Azienda Agricola Montechiaro di Alessandro Griccioli — Attraction in Siena

I think I will begin our review at the end. This was the most personal, interesting, and fabulous vacations we have ever taken. Truly a once in a lifetime experience. Our journey began when we found Montechiaro on Air BnB. Our entire family (9 of us) , our 4 adult children and 3 of their partners were bound for an Italian vacation. When we found a 5 bedroom 4.5 bathroom villa located on the grounds of historic winery, we were thrilled. We scoured the reviews and decided this was the place. Then the planning began! How would we spend our 10 days in Tuscany? That is when we met Laura who is the Hospitality Manager for the winery. We started with a Google Doc that listed out all of the things all 9 of us wanted to do and see. Then Laura helped us fill in exactly the right amount of activity. She was so responsive and helpful and over a couple of months of planning, we had put together a very good schedule. The highlights? -guided tour of Siena with Alessia, who was born in Siena. The most interesting 3 hours of walking, and learning the history and social setting in the historic town -cooking class with Loris and Mellissa at their private home (preceded by a horseback ride through their vineyards). We learned how to make Tiramisu, pasta, pesto and all sat around their dining room table enjoying the food we had just made. -touring Argiano, which just had their 2018 Brunello named the number one wine in the world by Wine Spectator a few weeks before we left -having two wonderful chefs cook for us several nights in our villa. This was a great way to end a day of touring as we enjoyed some amazing food, drank wine from the winery, all paired for our courses by Seila, the sommelier for the winery. -a wine tasting with Seila in their bar in Montenegrioni. This was one of the most enjoyable afternoons of our trip. She is so knowledgeable and so much fun. They served very tasty finger foods to go along with the wine. -and our last night we walked up the lane to Mario’s home to enjoy Florentine steak cooked on his open fire with meat from his herd. All in all, we would not have changed a thing. From the 21 year old college student to our other people in their twenties to us, we found this to be a perfect experience. We are so grateful to Alessandro, who owns and runs the winery for his hospitality. And his father, Francesco, who was so gracious and kind. They have created a very welcome environment for travelers. And we cannot...

We booked the "Torre" residence for a couple of weeks through Airbnb. What an exquisite experience. The place itself, a large, beautiful XIIIth century building with all modern amenities one needs for a comfortable stay. The place had no TV, which was a great excuse to catch up on our reading (the wifi was certainly good enough for streaming, though). Despite the heat this August, the fans spread around the residence (and the thick stonewalls) were enough to keep us very comfortable. Our own, large private pool, which was kept spotless daily, has an incredible view on the wineyards/olive tree fields and Siena on the horizon. Makes for a beautiful sunset as well. The place is isolated enough for a complete rest, but stragegically located as well to easily reach out nearby villages, visit or do our shopping in Siena (12 minutes away) or see busy Florence (just over an hour from the house). Many places, including Arezzo, Assisi or Pisa are all close enough for daily trips. But what made the experience truly unique was the entire staff. From the owner who gave cooking lessons to our daughters to share a truly Italian fresh meal with us, the staff who set up a beautiful table on the terrace and prepared another meal for us, the owner's fiancee who takes guests for horseback rides, the staff who took us for a passionate, entertaining and and very informative wine/olive oil tasting and the owner's delightful parents who love to talk about the history of the place which the family runs since the 18th century. We were able to order the excellent wine/olive oil produced by the site to be delivered at our house in the USA to share with friends. We left the place full of wonderful memories. Worth...

In August 2023 I booked a cooking class dinner with Laura, the pleasant office person. We were staying across the street. After booking the dinner for 960 euros for eight people I was told it wouldn’t be held on the remarkable immediate premises but rather at a home on a horse stud farm 10 minutes away. OK, fine.

The house, although nicely decorated, was filthy, unkempt, and very very hot. We were not offered any water upon arrival, just an explanation of how all the furnishings arrived from Bali. The cooking class, consisting of handmade pasta, red sauce and pesto was tasty but overvalued. The wines I’m sure were very good. But, I felt we were treated as an afterthought and when one of our party opened a door to relieve the stifling temperatures inside (no A/C except for an ineffective freestanding unit in the kitchen) we were advised to shut it due to the flies swarming the piles of horse manure flanking the house’s southern perimeter. But, after all, something had to offset the pile of cardboard boxes greeting us on the northern perimeter. All kidding aside, a hallmark dinner which left me embarrassed in front of my guests and out 960 euros. Was it a ripoff? I’ll let you be the judge.

The next morning I went to the office and expressed my displeasure to Laura, who was also in attendance the previous evening. She offered me more wine which I declined (good thing as the Italian authorities would have confiscated it at the Florence airport the next morning, in sight of the duty-free shop where I could have bought it back, but I digress). Oh well. What a...