MARCAMPO

M

The pinnacle of the entire trip was our home away from home in Tuscany: Marcampo. It is a quaint villa located outside the town of Volterra and it's surrounded by the most beautiful scenery that Tuscany offers. We stayed here for 7 nights, so we really got to enjoy our time around the property. We spent mornings sipping cappuccino on the front veranda, afternoons relaxing by the pool, and evenings watching the most stunning sunsets over the vast landscape.

Agriturismo Podere Marcampo

Technically, Marcampo isn't really a villa. It's an Agriturismo, which is a farm house that combines agriculture and tourism. There are 6 rooms for guests, but the family that owns the property also lives and works here making wine and olive oil. Our tour group took up all of the guest rooms, so we had the entire property to ourselves. The rooms are plenty big, very comfortable, and also welcoming. Staff straightened up the rooms for us every morning so that when we returned from a long day of touring, it was nice and clean. A delightful breakfast was provided on the veranda daily. Some of the rooms actually had kitchens, so on nights when we weren't out touring, we enjoyed dinner at the villa. David cooked for us one night and we shared delicious finds from the local grocery store another night. It's the epitome of relaxation at Marcampo!

Podere Marcampo	Driveway to Marcampo	The Front Veranda We ate breakfast and some dinners here enjoying the surrounding views.
My Room Very comfortable and clean.	Italian Villa Kitty Marcampo had a family of cats and a dog.	View at Marcampo The town of Volterra on top of the hill.
View at Marcampo The hillsides are covered in wheat.	View at Marcampo	View at Marcampo We watched the sky change as the rain approached.
Sunset at Marcampo

The Family and their Wine

Marcampo is run by the Del Duca family and they are such friendly, hard-working people. Genuino, the father, renovated Marcampo and oversees the vineyards and wine-making process. Ivana, the mother, runs their family restaurant in Volterra. And Claudia, their daughter, manages all of the above! Though there was a bit of a language barrier, we got to know them throughout the week and really see the hard work that it takes to run all of their successful businesses.

We were fortunate to have Claudia take us on a tour of their vineyards and wine cellar. It was interesting to hear how they create their wine from beginning to end and it became very evident that this is the family's passion. They are very proud of the wines that they create there and it is greatly justified. We ended the tour in their tasting room where we tasted all of their wines with homemade cold cuts and cheeses. While I typically prefer white wines, my favorite of the tastings was by far the Merlot blend called Genuino. After the tasting, we were given the opportunity to purchase their wines to have shipped home. I bought 6 bottles and after receiving them at home, I wish I had purchased more. I gave some away as gifts and am saving the others for special occasions.

The Vineyards at Marcampo	Marcampo Grapes	Labeling the Wine Bottles
Giusto Alle Balze Their most popular wine.	Marcampo's Finest Pam with a barrel of Marcampo's finest wine.	The Wine Tasting Room Some of the awards won for their wine are proudly displayed along with a portrait of Genuino.

Del Duca Ristorante

The family restaurant in Volterra is appropriately named Del Duca. David has labeled this as one of his favorite restaurants in the world, and it's easy to see why. Everyone who walks in to dine is treated like family. And the love and dedication that they have for the freshness and quality of their food is so evident. Dinner was pre-ordered for us - a variety of their best dishes - and every dish was fantastic.

We also took a cooking class at Del Duca, taught by Claudia and Ivana. Because Ivana doesn't speak English well, Claudia did most of the teaching. It was so interesting to learn their methods of cooking real Italian dishes and to do it in the kitchen of their family restaurant. We made fresh pasta, marinara, focaccia, stuffed pheasant, zucchini souffle, and chocolate lava cake. After class, we ate our dishes for lunch in the restaurant's garden area. It was quite possibly the best meal I've ever eaten. The entire experience from beginning to end was wonderful and another highlight of the trip.

Del Duca in Volterra	Claudia and Ivana They both taught us so much!	Prepping the Zucchini Souffle
Cooking the Zucchini Souffle	Eating the Zucchini Souffle	Focaccia Dough Claudia prepping the dough that we'll knead and bake for that night's dinner.
Delicious Fresh Bread	Marinara Sauce Beautiful Roma tomatoes being cooked for the fresh marinara sauce.	Fresh Pasta After making the pasta dough, Claudia showed us how to cut it into different pasta shapes.
Cheese Ravioli We made it all from scratch.	Chocolate Lava Cake Their signature dessert. It was so rich and delicious!	Our Cooking Class Joined by Ivana and her Sous Chef