Have you ever visited somewhere so beautiful that it brought tears to your eyes, and made you feel like you’ve truly seen what heaven must look like? God must have used Tuscany as practice for the creation of heaven because there is no other way it could be so truly breathtaking.
The view from Guardastelle, in San Gimignano, Tuscany.
I’ve always dreamed of staying in the rolling hills of Tuscany, sipping wine, eating delicious food, and just taking in the gorgeous sights. Guardastelle was just the place to do that.
Guardastelle is a Tuscan agriturismo, which is essentially a working farm. Here, they make wine and olive oil.
Guardastelle is the yellow villa, surrounded by grape wines.
We were pleased from the moment we arrived. It was a short taxi ride from the train station and we were greeted by the owners Fausto and Suzanne as soon as the taxi pulled up. We arrived earlier than check in, but we were able to store our luggage while we waited.
We wandered around the grounds while we waited for our room and wine tasting luncheon.
Can you even imagine that something so beautiful exists?
When it was time for our tour we met up with two other couples and Barbara, our guide. We took a tour of the beautiful grape vines and olive trees. They make only 20,000 bottles of wine per year and you can only buy it directly from them. It’s DOCG certified, which means it’s the best. The Italian government analyzes and taste tests wine and only gives the DOCG label to the wines that pass their in depth testing.
They also make extra virgin olive oil. By definition, EVOO must be less than 0.8% acidity. The EVOO made at Guardestelle is only 0.02% acidity. It doesn’t get much better than that!
Luckily you can order their wine and olive oil and have it shipped to you. Way easier than trying to figure out how you are going to get a case of wine back to Florida.
Vineyard.
After our leisurely yet informative walk, we headed to the dining room for some lunch and wine tasting.
Barbara discussing their delicious wine.
Soup. I know it looks a little…funny…but even the picky Husband liked it!
After our luncheon we headed to check in to our room. We had a room inside the main house, we headed down some stairs and found our room.
Our adorable room and spectacular view.
After we were all settled we walked the kilometer (uphill!) to the walled medieval city of San Gimignano. It’s a bit of a tiring walk, but the view is spectacular and San Gimignano is amazing. Luckily, it’s an easy walk back, which is especially important after a few glasses of wine.
On our way to San Gimignano.
The next morning we enjoyed a fabulous breakfast spread, eating outside overlooking the gorgeous hills and vineyards of Tuscany.
My only regret is that we didn’t stay longer. The next time we go to Italy I will for sure stay for a few nights. It really is magical there.
Turns out I have one postcard left from Guardastelle. Do you want it? Leave a comment below and I’ll pick one person at random to send the postcard to!