After my recent trip to Relais Borgo Scopeto as part of the Florence wine tourism awards, I was curious to know more about what they call “vinoterapia” or wine therapy (also known as vinotherapy). The four-star Relais finished renovating their Italian health spa last year and along with the standard sauna and spa access, guests can also enjoy a new range of beauty products based on the health properties of grapes.

Borgo Scopeto calls its vinotherapy treatment “nectar of the gods” although as with any wine therapy, the process has less to do with wine and more to do with the grapes themselves. Grape seed extract and skins are high in antioxidants and polyphenols which are said to have positive effects for the skin, especially with anti-ageing potential.

Borgo Scopeto describes its vinotherapy treatment thus: “Using the potential of the grapes, through the fruit’s polyphenol ,vitamin and acid, this treatment nourishes, smoothes and newly elasticizes the body skin. In total relax, it gives new beauty to all the body.” With its range of grape-based beauty products, the hotel offers a new trend in the sector.

Continue reading: Italian health spas with vinotherapy: what is vinoterapia and where can I get it?

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The grand finale for me of the Best of Wine Tourism Awards was our Chianti wine tasting at the Villa Petriolo, Cerreto Guidi, not far from Florence. I realise that “beautiful” is in no way a technical term to describe wine, but the Maestrelli sisters and their wine maker produce exactly that - beautiful Italian wines.

The Villa Petriolo received the Best of Wine Tourism award for “sustainable wine tourism practices” and while Villa Petriolo has no official organic status, there is a care for the land here that you won’t always find on a more industrial scale of wine production. In addition, the old villa has been preserved in its rough state, with the sisters keeping many of their father’s artifacts and collection items. The roof beams have been added to over the years to keep the structure sturdy, and there has been no primping of the house to provide fancy tasting rooms or appealing tourist wine shops.

The Maestrelli sisters provide a simple and sincere welcome, and we had the opportunity to taste a range of Villa Petriolo wines, guided by Silvia Maestrelli, who also fed us with hearty Tuscan antipasti, salads and salumi. Silvia says it’s her aim to make refined, elegant wines with no pretensions to full-bodied, new world tastes or commercial stunts (like the sparkling sangiovese we tasted at another wine producer). They have achieved beyond that with wines difficult to describe, but that stay with you - forming a kind of benchmark for future wine tasting as well as giving you an experience further than just describing a perfume or structure.

Chianti wine tasting and tours: Villa Petriolo

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A Chianti wine tour will overwhelm you with its history, multiple examples of very good Chianti and beautiful landscapes, but not always in an area which is by now a guaranteed tourism success can you always find many examples of innovation. The Fattoria Torre a Cona won its Best of Wine Tourism award for exactly that.

The commanding but beautiful Italian villa provides a series of historically interesting buildings as a setting for a bed and breakfast and some Chianti wine tasting, that the company decided to turn its old granary store into a tasting room and wine shop. On entering the wine shop, the setting of a wine tasting along the length of the old building has a great impact. The restoration, designed by architect Miranda Ferrera, has preserved the alcoves of the original grain storage purpose, that now house the wine bottles and olive oil products of the farm.

A tour and wine tasting takes in the old cellars and the grounds of the estate, with a short walk around the Villa Torre a Cona gardens. Each wine tasting includes local dishes and bruschetta dressed with olive oil, while in terms of winemaking the Fattoria Torre a Cona has kept things simple but elegant, making three wines.

Chianti wine tasting and tours: Fattoria Torre a Cona

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The Villa Vignamaggio in the heart of the Chianti Classico region was the setting for the Much Ado About Nothing Kenneth Branagh film made there years ago. With an authentic restoration of the villa and gardens, Villa Vignamaggio recently won the Best of Wine Tourism international award for architecture, parks and gardens. And to be honest, when you hear the words “this is a Renaissance staircase”, they do have a certain effect.

The Villa Vignamaggio is an “agriturismo” and wine estate known for its Renaissance villa and gardens… and the Mona Lisa. It is said that Monna Lisa Gherardino lived here and documentation has been found that Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned to paint her portrait. The mystery as to whether it is the same portrait that hangs in the Louvre in Paris starts here.

The Villa Vignamaggio offers a main villa setting with rooms, and more apartments and rooms in surrounding farmhouses linked by terraces and gardens. Recreational facilities include swimming pools, tennis courts, a billiard room and barbecue areas. Vignamaggio has a restaurant service on some days and evenings and organises barbecues where staff and guests go shopping for traditional fiorentina steaks together, as part of supporting local business and serving excellent Tuscan food.

Tuscan villa accommodation in Chianti: Villa Vignamaggio

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The Cantine di Leonardo wine cellars are located in Vinci, in Tuscany, in a part of the Chianti region not as famous as Chianti Classico or other areas, but with a beautiful countryside where you know you’re getting closer to the coast. For a “cantina sociale” (or cooperative wine cellars and producers), the Cantine di Leonardo produce some excellent quality wine with a touch of classic Chianti style while also experimenting with some more modern expressions, and is worth a stop on any Chianti wine tour.

Despite receiving a special jury mention in the Best of Wine Tourism awards from Florence recently in the category of architecture, parks and gardens, the Cantine di Leonardo and its wine shop “Enoteca dalle Vigne” is worth a stop just for the wine itself. While calling the cooperative wine producers the “cellars of Leonardo” might seem a cynical marketing gesture today, it’s an old name that was given in light of the fact that the town of Vinci is closely linked to the man the Italians call “the genius”.

The cooperative cellars were founded 50 years ago and now have about 500 hectares of vines cared for by various growers who have access to the advice of specialists through their participation in the society. The cellars have created an innovative system of payment to encourage the production of quality grapes, with five categories of grape quality each carrying a different price. If a grower reaches the first category, he is paid 130 percent of the value of the grapes. If his grapes reach only the fifth category, he is paid 50 percent of the value.

Chianti wine tasting: Cantine di Leonardo, Vinci

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For a wedding location in Florence, Villa Le Piazzole is just outside the “city walls”, not far from the area of the Piazzale Michelangelo. It overlooks the surrounding hills of Tuscany and provides both Florence accommodation in a villa and an “Orangerie” specifically designed to house weddings.

Villa Le Piazzole received a special mention at the Best of Wine Tourism awards for Firenze, and the accommodation provides a simple country setting but with an elegant Italian garden, swimming pool with panorama over the surrounding countryside, a small amphitheatre and terraces with outdoor seating.

A small chapel, recently restored, can be used for weddings. For smaller parties, Villa Le Piazzole will do its own catering, matching dishes with its own label wine, or for bigger events it will use an external catering service. Wedding guests can enjoy staying in the villa, and have a tour of the grounds, with wine tasting in the evocative atmosphere of the old cellar. The Villa is close enough to Florence for day trips, while guests can escape the rush of the city in the evening. For more information, see the Villa Le Piazzole website.

Weddings in Italy: Villa Le Piazzole, Florence

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Scenes from some of the movie Letters to Juliet were filmed at Relais Borgo Scopeto and it’s easy to see why - the four-star superior Tuscan villa stay provides a picture-perfect setting. But as the Best of Wine Tourism Florence awards prove, the luxury medieval hamlet hotel in the heart of Tuscany is a lot more than just a movie set.

Relais Borgo Scopeto provides top-notch service, exquisite Tuscan cuisine with the wines to match and a newly opened health spa for those wanting to be pampered while on their Tuscan wine tour. The stop at the Relais is part of our visit to Chianti and the winners in the Great Wine Capitals Wine Tourism competition.

Without wanting to sound sycophantic, the Borgo Scopeto Relais is nothing less than an extremely good stop for a luxury Tuscan hotel. Despite the four star sign out the front, the staff manage to provide a warm Tuscan welcome with a certain domesticity about their service which has none of the distant, “yes-sir” style of other luxury hotels. The rooms are comfortable and modern and have been decorated to provide an elegant feel - you will find no rustic farmhouse furnishings here.

Continue reading: Luxury Tuscan accommodation: Relais Borgo Scopeto and Letters to Juliet

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The Great Wine Capitals Florence branch announced the 2011 winners of the Best of Wine Tourism in Chianti last week, and DolceVita participated in the event and the subsequent tour of the winning locations. The awards were announced at the Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence, with representatives from Chianti accommodation and wine producers accepting the awards.

Florence is just one of the Great Wine Capitals group which includes Bordeaux, Bilbao-Rioja, Christchurch-South Island, Cape Town, Mainz-Rheinhessen, Mendoza, Porto and San Francisco-Napa Valley. Florence offers one of the world’s greatest cities of art together with the significant wine producing region of Chianti. The Best of Wine Tourism initiative is for tourism establishments awarded for their services to wine tourism; with criteria such as the quality of the facilities, the originality of the tourism on offer and the level of client service analysed by a jury which selects the winners from a pool of participants.

In the Chianti region, it is impossible to separate the wine from Tuscany tourism and the awards showcased a mix of Tuscan villa and farm stays, with wedding operators, wine producers, museums and restaurants, too. It was a panorama of wine tourism in Tuscany at a quality level. The winners, and their corresponding categories, are after the jump, and we’ll bring you more this week from the winners, including the international winner Villa Vignamaggio and accommodation winner, Borgo Scopeto Relais.

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There’s a beautiful poem by Edna Vincent Millay in which spring has lost all its power and is unable to cast its spell upon the poet’s heart, but I’m sure that if Mrs. Millay could have visited the D’orcia Valley, Tuscany, in springtime she would have changed the meaning of it….and American literature would have lost one of its most beautiful and touching poems! Joking apart, the Norcia valley is one of Tuscany’s most enchanting places and in spring it turns into a true corner of paradise; with its green rolling hills, crystal blue streams and lovely villages, the valley is a haven for nature lovers! Situated among its hills, there’s the medieval town of Bagno Vignoni, known for its thermal springs and the breathtaking view over the Valle dei mulini or Mill Valley where the Romans built several mills using water power. So, if my description has succeeded in catching your imagination and you are now planning to spend a few days in Bagno Vignoni, don’t miss the special offer by the Adler Hotel which includes 4 nights’ stay for just 757 euros! Click here for more information.

Exploring Tuscany: the medieval town of Bagno Vignoni, Val d’Orcia

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If you want to visit Pisa in style, the Orologio hotel is what you need; situated in a 14th century palace recently restored and only a stone ’s throw away from the Leaning Tower, this luxury hotel has 21 rooms and 4 suites (all rooms are elegantly furnished). If you are a foodie, you will be glad to know that the hotel’s restaurant is also famous for its delicious cuisine and superb wine list. For more information click here.

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