Quarantine Diary: Heart of the Super Tuscan - Bolgheri, Italy
For our first trip of our massive 2020 travel plans, we wanted to go to an old favorite - Italy. Rather than go to Florence, we would see a different area of Tuscany and see the coast in Bolgheri! Known as the birthplace of the famous (and expensive) Super Tuscan red wine blend, it is incredible.
The Idea
If one were to ask Mary Frances where she wants to go for her first trip of the year, she would immediately say Italy. Thus, getting her to commit to a new area of Italy is the fun and challenging part. While we nearly booked a place in Florence and Siena, I managed to convince her to visit the Tuscan coast!
Born in a wine bar in Florence, the idea was founded by my Super Tuscan wine tasting. Because the wine was incredibly smooth and tasty, I definitely knew Mary Frances would adore the region!
Since our trip would be heavily wine related, we had to plan our weekend based on either a do-it-yourself or professional wine tour!
Planning our Travel
Because Bolgheri is a small village on the Tuscan coast, it required a little planning ingenuity!
Flights
Similar to our other many Tuscan trips, we knew that we essentially had three airport choices: Pisa, Florence, or Bologna. Because of the distance, we eliminated Florence and Bologna, although the flight prices were already high! Thus, we looked on Google Flights for ideal flights leaving on Thursday afternoon and returning on Monday evening.
Luckily, there were great options from London Stansted although it would mean traveling via train but we didn’t mind! Obviously, since we were going on a wine trip, I purchased luggage while I was booking the flight to save an extra few pounds. Thankfully, I waited to buy our Stansted Express tickets until the day of travel…. More on that later!
Rental Cars
Because Bolgheri is approximately 45 minutes from Pisa, we had to rent a car. I went on skyscanner.net to search for an ideal car and found great options! For only $50, we could have a nice tiny 4 seater sedan with car insurance!
Travel Tip: Buy car insurance from the rental provider as Italy is notorious for tiny streets and reckless drivers.
Lodging
Because we were going in early March, we did not really know what weather to expect. Initially, we were torn between a seaside escape, classic Tuscan villa retreat, another retreat, or a rustic village stay. Because we had a car, we could chose whatever we wanted!
In the end, we decided a rustic village stay because we liked staying in a local village with plenty of restaurants and wine bars! Speaking of….
Italian Food & Drink
Although we love discovering the hole in the walls while strolling through the cobblestone streets, we do a little research into the fabulous restaurants in Bolgheri. For the rest of the trip, we were going to wing it!
- Osteria Magona - A yummy Italian steakhouse!
- Osteria Enoteca San Guido - The #1 restaurant AND wine bar in Bolgheri
- Enoteca Tognoni- Another great traditional Tuscan dinner and the #3 restaurant in Bolgheri
Originally, in a perfect world, we would have visited the top vineyards in the entire country. However, some cellars and vineyards were closed for renovations or completely booked. Here are all the wineries I contacted:
- Ornellaia 80 Euro per person
- Le Macchiole 50 Euro per person
- Guado Al Melo 20 Euro per person
- Grattamacco 20Euro per person
- Terre Del Marchesato 20 Euro per person
- Michele Satta 35 Euro per person
- Argentiera 60 Euro per person
Tuscan Activities
Regardless of the time of the year or the region of Italy, Mary Frances’ main objective is the food and wine. In no particular order… Therefore, our activities for the heart of the Super Tuscan region are primarily for the foodies!
Because we had a few days in Tuscany, I had a few ideas...
On Saturday….Andrew’s Do It Yourself Wine Tour!
Beginning at 11am, we would venture to the great Argentiera winery located just out of Bolgheri. At 60E per person, this classy vineyard is expensive, and caters to the finer things of life! After a fantastic lunch at one of the Bolgheri restaurants, we would then venture to Terre Del Marchesato.
Finally, for dinner, either we would have gone to one of the great restaurants or gone to a terrific Italian cooking class.
On Sunday… The Classic Andrew Tuscany Tour
Because Sunday is usually a quieter day in Italy, we were going to village hop. In some particular order that we had not decided, we were going to visit either Livnorno, Volterra, San Gimignano, and Castel San Gimignano!
On Monday… Leave it to the Professionals
With a wine expert in the family, Mary Frances found a terrific wine tour! Not only would we receive a few tastings, we would also have a classic Bolgheri Wine Tour from Bolgheri Wine Tours! Because it was a private tour, we arrange our own schedule since we were also due in Pisa for our flight.
The Fail
As this was the first trip on March 6-8, we had an unique experience. Shortly before we were leaving to go to the airport, Mary Frances received a warning that she would most likely be let go if she went to Italy. While it was an incredibly difficult decision, we ended cancelling our trip at the very last minute. Luckily, we managed to get refunds for the AirBnB!