations with a glass of Brunello in hand, surrounded by vineyards and history. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned cook, this is your chance to cook, taste, and toast like a true Tuscan.

Description

Cook Like a Tuscan in a Castle Kitchen

 

Step into a fairytale setting and learn to cook like a true Tuscan in the heart of wine country. This immersive experience unfolds at a historic castle estate in one of Tuscany’s most beautiful regions, surrounded by rolling hills and ancient vines. But while the castle is spectacular enough, we know what you’re really here for: food, wine and stories!

This unique experience offers up a joyful journey into the heart of Tuscan life, guided by chefs keen to share their passion for food, family, and tradition. From hand-rolling pasta to sipping Brunello in the vine-scented air, every moment invites you to experience - and taste - Tuscany at its most authentic.

 

A Castle Full of Stories

 

Before we tie on our aprons, we start with a guided tour of the castle and its winery, steeped in centuries of tradition.  You’ll get to wander through its time-worn halls, peek into oak-scented cellars, and discover this land’s enduring bond with wine.

The winery’s Brunello - crafted right here from Sangiovese Grosso grapes - is among Italy’s most prestigious. As we walk, you’ll begin to understand that everything here, from grape to grain, has a story.

 

Aprons On: A Hands-On Tuscan Cooking Class

 

With the castle behind us and the kitchen ahead, it’s time to roll up your sleeves. Under the expert guidance of our chefs, you’ll learn to prepare a full four-course meal from scratch - inspired by the kinds of dishes Tuscan families have passed down for generations. Because nonna always knows best!

The exact details of the dishes we’ll be cooking change depending on the season, but expect to learn how to make abundant antipasti - traditional Italian starters - as well as fresh pasta accompanied by mouth-watering sauces, followed by hearty main courses and local desserts.

Whether you're a kitchen novice or an experienced home cook, we’re sure that you’ll love the rhythm of Italian cooking - unhurried, generous, and full of joy.

 

Channel Your Inner Pasta Nonna

 

No Tuscan table is complete without pasta - and in this hands-on class, you’ll learn to make it just like nonna used to. Under the guidance of expert chefs, you’ll master the basics: mixing and kneading the dough, rolling it to the right thickness, and shaping it into traditional forms. 

Ever tried making pici, the thick hand-rolled noodles native to southern Tuscany? Or tagliatelle, whose ribbons cradle sauce with perfect ease? You’ll discover the stories behind each shape, the secrets to matching them with the right condiments, and the sensory joy of turning simple flour and eggs into something unforgettable. 

 

Discover the Stories Behind the Recipes

 

Whenever Italians come together over food - whether cooking it, eating it or both - it’s always about much more than just recipes. Food and culture are indelibly linked in the Bel Paese, and so this class is also a conversation about history and community. As you cook, your chef will share the stories behind each dish - how Tuscan peasants turned scraps into feasts, how seasonal rhythms shaped family meals, and how food remains at the center of Italian life. You'll come away with a handful of recipes, yes, but also a deeper sense of what it means to cook with soul.

 

Brunello: The King of Tuscan Reds

 

As the old saying goes, ‘a meal without wine is like a day without sunshine.’ Thankfully, that won’t be a problem here! During your meal, you’ll enjoy a guided tasting of three different Brunello di Montalcino wines from the estate’s own cellars. Few wines are as storied or revered as Brunello: the variety can only be made in a small area in and around Montalcino, and that geographic specificity confers on the wine its unique profile. Bold yet refined, structured yet sensual, perfectly-balanced Brunello is one of Italy’s greatest gifts to the wine world.

As you sip, you’ll learn what sets it apart: the slow aging - by law Brunello must be aged for a minimum of five years before going to market - the specific microclimate of Montalcino, and the richness of the Sangiovese grape. Expect aromas of sour cherry, leather, and dried herbs - complex, earthy notes that echo the beautiful landscape you’re sitting in. Paired with each course, these wines will elevate your homemade meal into a feast worthy of a Tuscan noble.