Tuscan Organic Tours

01/01/2025

Formerly known as Pecorino delle Crete, Pecorino di Pienza is now one of the most famous and renowned Italian cheeses. Already back in Etruscan and Roman times, different cheese making techniques were used and many of the original recipes have been handed down to the present day. Aged in oak barrels, or in natural substances like grains of wheat, ash, walnut leaves, black pepper, chilli pepper or straw, the cheeses take on a sweet and slightly bitter flavour at the same time.

23/12/2024

Traditionally, Tuscany has always been a farming region. Its history and traditions have been founded upon an agricultural economy, known as mezzadria (sharecropping). The farm workers worked the fields that belonged to various landowners, and then shared their entire crop with them, fifty-fifty. The workers did not receive a salary, so farms were forced to be self-sufficient. They grew different varieties of vegetables, legumes, fruits and grains, and bred many types of animals to feed the working families. Within the farms, each worker had specific tasks.

The farmers also often had to carry out construction and maintenance work. They had to keep the farm buildings in good condition, repair old farm tools and make new ones, make and restore furniture and so on and so forth. Men, women and children developed skills and knowledge that made them true artists of the earth.

13/12/2024

There are many theories to explain the origin of the name Vin Santo (holy wine). One of the most likely refers to the fact that the grapes were traditionally pressed and fermented during Holy Week. Other theories refer to the common use of the wine for religious purposes; others again link the word “santo” to “Xanto” in reference to the wine produced on the Greek island of Santorini.

Healthy, ripe grapes are picked and left to dry (appassimento) on racks or straw mats in specific well-aerated rooms such as lofts. Sometimes grapes are left to dry by hanging from rafters. The ensuing desiccation results in concentrated sugars. The duration of the appassimento process may vary according to the style (i.e. sweetness level required) and/or DOC rules. Usually grapes are left to dry at least until December but can go as late as March.

Once the grapes have reached the desired sugar level, they are pressed. The dense, sugary must is then placed into old barrels known as caratelli where a slow fermentation and long maturation will take place. The caratelli vary in size, although 50 litres is the most common size. They are made of chestnut, oak, acacia, juniper or cherry and they are typically only filled to 4/5’s of their total volume.

The caratelli are traditionally located in non-temperature controlled storage rooms or lofts called vinsantaie where they are subjected to seasonal temperature fluctuations.

12/12/2024

10/12/2024

Olive groves strongly mark the landscapes of the countries looking out onto the Mediterranean. The olive tree has been considered sacred by all civilizations that have existed in this area over the millennia.

19/04/2024

Di quella volta in cui siamo finiti sul New York Times per la nostra proverbiale sobrietà.

About that time we ended up in the New York Times for our proverbial sobriety.

Mocktail trails, olive oil tours and elevated dining experiences are among the many ways the renowned wine-producing areas of Sonoma, Mendoza and Tuscany are appealing to sober or sober-curious travelers.

21/03/2024

Tuscan Organic Tours offers customizable, private food and wine tours for your holiday in Tuscany. Since we are located in Tuscany, it goes without saying that many of our tours have wine as their pivotal point. But our area offers so much more!

19/03/2024

Although the coastal lands in Tuscany were one of the first areas in Italy to produce wines, farmers there gradually lost their interest in winemaking. The autochthonous grapes, probably not transformed with enough knowledge, made wines whose quality could not compare to the wines made in other areas of Tuscany. Yet, thanks to one man’s hunch, in the 1980s this land rediscovered its winemaking roots, and spectacularly so.

18/03/2024

The goal: to grow strong and sturdy vines so that the grapes brought to the wine cellar are healthy and unblemished. The result: Brunello di Montalcino wine, the highest expression of our region’s most characteristic varietal, Sangiovese.

17/03/2024

Spring is coming…

16/03/2024

Brunello di Montalcino is produced purely from Sangiovese grapes, and is one of the most renowned Italian wines in the world, loved for the elegance of its body and the harmony of its aromas. The traditional, artisanal agricultural methods used to make it follow natural rhythms and use gentle processes. They respect the soil and the vines, enhancing the characteristics of the terroir and the grapes, but not changing the unique sensory qualities of the wine.