Agriturismo La Bruciata
Our May/June journey to Tuscany was highlighted by a week’s stay at La Bruciata near Montepulciano. This family-friendly agriturismo is recommended in Rick Steve’s Florence and Tuscany book, 2018 edition. It is run by Laura Duchini and a few more generations of her family - both her mother and children help operate the accommodations and food preparation. The agriturismo is an actual, working farm - producing wine, olive oil along with most of the ingredients that end up on the table for dining. There are now two buildings - the second one being added just as the pandemic hit - with very comfortable rooms with kitchens and one or two bedrooms. There is a pool and hammocks to relax away your stay at La Bruciata. Laura will provide cooking lessons and can arrange for local tour excursions such as wine tasting at one or more of the many local wineries. We discovered that she has boundless energy - and patience.
We had an unpleasant trip to Rome from San Francisco via Munich the day airport staff at four major Italian airports decided to go on a 4 hour work strike - the day we were traveling to Rome. Our flight out of Munich was canceled and we were rebooked on an impossible-to-catch flight that we missed. Long story short, we were put on a flight to Rome the next morning and were assured our luggage would follow us to Rome but it didn't. We arrived at La Bruciata without anything except our rental car. So now, back to Laura…..
She spent so much time - several times a day calling for us to help track our missing luggage. It had eventually gone to Rome but, instead of using a courier to bring it to us, the airline sent the bags to Florence. Laura spent an hour or two the first couple of days we were there calling the agents, who have a total of two hours per day open to the public. She was never able to talk to a human but was persistent in her attempts to get through. We eventually drove to Florence ourselves and retrieved the bags in the back of a huge warehouse at the Florence airport. But Laura - she would always have a smile on her face when I had a question and would gladly help even when she had a million other things to do - what grace under pressure!
Laura and her Mom provided meals with so much love and care - creating breakfasts and dinners using farm fresh ingredients that made our mouths water. In the morning, there would be 8 different types of freshly prepared juices from her pears, apples, plums, etc. Unfortunately, my wife had developed allergies to garlic, onions, mushrooms and a gluten intolerance so Laura prepared second batches of breakfast and dinner menus specifically for her - again with a big smile on her face. The wine she and the staff produce was stellar and held its own against other local Vino Nobile’s of the region.
La Bruciata will be a repeat for us when we return to Tuscany. Even with our stay having an unfortunate start to it, Laura and her beautiful family created the perfect fairy tale ending to a wonderful visit to the land that is Tuscany.