Cooking class, wine and olive oil tasting in Montecarlo

An experience for those who want to get the most out of their time in Tuscany, a land dotted with hundreds of small wineries in a beautiful region. This activity begins when you meet your private tour guide who will lead the tour for the whole day.

After a short introduction to the area of Montecarlo and its excellent wine and olive oil productions, you will get to a small family-run winery that produces around 40,000 bottles per year. 

At the beginning of the visit, a sommelier from the winery gives a brief introduction to the wine-making methods of the Montecarlo DOC, a small appellation in the center of the region with excellent traditional white and red wines. In good weather, you can stroll through the vineyard; otherwise, you can see all the grape varieties grown in an easily accessible educational area. 

The experience continues with a tour of the winery and an explanation of all the winemaking techniques. From steel tanks to French oak barrels, all the production methods used for the entire range of the winery’s wines are presented in detail: there will be plenty of time for your questions and curiosities! 

Afterwards, you will be taken to a beautiful tasting room, or in summer to the garden, to begin tasting the first of 5 different wines produced by the winery. After the first wine, a cooking class begins, following the instructions of an expert chef.

You will prepare a type of fresh pasta and an accompanying sauce with seasonal ingredients, a type of bruschetta and croutons with sausage and mozzarella, and finally a dessert. As an alternative to fresh pasta, you can bake pizza and focaccia in the facility’s wood-fired oven.

All preparations are based on extra virgin olive oil produced on the farm. The experience includes lunch featuring all the dishes prepared, accompanied by the other wines from the tasting. After lunch you will follow your guide to Montecarlo for a short walk in town, in which you can admire lovely views and a very warm atmosphere in the streets of the town. 

The second part of the day is dedicated to extra virgin olive oil. You will visit the most important oil mill in town, right in the middle of a stunning olive grove with fascinating old olive trees. Your guide will tell you a lot about the techniques for cultivating olive trees and you can see olives growing on the plant. You will also enjoy a visit to a very modern oil mill, where you will fully understand what makes an oil “extra virgin”. 

Finally, you will taste some delicious locally produced oils and learn all the secrets for a proper sampling of them. Some bread will be served to enjoy the oils.