During our last trip to Tuscany Nick and I got to stay at the grounds of the world-famous winery, Castello Banfi. It was an all around incredible experience: from the beauty of the medieval castle to the amazing food/wine pairing at the Taverna Banfi and the peaceful vineyards which surrounded the lovely private farmhouse where we stayed.

We would have lodged at the castle itself but, sadly, our plans had us arrive just a week after it closed for renovation (late November 2018). Instead, we were housed at the newly remodeled Collupino Farmhouse just a short drive away. Amidst the peaceful vineyards with forest-lined horizon, Nick and I spent 2 days enjoying the quiet off-season bliss and explored the surrounding area, which included a visit to Siena, Montalcino and Truffle Hunting (and Eating!) in Tuscany with Valentino Berni of Azienda Loghi.

Below you’ll find our photos from the Castello grounds and a visit to the Balsameria + our farmhouse stay and the amazing food/wine pairing extravaganza at the fabulous Taverna Banfi.

We loved every minute of our visit and I highly recommend this special place!
Please see https://CastelloBanfi.com for more info.

THE CASTLE & THE GROUNDS

While pulling up to the castle we knew this was a special place.
Not a bad driveway 🙂

The castle of Poggio alle Mura was developed from the IX through XIII centuries, completely rebuilt in 1438 and restored once again during the XVII century. In 1978 two Italian-American brothers purchased the land and started their now famous Banfi wine label.

 

This is the wine tasting room + shop/hotel check in:

TAVERNA BANFI: OUR AMAZING LUNCH

The food/wine pairing at Taverna Banfi was beyond delicious and the experience we’ll always remember. I was 4 months pregnant so I could only take tiny sips of wine. Nick took that proverbial bullet for me 🙂

My usual artsy wine shot:

The menu:

One menu item was added for us so we could taste both pork and beef. This was one of the most delicious steaks. Ever.
I have to admit – this is not easy for this part-time vegetarian writing about steak late at night 🙂 Must. Eat. Steak. Tomorrow! 🙂

While all Banfi wine is superb, Summus was our personal favorite. They do sell all Banfi wine in the United States (and I think we’ll get this Summus bottle next time I cook Italian food from scratch, which is going to be very soon after writing this blog!) 🙂

Here is some more wine/food porn for you:

 

 

We sat right next to the ancient wine cellar entrance (which dates to Etruscan times, 8th century).

 

BALSAMERIA

We took a brief tour of the Balsameria where balsamic vinegar/balsamico ages (for 12 years!) in oak barrels. Nick & I had never been to a balsameria prior to Banfi. We loved it and the aroma was simply divine.

THE WINERY

As I was 4 months pregnant we couldn’t partake in the winery tour (I wasn’t feeling well), but I highly recommend their tour as (from what I heard) it is wonderful.

OUR LODGING: THE FARMHOUSE

As I mentioned in the intro, we would have lodged at the castle itself but, sadly, our plans had us arrive just a week after it closed for renovation (late November 2018). Instead, we were housed at the newly remodeled Collupino Farmhouse just a short drive away.

It was beautiful!

This is the farmhouse as we were driving up to it:

We had the whole upstairs part of the farmhouse. So beautiful!!

This is the kitchen (we made our own breakfast with the ingredients that were provided for us):

There were 3 bedrooms available to us. We chose this one:

View from the bedroom:

A few more photos:

P.S.

We were warned to drive very slowly at night because of wild boars roaming around. Sure enough, we did see one at dusk. It was really cool to see it in the wild. We didn’t get a chance to get a photo but it looked just like this (found this on google, couldn’t find the author of this photo).

 

I hope you enjoyed! I can’t wait to return to Tuscany and this time do the winery tour at Banfi. While our stay and dining experiences were complimentary, all views and photos are entirely my own. I stand by every word – as always.

Any comments and thoughts? Have you ever tried Banfi wine?
Also.. if you find any typos, please let me know. I am obsessed with proper grammar and spelling but…. I type too damn fast and sometimes simply space out:)