The fawning over Tuscany makes total sense. Waking up to look out over majestic rolling hills, fog clinging from the chilly night, is a breathtaking sight.

After soaking in the landscape for a while, we had a delightful breakfast buffet prepared for us by Il Rigo. Needless to say, it broke the definition of “breakfast buffet”, a collection of meats and veggies, handmade bread (from their own wheat) that can be slathered with their own home made jam. Some serious lifestyle envy.

We needed to find an ATM and some bug spray (even Italy has mosquitos) so we rolled into the nearby town of San Quirico. A brief wander through side streets and a wonderful set of gardens around the ancient city walls, and we found a great town center with shops carrying our requested items and services.

Regrouping at the farm, we divided up into cars and set out for salcheto, a local winery known for amazing wines and a sustainably mondes business model. Marco provided an amazing tour of the entirely off grid facilities and their inventive processes to keep the wine as organic, and using as little energy in production, as possible.

This was followed by a wine tasting and light lunch (chickpea soup, farro salad, insalata, cured meats…”light”). The four wines we sampled were all fantastic, leading to the whole group buying at least a bottle, or for quite a few (including us) a full or partial case to be shipped directly back to the states.

We stopped briefly in Pienza to buy some of their famous pecorino cheese and generally admire another lovely small Italian town. They also had pecorino gelato, which was amazing, and amazing views since the town was built on a hilltop several hundred years ago.

Returning to Il Rigo, we all freshened il before getting together for amazing wood fired pizzas and drinks for the evening. And endless supply of pizza flowed, ranging from traditional margherita to additives like olives, capers, potatoes and more. Another evening of landscape admiring, sunset watching, star gazing, and great wine drinking was in the books.