Have you got just a half-day free while visiting Tuscany? Are you looking for a short fun activity that involves wines and cooking? This is the tour for you:
A 4-hour program at a panoramic winery in the area of San Miniato for foodies who want to taste excellent wines and enjoy a hands-on class on how to make fresh pasta, like tagliatelle. It is fun and great wine & food in a short time! Full lunch served included.
Making wine is always a challenge, especially if you try to put on the market a product you are the first one to make. This is the case of this special family-run winery in San Miniato, where the brothers Federico and Fabio produce wines that are very peculiar.
You are welcome to walk in the vineyards together with them and learn about their ideas and philosophy in wine making. You will discover how they produce some outstandingsingle-varietal wines in their little winery in the middle of the countryside by San Miniato, a location with a great view on the valley. They make not only 100% sangiovese, but also 100% ciliegiolo, 100% colorino and… 100% trebbiano. Also, they produce some innovative sparkling wines and some other young reds and whites, not to mention the superb dessert wine!
Making pasta by hand from scratch
Our adventure goes on with a very entertaining hands-on pasta making class in the kitchen of the farmhouse. Mamma Concetta is also going to open her kitchen for you. You will wear an apron, which will be your souvenir, and you will learn how to make fresh pasta, like tagliatelle, starting from eggs and flour. You will experience how to use a rolling pin and how to stretch a perfect dough to the ideal thinness. Lastly, you will cut your pasta and get ready for a great lunch.
Lunch in a panoramic room in the vineyards and wine tasting
The activity culminates in a really panoramic dining room surrounded by vineyards, where a full meal is served. Your fresh pasta will be served for your lunch, along with other local specialties perfectly matching the 5 wines.
This exclusive winery not only offers a tasting of 5 exceptional wines but also invites you to be a part of the culinary process, creating a unique connection between the flavors of their wines and the art of pasta making. It’s a journey through the senses, celebrating the passion and dedication that define this special winery in the heart of San Miniato wine valley.
A great day with lots of emotions and incredible wines and food!
This is a list of specialties that you are likely to sample as part of the program of this tour. Please, note that the specialties of the tasting session and/or lunch may vary according to the season and the availability of the products in the day of the tour.
Focaccia is a typical flat bread which is like the base of a pizza with no topping. Usually it is added with olive oil and rosemary and it is served with cold meats and cheese.
The best extra virgin olive oil is made with fresh Tuscan olives immediately squeezed after the harvest at an oil mill. The most common olives for Tuscan olive oil are frantoio, leccino, frantoio and madremignola.
The Tuscan soil provides a wide variety of red wines, from easy-to-drink young table wines to full-body and robust riservas. Tuscan red wines are often based on Sangiovese, Canaiolo, Ciliegiolo or Colorino grapes and sometimes on international grapes like Merlot, Cabernet or Syrah.
Tuscan white wines are often based on a typical grape called Vermentino, which provides strong minerality and freshness to the wines made with it. Other very common grapes for white wines in Tuscany are Trebbiano and Malvasia.
Cantuccini biscuits in Tuscany are one of the most common desserts. They are made of sugar, butter and eggs and they are refined with almonds. In some versions they have other nuts or chocolate.
In our tour we like showing you places off the beaten track and introducing you to Tuscan people with their personal stories, careers and characters.
You will have one of our guides with your party during the whole tour. Please, see below all the guides who can be with you.
During this experience you can also meet some of the Tuscan friends involved in the events. Please, see below which friends you are likely to encounter.
Massimo
guide
Massimo
Co-founder and owner at Arianna & Friends'
Ciao a tutti! It’s Massimo here.
I’m the “first one” of the friends of Arianna in order of appearance, as we first met me when we were… ehm … at the high school! Well, the first “activities” we arranged together were those many teenagers do, like going to rock concerts (long live Metallica!), barbecuing, drinking inexpensive wine, mainly with no understanding of it.
In over 25 years we became more serious adults; so serious that we finished university together and we then decided to start a business from scratch, back in 2007, in an area where nothing like this existed before.
I am a natural born teacher, as I’ve always liked sharing knowledge on the beauties of the world with other people. When I started sharing the wisdom of the local cuisine with visitors to Tuscany or showing them the rooted traditions behind a wheel of local pecorino cheese, I realized how fantastic my job is. In fact I discovered that being a wine & food guide is a sophisticated way of being a good teacher, so I can’t help but love it!
In the A&F team I’m the multi-language guide or assistant in all activities we offer, from cooking classes, to wine & food tours, from Italian language classes to vespa tours. In the low season I deal with the website development and content management.
As I am very curious, I spend all my free time travelling all over the world and of course going on learning as much as I can: over the last few years I took part in several seminaries on extra virgin olive oil, I started a three-year course to become a sommelier, I experienced a professional training to become gelato maker and I decided to never give up in learning the Arabic language.
Stay connected as we will soon come up with some new great ideas for your entertainment and enjoyment of our beautiful region!
Ci vediamo in Toscana!
Arianna
guide
Arianna
Founder and owner at Arianna & Friends'
And that's me, Arianna. When I was a student at the univeristy together with Massimo, we had a dream. We knew already we wanted somehow to spread our culture, but we didn't know in which ways yet. And we knew we needed to first get more educated ourselves, to go deeper in what for us belonged to our everyday life, before making it avaiable to the others. We made a lot of researches, made many contacts, and we finally found a good way to become ambassadors of the Tuscan culture, taditions and lifestyle.
Yes, I admit it, the power that moved everything was my passion for food! For good food, and in particular for the good food of my mamma and my nonna, hehehh! It was learning from them that I started thinking that I couldn't miss the opportunity to share all I knew with others. It couldn't be different because here where we live, food IS culture!
And so we made up a name for our project, our future business, that had to give this message: spend time with us, your Tuscan friends and you'll feel like in a family and you'll experience Tuscany in a very authentic way. So the name Arianna & Friends was picked as the best choice.
Personally, I love planning, making people happy, organizing, having crazy ideas .. so crazy that sometimes Massimo needs to bring me down to earth! I like making sure that people are more than satisfied when they come back home.
I'm lucky to have Massimo, Consuelo, Moira, Luca with me along with all the other "boys and girls" that help us providing excellent services, all of us, always with a big smile on our faces :)
Luca
guide
Luca
Tour leader and sales manager at Arianna & Friends'
Ciao Amici!! My name is Luca. I'm in my 40s and I'm for sure the craziest guide at Arianna & Friends
As all my other colleagues, I am a multi task personality in the company. I take care of bookings, I am one the content managers of our websites and I'm a tour leader.
When in season, I lead almost all types of tours and cooking classes at Arianna & Friends'. My favourite ones are the truffle, olive oil and vespa tours. Riding a vespa through our wonderful hills is a must to do while in Tuscany... of course only if you know how to ride a scooter!
When I started working for Arianna & Friends, back in 2011, I was only able to prepare a very simple "pasta al pomodoro" (pasta with tomato sauce). Now, after more than 10 years of cooking classes and thanks to our wonderful cooks, I am a very good chef (but please, don't tell it to my wife!).
My motto is "smile you are in Tuscany". I'm happy and very proud when I see people enjoying my country and having fun in Tuscany.
Join us! Join me! Let's have fun togheter!!
Davide
guide
Davide
Hello everybody! My name is Davide, the youngest one in the team of Arianna & Friends. I joined the company in 2022, when my aunt Ester, one of the chefs in the team, introduced me to Arianna & Massimo. I am a wonderful talker and I really enjoy entertaining our guests during cooking classes and foodie tours. I also deal with bookings related to Teatro del Silenzio. Being from Lajatico, I am really happy to arrange holidays to people who will visit my hometown.
I am a very ironic person who likes making life enjoyable, something that my colleagues really appreciate on a daily base. I really hope I can meet many people from all over the world thanks to my job. Ciao ciao!
Anna
friend
Anna
Buongiorno a tutti! My name is Anna from San Miniato, a historical town in Tuscany famous also for its delicious white truffles. I met Arianna and Massimo in the early 2000s, when we were all working at a local agriturismo: I was at the reception while they were starting their career as event organizers and food tour operators. As their company was expanding we had several occasions for cooperating until I finally joined the team more stably in 2022. I now deal with accountancy and coordination of all the chefs for the many services a day that we arrange. I spend most of my free time at sea as I now live in Livorno, a beautiful harbor town.
Carlo
friend
Carlo
Mi chiamo Carlo, the only "boy" among the chefs of Arianna & Friends. I am a cousin of Lorena, who has worked with the company for long now and who introduced me to them back in 2022. I live in Pontedera, home of Vespa, and I have been cooking all my life, since preparing delicious food has always been my great passion. In my working age I was an operator for an insurance company, so I know plenty of local people and I am very friendly and talkative. I then retired and decided to dedicate myself to the things I like the most: cooking and joining friends. I have limited Enlish but miraculously all our guests can easily understand me through my body language and face expressions. I will be waiting for you for great barbecue dinners and traditional dishes of all kinds!
Elisabetta
friend
Elisabetta
Hi everybody, ciao a tutti. I am Elisabetta and I am the youngest one among the chefs of Arianna & Friends. I have been working with the company for several years, initially just as a sous-chef and eventually as a proper chef. I have accumulated many years of experience while learning from all my other colleague chefs, but I also added my personal taste and knowledge to the whole. I am really happy to be part of this team and to be able to meet people from all over the world. In my free time I enjoy the company of my lovely puppy for long walks or just hanging around for shopping. Ciao a presto!
Silvia
friend
Silvia
Ciao, I'm Silvia, one of the youngest cooks at Arianna & Friends'. Cooking is my real passion and I like to prepare any traditional dish both for visitors and for my family. I also love baking pizza as well as trying innovative food and special contemporary techniques, especially in my kitchen at home. When I started working for this company in 2018, I met an incredible team of collaborators and with them I finally feel joy and serenity in what I do. Any time I work as a cook I can breath freedom and this makes me happy.
As I really love the sea, in my free time I like being at the beach. I have a passion for travelling and being in the company of my friends. I could define myself as a "free spirit" with a big attraction to ... hats !!!
Looking forward to meet you all!
Ester
friend
Ester
Ciao, I'm Ester, one of the cooks of Arianna & Friends'. I've been working with them since the beginning of their adventure in 2007.
I love cooking together with people from all over the world, especailly with young kids.
What I prefer to cook is pasta dishes, pizza and desserts, like for example the stunning cake I made to celebrate my 50th wedding anniversary.
I live, like Davide (my nephew), in the little village of Lajatico, birthplace of Andrea Bocelli and from my home I can hear his voice and see something when Teatro del Silenzio takes place in July.
I live in a farm and I have chickens, rabbits, a large vegetable garden. I make my own olive oil and wine together with my family.
I hope to be able to cook with many of you in the years to come and teach you a lot of our typical Tuscan food.
LOCATION OF ATTRACTIONS:
This tour takes place in the area of San Miniato, in central Tuscany, a rural region right between Pisa and Florence.
MEET-UP LOCATION:
Unless differently specified, the tour guide meets you at a meeting point in or near San Miniato.
DURATION:
This program takes 4 hours (transportation not included).
AVAILABILITY:
Available all the year through, from Mondays through Saturdays.
LANGUAGE:
This tour is available in English language. German, French, Spanish, Russian or Italian are also available with no surcharge.
DIFFICULTY LEVEL:
Easy
CHILD FRIENDLY:
Ideal for children
CLOTHING:
Comfortable shoes recommended.
FOOD RESTRICTIONS:
The foods served during this tour might contain gluten, lactose, nuts and alcohol. If you have any food restriction, please inform our personnel during the enquiry process.
TRANSPORTATION:
This program and its rates do not include transportation and are set on a self-driving base. For further information see the box "transportation options".
The destinations reached during this activity are in the Tuscan countryside, in areas off the beaten track that cannot be reached by public transport. We highly recommend renting a car or a scooter in order to reach them. As an alternative, we can offer a valued service by chauffeured car, van or minibus. Any cost of transportation is to be added to the rates displayed on the rate table of this page.
A half day tour dedicated to two of the most important products of Tuscany: wine and pasta. Visit to a family-run winery in the San Miniato district with wine tasting and fresh pasta making class!
A half day tour dedicated to two of the most important products of Tuscany: wine and pasta. Visit to a family-run winery in the San Miniato district with wine tasting and fresh pasta making class!
A half day tour dedicated to two of the most important products of Tuscany: wine and pasta. Visit to a family-run winery in the San Miniato district with wine tasting and fresh pasta making class!
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