Luxury Car Break in Tuscany by Alan Douglas

Luxury Car Break in Tuscany | Italy

Guest Author: Alan Douglas
Journalist and Broadcaster

Soak up the Italian lifestyle, wine and weather driving the Jeep in Tuscany. Off on our annual expedition to soak up the Italian lifestyle, wine and weather in Tuscany and this year’s trip was one of the best yet. The weather couldn’t have been better – unbroken sunshine with the mercury hitting the mid-30s every day – even if it got off to a bad start with our plane diverted north to Genoa because of a huge thunderstorm which prevented our scheduled landing in Pisa.

Every cloud etc. though, as they say, and the silver lining was that it cleared the air and left stunning weather in its wake for our time there. We’ve been going to Tuscany for the best part of a quarter of a century but once again, apart from a brief call into the lovely town of Greve, we keep out of the traditional Chiantishire, favoured by the majority of British tourists.

Instead, we generally start our Tuscan trail with a few nights in the hilltop town of Barga, where most Italian-Scots can trace their roots. Their ancestors left to seek their fortunes thousands of miles away in Central Scotland and did just that by establishing fish and chip shops and ice-cream parlours which themselves are now so much part of Scottish culture.

We always stay in Casa Fontana bed and breakfast where Aberdeen exiles Ron and Susi Gauld have lovingly-restored their historic building and created a haven of tranquillity overlooking their own abundant garden, much of the produce from which makes its way onto the breakfast table. Their hosting skills and thoughtfulness would put most 6-star hotels to shame.

One of our other favourite places to stay is in the walled town of Lucca where an ebullient Irish girl, Brid, and her Italian husband, Stefano, have created L’Antica Bifore, a four-bedroom B & B, hidden behind an anonymous green door on the main shopping street and above a pizzeria from which the tantalising waft of baking dough permeates the hall. Brid and Stefano have produced a visual masterpiece of trompes l’euil worthy of a Puccini opera set. You would swear that the porticos and architraves were made of stone.

Its reputation is international. Every time we’ve stayed there, we’ve breakfasted with visitors from around the world and this time there were Australians, Americans, Romanians and Austrians. Our hosts pointed us to one of their favourite eateries and this place is something special.

Locanda di Sesto is a 20 minute taxi ride north of Lucca and can trace its history back to 1368 and the family’s nearby farm supplies wine, vinegar and olive oil for the restaurant table.

The cuisine is typically Tuscan with authentic, homemade flavours that enhance the freshness and the quality of every ingredient used. The Locanda has an old-timey atmosphere and even on a weeknight it was packed. The pasta is homemade and the extra-virgin olive oil, artisan vinegar, cured meats and cheeses all come from the surrounding countryside.

Supervising things in the kitchen is Aurelio who produces local delights and the menu reads like an Italian dictionary with dishes such as pappa al pomodoro, a thick Tuscan tomato soup or zuppa alla frantoiana, made from beans and local vegetables. Their speciality meat dishes include black pepper and rosemary steak, Florentine steak, baked Cinta Senese pork, rabbit in a spicy tomato-based sauce, or the beautiful veal which was our choice.

We were greeted by his brother Lamberto who guided us on the gastro adventure and pointed us to a superb bottle of their own label La Badiola Serafino Merlot Riserva, which not only went down a treat but also had a splendid drawing of a classic Ferrari on the label. It was a first class evening and they even provide a cut-price shuttle car service to get you back home safely.

For our next dinner we remained firmly in the old centre of Lucca and rolled up at Cantine Bernardini, on Via del Suffragio. Sitting outside on the terrace on a balmy evening, we could soak up the atmosphere and sounds from the church bells to the lively and loud Italian conversation as we tucked into more delicious fare including Beef Tartare on a base of Spelt from Garfagnana, wholemeal spaghetti seasoned with basil pesto and fresh mint, fresh “Maltagliati” pasta with mixed saltwater fish ragout and tomatoes, home made black ravioli filled with sea bass seasoned with capers and sun-dried tomatoes and beef braised in Chianti wine and served with polenta and fiascherino beans.

But the main part of our trip was to head an hour away to our usual haunt in the market town of Montespertoli, just south of Florence . I love driving in Italy – yes, the fellow motorists certainly don’t hang about but as long as you drive positively and with commitment, they’ll give you respect.

What made this trip even better was that those nice people at Fiat had lent me a top-of-the-range Jeep Grand Cherokee and it not only soaked up the kilometres on the fast and furious Fi-Pi-Li…the main trunk road linking Firenze, Pisa and Livorno….but came into its own on the quiet, winding and hilly back roads through the rolling vineyards.

Agriturismo Le Ginestruzze Uzzano is a family-owned enterprise deep in the vineyards of the Bartali family on the outskirts of the town, which doesn’t feature much on the tourist maps because it’s very much a genuine centre of the local agricultural community. There are modern apartments in restored farm buildings but we prefer the original villa further down a dusty olive-tree-lined track in the heart of the vineyard.

We’ve stayed in the authentic Casa Patrizia since the mid-90s and over the years have become friends with the whole family, from parents Erasmo and Patrizia to daughters Isabella and Chiara and son Adriano and now teenage grandchildren Lorenzo and Bianca who weren’t even around in the early days.

Not only are they all delightful – conversation is limited as only Isabella and the children have any English – the basement of their rambling villa is also the production centre for some very fine Chianti, which they are happy to hand over by the five-litre demijohn to thirsty visitors like ourselves.

Under the blazing sun, we spent most of our time beside and in the large pool with uninterrupted views across the vineyards to a distant monastery and its bell tower which helped us monitor the passing hours.

The four-wheel-drive Jeep was perfect to head off the paved roads and onto the network of dusty clay tracks to explore and get really into the heart of the area. It also gave the chance for a close-up view of the vines and the upcoming crop of grapes which will create next year’s Chianti.

Fortunately, the Jeep came in a brilliant white paint job which helped deflect the blazing sun and we were grateful for the lifesaving air conditioning which worked overtime as we soaked up the stunning landscape and crystal-clear light for which Tuscany is renowned.

It’s easy to see why the area has been such an attraction to the British over many years – and why it continues to be so magnetic for us.

Guest Author: Alan Douglas
Journalist and Broadcaster