Travel: Truffle hunting on a food and drink break to Tuscany

ENJOYING a deliciously fruity and perfectly chilled glass of Italian rosé, I’m sunbathing on the terrace of Villa Saletta, an ancient private estate, in the heart of the rolling Tuscan countryside.

With views stretching across pine forests to Pisa and beyond, songbirds are out in force welcoming the spring and closing my eyes, I breathe in the faint aroma of cypress trees on the warm evening breeze.

Three of the estate’s original farmhouses have been converted into modern luxury villas, each with an outdoor heated swimming pool, shaded seating areas and barbecue.

My companions are staying in ‘Fagnana’, the main house which sleeps 14, and adjacent to this is the ‘Limonaia’, or Lemon House (sleeping two), a stunning detached barn conversion, where I’ll sleep in the lap of luxury for the next few days.

Peacefully secluded but with pretty villages, restaurants and shops just minutes away, history oozes from every stone of this 1,700-acre estate.

Originally belonging to the powerful Riccardi family who arrived here from Florence in the 1400s and who were bankers to the Medici family, by the end of the Second World War the estate had fallen into disrepair. Fast forward to 2023 and Villa Saletta is now under the careful stewardship of British couple Guy and Julia Hands, who have delivered a restoration the quality of which Kevin McCloud would I’m sure be proud.

The estate’s location in the northern hills of the Chianti region means visitors are within Tuscany’s so called golden triangle of Pisa, Florence and Sienna and only 40km from two international airports.

Ariel view of Villa Fagnana

For beach lovers the waters of the Tyrrhenian and Ligurian seas are also within easy reach at the seaside towns of Tirrenia and Forte dei Marmi. Not to be missed too is Palaia, the ‘capital’ of the area, a charming medieval hill village, with panoramic views of the surrounding countryside.

For a fidgeter like me, always impatient to explore, I imagined we’d have our sat nav set for Florence almost before check-in. This luxury retreat, however, is difficult to prise yourself away from. So much care has been taken to keep original features with typical wooden, white-washed beamed ceilings, terracotta floors, a blend of contemporary and rustic Tuscan furnishings and luxurious rugs. A giant bouquet of roses and calla lilies fills the light-filled living room of the main house with perfume and a roaring fire takes the potential chill off the evening air. Private gardens, olive groves and surrounding woodlands create a haven of tranquillity and I’m happily content with an early evening stroll to the tiny Bar Giannini, where it feels like stepping back in time to another century. A local liqueur or two later and I saunter back to my lemon house under the moonlit sky.

Next morning on our walking tour of the estate’s sun-soaked vineyards, we hear about its ancient wine making tradition. Under the expert direction of head wine maker, David Landini, today a range of award-winning wines and ‘Super Tuscans’ (reds renowned for their outstanding quality), are produced, bottled, and shipped all over the world. A deep ruby red, and my favourite of the three wines we taste, is the 980AD.

Another selection of the estate’s wines appears at dinner whilst our private chefs Salvatore and Marco deliver eye-popping platefuls of modern Tuscan cuisine. Appetisers appear one after the other and are presented like works of art; cream of celeriac with pecorino cheese salad, beef tartar and a colourful plate of wild herbs with marigold, borage and violet flowers, which Marco had gathered himself that morning. A pea green asparagus risotto is followed by juicy wild pork and grilled vegetables with teriyaki sauce. To finish we devour a chestnut cake with chocolate mousse and sanded pine nuts. Whoever said that Tuscan cooking was a poor man’s food has not eaten here recently.

Whether you visit with family or, like me, with a group of friends, Villa Saletta can organise a range of experiences, from bike hire to guided tours and day trips. Tuscany is the global epicentre of truffle hunting, and in a neighbouring forest, guide Luca and his playful dogs Giotto and Dante will show you just how it’s done. Luca comes from a long line of truffle hunters and explains that years ago his grandfather would hunt with pigs, a practice that has long since been outlawed, and so today’s hunters employ the somewhat adorable Lagotto breed of dogs, renowned for their excellent sense of smell.

Known as ‘the diamond of the forest’, it is the white truffle that commands the highest prices; 100 grammes fetching as much as 1,000 euros. Pound for pound this is one of the most expensive foods you can buy. Cleverly, truffles only release their pungent scent at the moment they are ready to be picked. After a successful two-hour hunt (the dogs sniff out around ten, but sadly not the expensive ‘tarfuto bianco’), we sit down to a simple but delicious meal of pasta with bianchetto truffle (the white truffle’s poor relation), followed by fried eggs with black winter truffle shavings and ice cream topped with pine nuts and yes, white truffle honey.

Bianchetta truffles

Back at our villa local chefs Erika and Donatella are already preparing to deliver our cookery class. We begin by making Tiramisu, literally meaning ‘pick me up’. Original Italian tiramisu is made without alcohol, and this is just as well as I’m still feeling slightly light- headed from our wine at lunch. Erika’s rule of thumb for the perfect dessert is to use only the finest ingredients and most importantly to follow the recipe in strict order. She stops to lock eyes with me in mid explanation as if she can sense I might try to cut corners (she is right by the way).

Having mastered this most iconic of Italian puddings we move on to making the fresh tagliatelle. I’d always imagined making fresh pasta would be a real faff but as it turns out, it’s not. One egg and a cup of flour is mixed slowly with one hand (Erika keeps me in check by placing my left hand behind my back), and the dough is ready in less than five minutes. Using a hand cranked machine to stretch it before cutting into long strips, I’ll be filling my kitchen counter with one more item when I return to York. A tomato and garlic sauce is cooked using Villa Saletta’s own extra virgin olive oil, until it caramelises, and hey presto our ‘primi’ and ‘dolce’ courses are ready. Keeping with the hunting theme, for our main we cook a traditional Tuscan ‘Pollo alla Cacciatore’, or hunters’ chicken, a comforting Italian stew with a tomato and white wine sauce, with rosemary and sage, fresh from Erika’s garden of course.

While one last morning of lounging on the sun terrace is tempting, my curiosity to explore finally kicks in. After an hour’s drive I’m in the centre of Florence, with all its museums and galleries vying for attention. With the clock ticking on my flight home, there’s not long enough to do any of them justice but there’s just time enough to join a food tasting walking tour, a perfect finale for what has turned out to be a Tuscan food adventure. Florence, I convince myself will be there another day.

Factfile

www.villatsaletta.com

Tell 0039 0587 628 121

Email: info@villasaletta.com

Villa Fagnana – sleeps 14 people – 8 bedrooms - Euros 7,500 per week (low season)

Price includes a welcome hamper with estate wine and extra virgin olive oil

Housekeeper for two hours every day

Villa Casolare – sleeps 6 – Euros 4,000 per week (low season)

Villa Valle – sleeps 11 – Euros 7,500 per week (low season)

Tourism websites

Visittuscany.com

Montepisano.travel/en

Flights

Ryanair and Easyjet – Manchester - Pisa

Experiences that can be booked by Villa Saletta

Private chef, honey tasting, truffle hunting, olive oil tasting, wine tasting, cooking, cheese tasting, local food and culture tours, estate tour, personal training, yoga or pilates at your villa, therapist and massage service, bike and e bike hire, private transfer from the airport

Local Restaurant

Osteria Del Sole, Capannoli -Tel 0587 609257

osteriadelsole.it