Enogastronomy and tastes of Tuscany : culinary vacation, cooking classes, wine & oil tours, special tastings

Tourisme linked with nature and art

The wine and oil tour of Lucca and Montecarlo is a journey on the discovery of A.O.C. wines, AOC "LUCCA" oils, as well as natural pathways with historical sides of incomparable beauty dating from the 16th and 19th centuries, unique scenaries of richful rural tradition, and hills surrounded with olive trees and centenary wineyards.

Over sixty touristic shops including farm shops, ecological accomodation facilities, restaurants and handicraft shops will offer you typical products of the local culture and handicraft industry. You may decide to taste wine or go shopping or overnight a few days in one of the holidays farms.

Some artists take inspiration from the beauty of the area and spend their vacation here to paint or sculpture.

Wine tour in Lucca and Montecarlo:
A place where the art and nature create a rare harmony

Montecarlo is a mediaeval little town with a castle, a splendid scenary on the top of the Lucca. For many years the area has been strongly linked with the tradition of wine and olive oil.

Good weather and sun exposure have contributed to developing a strong wine and oil production, characterized with high sugar content and strong fragnances. If you like wine you won't forget the area and its delicious products. Also amateurs/lovers of olive oil will appreciate the local oil that bears a label of protected origin and is characterized with a fine balance between sweet and aromatic tastes. This makes it the perfect product.

Wine
Wine grapes raised in Montecarlo is a mix of Italian and French grapes, of a local Trebbiano with varieties imported in the 19th century from the French regions of Bordeaux, Burgundy and Rhone.
During the last 15 years, wines from Montecarlo are won prizes of excellence in the main international wine guides and they are appreciated in best wine shops and restaurants as the "Circus" in Manhattan. DOC wines from Lucca are red : Sangiovese, Merlot and white : Vermentino, Sauvignon, Vin Santo.

Extra virgin Olive oil
From the Middle Age, Lucca was famous for the production of olive oil. Already in 19th century it was a famous oil for its delicacy of taste. It enjoyed remarkable reputation overseas. Since 1999-2000 it has used the label referring to the protected geographical area : IPG "Toscano". The oil lovers will surely appreciate this oil with its protected label of origin, characterized with a perfect balance between sweet and bitter tastes.

History of wine in Montecarlo

Wines from Lucca and Montecarlo hills have a tradition from Roman time and Middle Age. Already before Romans the hills in Lucchesia were farmed by Etrurians.

During 15th and 16th centuries the white wine of Montecarlo was sold on the Florence market at the highest price. It played an important part in the Court of Medicis family and then in the Pope's dining rooms. In 1408 the Pope Gregory XII was so seduced by this tasty wine that he never part company from it. He even instructed the use of that wine at the dining rooms of the Pontificate.

The Montecarlo white wine was used at the royal wedding of the Prince Umberto di Savoia in 1930 in Rome. In this period it won many prizes in Italy and abroad. It was famously knowm as "Chablis of Montecarlo".