The NEW YORK ITALIAN FOOD & WINE GUY Blog is dedicated to many things, but mainly to three very GREAT ONES being NEW YORK, ITALIAN FOOD, and ITALIAN WINE. What's greater than these?
You're eligible for a Genius discount at Park Palace Hotel! To save at this property, all you have to do is sign in.
Surrounded by the Tuscan hills, Park Palace is a historic Florentine villa offering a large furnished garden with pool. It is located a 5-minute bus ride from Florence’s center.
The spacious rooms feature parquet floor, antique furniture and artwork and some overlook the surrounding landscape. Facilities include an LCD TV with satellite channels. You have free Wi-Fi access in the lobby.
At breakfast, you can enjoy a rich buffet that includes many local products, freshly baked croissants and fresh fruit. During summer, it is served on the terrace overlooking the garden.
Total relaxation is guaranteed in the hotel’s reading lounge with fireplace, antique pieces of furniture and Persian rugs.
The 4-star Park Palace is just in front of the bus stop to the city center. Alternatively, a 20-minute walk takes you to Florence’s Cathedral and the Uffizi Gallery.
Castello di Fonterutoli offers cosy accommodation as part of its historic wine estate which dates back hundreds of years starting from the 1400s. With grounds spanning nearly 1,600 acres (650 hectares) it is located near Castellina in Chianti in the heart of the Chianti Classico region.
Sixteen suites and rooms spread over five houses inside the ancient walls of Fonterutoli provide guests with an opportunity to savour the ageless charms of a Tuscan borgo. The hotel presents a truly traditional Tuscan feel and guests staying here in the heart of the estate will feel like they are living in a real Tuscan country village.
Each room has been restored to represent authentic Tuscan style by the family architect, Agnese Mazzei. All rooms boast their own unique personalities and you will find charming, comfortable bedrooms complete with en-suite bathrooms, beautiful views, and panoramic terraces with stunning countryside landscapes views to marvel at.
In the surrounding areas there are plenty of outdoor activities to try including hiking, biking and horseback riding which you hosts will happily help you to organise if needed.
Wine tours of the property’s spectacular winery, wine tastings as well as visits to nearby villages and towns, local farms, factories and artisan shops can be organised, plus if you want to learn the secrets of delicious Tuscan cooking you can even try cooking classes.
The hotel boasts its own gourmet restaurant, the Osteria di Fonterutoli, where guests can enjoy a traditional Tuscan dining experience. The menu changes every few weeks to reflect the seasonality of local produce to provide the freshest and most delicious ingredients to your plate.
There is a modern, intimate country-style indoor dining area as well as an outside terrace with views of olive groves, vineyards, and the rolling Tuscan countryside - the perfect accompaniment to a sumptuous dinner.
This hotel is perfect for wine lovers who want to immerse themselves in a true Tuscan lifestyle and be able to explore the wine scene at the same time.
I've just highlight my two favorite Chianti Wines, Chianti Estates, and their owners, ny friends,
Cavalier Luigi Cappellini of Castello Verrazzano, Greve, and Conti Nicola Capponi and his brother Conti Sebastiano Capponi of Villa Calcinaia, Greve, Italy. Both estates produce wonderful Chianti wines, as well as Vinegar, and Olive Oil on their beautiful estates, both in Greve, in the Heart of The Chianti Classico Region.
I am so proud to know these wonderful esteemed wine families of Chianti. Over the years the have welcomed me to their estates, for tasting, luncheons, dinners, and other special events, and have always been gracious and kind, so I would like to go on record here, to thank them. I look forward to more wonderful occasions with Conti Sebastiano Capponi, and Luigi Cappellini, icnluding seeing them at the upcoming Chianti Grand Tasting in New York, this April. We will spend time together, chatting, and drinking their wonderful Chianti Wines, and I will get the latest news of their wines and estates in Greve. Really looking forward to that, as well as tasting all the other great Chianti wine that will be present at the event, including making some new friends. "Can't wait."
