What can we say about Italian wine that you haven’t heard before? You know about Brunellos and Super Tuscans and Chianti Classico, and we’ll make sure you get to taste the best of all of them. We’ll take you to "tried and true" places and also to some of our "discoveries" – rustic "garage" wines from farms or older estates, as well as those rare finds, up-and-coming wineries in the process of building their reputations. Tasting opportunities for DOC and DOCG wines are sprinkled all over the hillsides around Selva and include the 100% Sangiovese, Paganello, produced on the estate as well as wines from Carmignano, produced only in the small area near Leonardo’s hometown of Vinci and fast becoming a Wine Spectator favorite.

To complement the wine, we have selected a range of osterie, trattorie and ristorante, whose menus include many of the regional dishes, in either traditional or innovative form, that are included in the Abbondanza Toscana cooking courses.

Enotecas, osterias, trattorias,and ristorantes

For true farmhouse cooking, there are hilltop osterias where your place is marked by a stack of plates that are filled in succession throughout the evening accompanied by local wine "meant to be young" and exceptionally good. We include ristorantes known for their use of the freshest and best ingredients, their respect for regional cuisine and reputation for innovation, and for their excellent wine lists. Enotecas are particularly fun because their wine menu is on the shelf; you browse it like a library and choose your wine for lunch or dinner.

During the week, you also spend some fun time in the Abbondanza Toscana kitchen, working with our chef to make sure that you can adapt some of your favorite dishes in Italy to your own kitchen and available ingredients when you return home.

Macellerias, formaggiaio, and markets

A good macelleria is a sort of museum of meats, salamis, salsicce (sausages), pancetta and other preparations from every type of meat, farmed and wild. The perfume of cheese is heaven when you enter the shop of a dedicated formaggiaio. Weekly markets offer an eye-popping variety of excellent fruits and vegetables, and there is nothing like savoring the tasty morsels of meat sliced for you from the whole roast pig, a traditional market offering.

Shops for the Gourmet

Italians don’t consider their cooking gourmet (it’s simply the best), so many kitchen shops offer astounding values. A kitchen shop in Lucca, huge and crowded with merchandise, is like an adult toy store with every kitchen implement, vessel or wine accoutrement imaginable. The proximity of Emilia-Romagna means reasonably priced balsamico tradizionale, Parmigiano-Reggiano and Parma prosciutto.