We were heading into the last three days of our holidays, and we were going to spend a chunk of it with various friends. Marisa and David of the Tales from Tuscany YouTube channel were housesitting near the lovely village of Montecatini val di Cecina, and we would visit them for dinner.

The next night, we had been invited to join a vineyard dinner table at Azienda Agricola Castelvecchio by Marie and Lorenzo of Authentic Tuscany (check them out for a base for a Tuscany stay). Sadly, Lorenzo had to work, but we’d meet Marie and some of her guests for an amazing set dinner.

Friday, June 23rd
Unsurprisingly, I got up and went for a walk. I was due to work later on, so I kept it briefish.

We had a light lunch of pizza and milkshake!

Later on, it was time for the main event!

We took the sexy road towards Saline and switched out at the even sexier road towards Lajatico and Montecatini val di Cecina. The latter is a lovely village overlooking the val di Cecina (duh), and the northern part of the val d’Era. The road to it from Volterra is a masterpiece, going through rolling hills and tilled land. Lone trees or sculptures dot the land here and there, like exclamation marks to the lines of poetry that are the panoramic views. It’s even better looking coming the other way.

Just before Montecatini, however, we turned off onto a road that must have been created by a giant mole with delirium tremens. There are many such of these unpaved “white roads” in Italy, which lead to lone private properties. These properties can look like Heaven on Earth, but there’s an obvious purgatorial metaphor in the roads which precede them. This road was unpleasant at first, and then downright awful. I was beginning to wonder if our car was fitted with crampons. Was it possible to get seasick in a car? We lost the horizon multiple times, before it became a solid dirt track, which was the final driveway. Phew!

And it was a lovely place. It was airconditioned throughout, had a (technically) above-ground swimming pool, and best of all, a fabulous view over the valley back towards Volterra. We were enthusiastically greeted by Marisa and David, and a couple of lovely doggos they were also minding.

But we had a little bit of comedy to kick off the night, courtesy of an unfortunate Marisa.

A risotto with fresh porcini was supposed to be on the menu, but poor Marisa accidentally threw these (fairly expensive) mushrooms out with a bag of dogshit. An ignominious end for one of Italy’s finest delicacies. However, she deftly rescued the situation by having cooked a killer ragù to go with some toothsome pasta.

We had a little vino to wash it down, which paired perfectly with the food.

Afterwards, we had a trip up the driveway of the property to have a look at another large house, protected by its hedging. No breaking and entering tonight. We were shepherded by a lovely cat on the way back.

Another vino was had, and then, sadly, my metabolism caught up with me after a week of work, and I just began to get drowsy. They didn’t get the best of me that night – sorry, guys. It’s not like we were looking forward to leaving – we’d have to head down that poxy road again. But needs must, and we headed off with a wave.

Saturday, June 24th
This was our last full day this holiday. We did get out for a light lunch at Ristorante Etruria. It can be touristy, but Niamh loves the melanzane parmiggiana there, as I love the zuppa alla Volterrana. We also snuck in a little fritto misto.

But what this day was really about, was attending an evening dinner amongst the vines of Azienda Agricola Castelvecchio. We were invited there by Marie and Lorenzo, but sadly Lorenzo had to work that night, so we met up with her group for a little aperitivo beforehand.

There were lots of tables scattered throughout the vineyard, which itself was in beautiful surroundings, made all the more amazing by the golden hour. After we had introduced ourselves to a lovely bunch (mother and daughter Leslie and Suzy from the US, whom we met again this year, a pair of fab ladies from Cork with their partners, and of course Marie herself).

We were serenaded to our tables. We wound our way a few minutes to our own table and once again marvelled at the views.

We sat, and had a good old chat and a laugh, while we waited for the food and wine to arrive. And they were generous with both! A glass accompanied each course, and the experience was heightened not only by the booze, but by the sinking sun, which coloured the landscape from honey to a deep amber.

It began to get dark when the dessert came out, and we yummied it down and reluctantly moved back to the agricola buildings.

We were able to walk about their shop and wine-making facility, while they gave us a snifter of their grappa – which I have to say was rocket-fuel! Their wines are awesome, but the grappa has a bit of a bite to it, haha!

It was an amazing end to an amazing holiday, and Niamh and I couldn’t recommend a night like it highly enough – we loved it! So, thanks to our friends Marie and Lorenzo from Authentic Tuscany for the experience!

Sunday, June 25th
It was the day we were to fly home, but the flight was a little later in the day, affording us a little time to explore the ladies’ crafts market (mercato rosa), and have a little treat from L’Isola del Gusto before we drove to the airport, dropped the rental car off and flew back to Ireland.

Thanks for reading – let me know what you think. We came back in September/October 2023! Expect some content soon!