Autumn is that season, where you imagine yourself sipping a glass of wine in front of a lit fireplace, or dining in a barrel and sleeping among the vineyards that are tinged with the warm colors of yellows, oranges and reds. The soul gives way to slowness, the days begin to shorten and the desire for more intimate, more whispered experiences, where you can let yourself be enveloped, knocks on the door.
From the Langhe to Salento, there are many territories and winemakers who have been able to combine the agricultural world with that of hospitality, giving the passionate or simply curious traveler the opportunity to experience the wine experience up close in its various forms. A small selection of 5 addresses to discover and put on your agenda, to treat yourself to moments full of tangible emotions following your own style, choosing between a picnic, a yoga class, an art path, a dip in an infinity pool, a tasting in a barrel cellar signed by an archistar such as Renzo Piano or a dinner in a barrel, where the rows of vineyards, often of native grapes, are the setting.
Rocca di FrassinelloSouth of the Maremma, in that less known part of Tuscany, a few kilometers from the sea and the beautiful Castiglione della Pescaia, you can live an experience among vineyards, cellar, wine and hospitality within the structure designed by architect Renzo Piano . You reach Rocca di Frassinello along the dirt roads that characterize the rural areas of this region, letting yourself be carried away by the scent of eucalyptus trees and that of must. Enveloped by the silence of the vineyards, the woods, the scent of saltiness that brings the sea not far from here, you can wake up by opening one of the green doors of the 4 design suites of Rocca di Frassinello on this natural scenery of great emotional strength. Nature and man, functionality and beauty, innovation of tradition and respect for the past, words that here seem to be transformed into an inseparable pair of dancers. This is the signature of the great architect Renzo Piano. A work of architecture with an almost immediate interpretation from the point of view of materials and colors: green like the more than 500 hectares of vegetation that surround Rocca di Frassinello, brick red like earth, gray like steel and concrete, external elements born from the hand of man. Being here in the middle of the harvest accentuates the feeling of sacredness of the place. The large square is not only a terrace overlooking the landscape, or a “flying carpet” as defined by the architect himself, but it is also the site of the wine production process. It is right here through the hatches that open when needed, the hand-picked grapes are gently de-stemmed, the berries gently crushed and sent to the aging containers below. Thus begins a process that has revolutionized the production model that takes into account energy efficiency, and which will end in a glass of wine: from the freshest and youngest like Vermentino to the most important like Baffo Nero, produced in a limited edition. n the heart of the earth, however, the most precious gem is kept: the barrel cellar. The space for the aging of the wines in barrique has been designed as a square-plan amphitheater within which, in addition to resting the wines, events and concerts are held on special occasions. The wow factor is finally contained in the small adjacent museum with the various Etruscan finds that help to understand the link between the role and consumption of wine in the society of the time, which has its roots 2,500 years ago.La RipolinaDreams and courage. In this corner of Italy La Ripolina is a special place, a synthesis of a female story of the Cresti family and which, if you want to summarize it, could be enclosed in these two words. The farmhouse with a small cellar is surrounded by the beauty of the landscape of the Crete Senesi and Val d’Orcia. This is the perfect place for those traveling who also love to hear stories from which to be inspired, such as that of Laura, Margherita and Camilla who with great determination recovered this ancient farm six years ago, planting the first Sangiovese plants, pruning the vineyards in the cold mornings in January, developing ideas to find the most representative label for the future wine. Several farmhouses scattered around the property, expertly restored, have become welcoming apartments where to stay but also a restaurant with an adjoining cellar. Among the experiences not to be missed is dinner in an old barrel expertly recovered inside which to sip a glass of Il Ripolino, the first wine produced here, signed by the very young Camilla Borgogni, or stay overnight in the ancient medieval parish church. Then breakfast, on the natural balcony overlooking the Tuscan landscape, will be an immersive experience between wine and vineyards.Fluò houseAmong these gullies, right on the hills around Bologna, in 1602 the cobbler Vincenzo Casciarolo, collecting stones to extract pigments, discovered the stone of wonder. This phosphoric rock is said to have created over time, in the lives of many, adventurous and wonderful cases. And the case of Angelica Zanardi, actress and founder of Casa Fluo, an accommodation facility, and Fienile Fluò, a restaurant, is among them. A world where the performing arts, dance, music, theater and more are shaped in these multifaceted spaces. The vineyards and the trees of the forest become a multisensory journey to bring the curious traveler closer to observe, smell and listen to nature. The landscape creates a frame of incredible beauty. Here you can choose whether to sit on the carpets on the grass, sip a glass of wine or a glass of beer, or let yourself be transported on a journey of taste, comfortably seated at the table among cheeses, salami, tigelle and crescentine that envelop you like an embrace of this place. When night falls, you can allow yourself the luxury of admiring the stars, without haste, because here you can also sleep, in one of the few suites furnished with period furniture and pieces created ad hoc. Whether it’s a travel stop or a planned choice, this place offers many experiences: from the food to be enjoyed while admiring this landscape, immersing the palate and smell in those enveloping tastes of local cuisine, such as tortellini with 24 months Parmesan are pure comfort food ; to the experience of the grape harvest in the vineyard. You can immerse yourself in nature through a multisensory journey to discover the stories and legends of the trees that interact with the vineyards, to be done on foot and equipped with mp3, cushions that are provided at the beginning of the experience, or attend a performance in calendar “Nature Scene. Dialogue between arts and greenery”.
Tenuta Cocci Grifoni
Superhuman silences. Very deep quiet. The natural landscape that merges with the hand of man. Water, earth, energy. Hospitality that was born as the closure of a circle of conviviality that comes to life around the world of wine and takes the name of Panoramic Wine Hotel. A family story, today all female where the vineyards that are modeled on the Marche landscape meet modern winemakers who communicate with the territory and with their roots and who from July 2021 have opened the doors of hospitality with this project linked to the company wine, Tenuta Cocci Grifoni. A few kilometers from the village of Offida, known for the skilful art of making lace, here family stories can be found crossing the threshold of one of the 11 rooms of the Panoramic Wine Resort, where each is furnished in a different way, recovering the energy and the personalities of the people to whom they are inspired, and who have been an important part of the life and business path. Sustainability is one of the guidelines here, so much so that the 100 hectares of land are only partially cultivated so as to preserve the territory and allow nature not to be altered by the presence of man, the rooms are heated with geothermal energy and even the glass of the French windows was chosen so as not to have an impact on the animals. Stories to listen to, sipping a glass of wine and tasting the proposals of the small kitchen signed by chef Daniele Citeroni in front of the infinity pool on the hills, and letting yourself be moved by the beauty, perseverance and visionarity, because we are what we decide to bequeath to the future.Masseria PezzaImmersed in the Salento countryside, the less known of the Alto Salento, Masseria Pezza is a project signed by Giorgio and Antonio, the two owners who have brought a piece of peasant history back to life. Surrounded by the cultivation of fruit trees, cereals and obviously vineyards, it discreetly makes a fine show of itself, in the territory of Guagnano, a village with a strong wine-growing vocation. Harmonic connection between past and present, where the signs of time have not been swept away. The external walls of the main body have been left in their color, as time has brought them to us. A farm that does not flaunt. It simply is. It is the grandson of those of our grandparents, where there was a strong concept of sharing, openness, mutual help, kind and welcoming ways of doing things. The recovery of this beautiful farm was done almost on tiptoe, but with great respect for the peasant culture of the place. The common areas and the 6 suites are furnished with a sober and elegant mix of designer and recycled furniture, with great attention to local craftsmanship. Here it is possible to organize small cooking classes, or a private dinner with a personal chef, or even do yoga in the vineyards or observe the stars with the large telescope. In the morning you wake up with your gaze that sweeps across the internal courtyard dotted with the aromatic vegetable garden, the swimming pool and the surrounding fields, enjoying a fragrant pasticciotto and freshly picked fruit. The sea is not far away, but the beauty of this place will make it difficult to get away even for a few hours. For those traveling who do not want to feel at home, but would like certain places to be their home, Masseria Pezza is just that place.
