Sip & Spa: Wine Country Series—Tuscany

• Sip: Chianti, of course. Both red and white. The versatile wine is made primarily with the Sangiovese grape.
• Spa: Twenty minutes from Siena, Castel Monastero Resort & Spa offers not only a spa, but a “Tuscan Retreat Cookery Program” co-created by chef Gordon Ramsay—plus, provides an easy pathway through the Tuscan countryside, from Montalcino to Castellina in Chianti.

Image courtesy of Castel Monastero Resort & Spa

• Sip: Say buon giorno to “Super Tuscan” wines such as Sassicaia, Ornellaia, and Tignanello.
• Spa: Along the coastal Maremma region in southern Tuscany, find the modern Argentario Resort Golf & Spa, with its spa, medical spa, and eco-friendly golf course, and Terme di Saturnia Spa & Golf Resort, situated at the base of Saturnia, a village known for its thermal waters that stay a constant 98.6⁰ F.

Image courtesy of Argentario Resort Golf & Spa

• Sip: Toast to Brunello di Montalcino, a powerful Tuscan red wine made predominantly with the Sangiovese grape.
• Spa: As Siena’s Fonteverde Tuscan Resort & Spa website suggests, the property “is ideal as a starting point for sightseeing…to the prestigious wineries of Brunello di Montalcino…”

Image courtesy of Fonteverde Tuscan Resort & Spa

• Sip: You don’t need to be a sommelier to appreciate the region’s Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.
• Spa: Located in Montepulciano, Etruria Resort & Natural Spa resides within a renovated villa whose original construction occurred in 1800. Its La Perla spa is actually housed in the villa’s cellar, once used as the product and storage site for Rosso and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.

Image courtesy of Etruria Resort & Natural Spa

• Sip: Here you’ll find Vernaccia di San Gimignano, a full-bodied, peppery white wine made from the Vernaccia grape.
• Spa: Grotta Giusti Resort Golf & Spa, a restored nineteenth-century villa with a hot spring spa centered around a natural cave, is not far from San Gimignano (and it should be noted it’s a mere few kilometers from Florence, Pisa, Siena, and Lucca).

Image courtesy of Grotta Giusti Resort Golf & Spa