Cooking & Wine Tasting in Tuscany - Booking for 2020!!

We chose the amazing villa for a group 40th birthday celebration. We had a group of 15 and it was absolutely perfect, the villa is beyond expectation! The location was central to many cities that we visited, we were close enough to drive to Siena, Montepulciano and to the train station to Florence. On our last evening, we had a cooking class with Bea and enjoyed the most amazingly delicious dinner afterwards! If you are thinking of booking the villa, do not hestitate, book immediately, you won't regret it!!

This villa and the host, Linda Pappas is an experience you will never forget! We have been twice to this Villa and it is the only way to see Tuscany. The Villa is spacious, perfect for a large family or friends get together as each unit has its own kitchen, bathrooms, etc. It is in a perfect location to make day trips all over Tuscany and a short train ride away from all of the major cities. Very secluded, quiet and breathtaking views. Exceptional service and unique planned activities every other day like private wine tasting, a trip to Deruta to see how the beautiful pottery is made and pasta making at the Villa by a fabulous Chef-- but you actually roll the pasta and make the sauce!

This trip is a must if you want a relaxing, memory filled week.

The Villa is beautiful. Just right for our group of 10. Bea our host was so helpful in making arrangements to visit the small towns in the area. Make sure you visit Massimo, Sonja and their dog Red at the Tuscan Soul Vineyard.

Bea is a great cook.

If you have a large group Villa Chieteno is a perfect place to stay in Tuscany.

We were a group of 18 family members from 18 to 70 during late June . We used all 10 bedrooms. What makes this villa so special

1. Location! So close to so many things in Tuscany—Assisi, Montepulciano, Monteciano, Pienza, Sienna, Civita di Bagnoregio, Cetona, Chiusi, Citta della Pieve, and much more. This is wine country, sunflower country and olive tree country—so beautiful. Cars are mandatory. 15 minutes from the A1 expressway

2. Total Privacy—never saw another person within a mile of the villa

3. The incredibly large swimming pool with wonderful pool furniture

4. The immense size of the villa with 5 private apartments with separate living areas and kitchens. In addition, the common living room, dining room and kitchen were very large and provided a wonderful area for the group congregating

5. The beautiful patio with 20 person dining table overlooking the Tuscany countryside—we ate 4 meals here--two of the meals were prepared by Bea and were delicious.

6. Linda, our contact point for the villa was so helpful along every step of planning our trip and giving us great recommendations on wineries to visit, arranging transportation, restaurants and, grocery stores

7. Villa provided a pay as you go initial stock of 40 bottles of excellent wine (average 7 euros/bottle) and 40 bottle of water.

Recommendations of what to do

1. Ravazzi Winery tour and store 15 min. away--great wine tasting in the middle of their beautiful vineyard and incredibly low prices (4 euros great Rose)

2. Avignonesi Winery Tour with lunch.Absolutely fabulous tour and lunch with wine pairings.

3. Castello di Fighine Michelin 1 Star Restaurant 20 min. away on a remote hilltop town. One of our best meals ever had 7 course tasting with great wine

4. Sensory Spa in Terme Di Chianciano about 25 min. away. 20 station amazing spa, massages available and great place for lunch

5. Cetona Centrum—lots of good shops and restaurants—7 min.away

6. Rick Steves Monteciano Drive—most gorgeous drive of wine country in Tuscany. Make an appt at a winery

7. Civita di Bagnoregio. What an amazing ancient city on a remote hilltop

8 Assisi. Great city and monastery to St Francis

Caution: Villa (especially 1st floor) can be very warm in hot weather (93 degrees plus). Insist on fans for every bedroom. Leave all windows and outside doors to bedrooms open. That will equal comfort.

We had such a lovely week at your villa with our college friends in 2015, that we decided to return with our parents and our six siblings and their spouses this year! It was the perfect setup for our large group, with private bedrooms and bathrooms for each couple. Our 83-year-old parents avoided steps by residing in the main-level one-bedroom suite.....the perfect setup for them. We scattered each day to explore the hill towns and vineyards, and had the luxury of coming home each evening to hang out by the pool, followed by wine on the patio and delicious home-cooked meals by Bea....the perfect combination of family time and quiet time! We can't wait to return! Thank you for the second annual trip of a lifetime!