Rural Tuscany is a feast for all the senses

IT’S no secret that Tuscany is probably my favourite region in the whole world.

It combines amazing architecture with stunning countryside and it oozes with history.

To round it off, the food and wine are among the best in the world.

I go every year, at least once, and this year was no exception.

In September a group of Scottish and American friends, hubby and I took over a lovely villa in deepest Chianti Country.

We chose Annamaria 8 a traditional stone villa located in the beautiful hamlet of Casanuova di Ama.

The villa is spread over two floors and comprises two separate buildings with an interconnecting door.

This hamlet produces its own delicious wine and olive oil, so is surrounded by acres of olive groves and vineyards.

The pretty village of Lecchi is only five minutes drive away.

With its own terrace and pool, and four double/twin bedrooms (three en-suite), two of the rooms overlook the pool area and down the valley. The bathrooms all have large showers, and the public rooms are spacious and attractive.

One disadvantage of Tuscany is having to use Pisa airport if you can, use Florence. Pisa is overcrowded, the car hire centre is a bus-ride away, and there aren’t enough seats at the gate. Basically, it’s no fun. Right up there with Luton and Corfu on my hate-list of awful airports !

Also worth noting for this part of rural Italy is that the mosquitoes are lethal. Drown yourself in repellent night and day, and take plug-in repellents from home or buy a spray as soon as you can.

Those are the only two negatives though. Everything else is wonderful!

The stunning small city of Siena is only 16km away.

This is where the famous Palio horse race takes place during the summer in the magnificent central square called Il Campo.

It’s a city with characteristic winding alleys, ancient churches and towers, artisan shops and numerous remains from the Middle Ages.

So, Siena is a must, but staying where we did you’re equally well placed to visit stunning Florence, amazing San Gimignano and all sorts of little gems like neighbouring Radda.

Tuscany has so many little gems that you can’t fail to stumble across villages and towns that barely feature in guidebooks yet are jaw-droppingly gorgeous.

We decided to hire in local caterers and what a good choice that was. Each night either Andrea or Michela would arrive with a superb meal to prepare in the villa.

We’d chosen the menus in advance, and there were some delicious pasta and meat dishes for 15 euros. I would thoroughly recommend using them if in this part of Tuscany.

Their company, Il Fiasco (unfortunate name, but they’re far from it), is a gem.

The portions were so generous that we always had enough left over for lunch, so effectively you can eat delicious fresh food for around £12 a day, and still not have the hassle of shopping for it and cooking it yourself. They even set and clear the table. And do the dishes afterwards (I felt like taking them home with me!).

The other two real treats were eating at the neighbouring estate Castello di Ama (10 minutes walk) and a fabulous wine and local food tasting at our neighbour Daniela’s where you can buy wine for the villa (which is literally a stone’s throw away) for around £3 a bottle.

Tuscany doesn’t have to be expensive. You just need to learn the tricks of self catering and buying in bulk from the source farms.

The entrance to Daniela’s wonderful farm is marked by a 14th Century chapel, and it’s a family-run affair. Her son Yuri is a trained sommelier and they both speak good English.

They produce good quality, organic wine, ranging from the famous Chianti Classico Riserva, to red and white varieties of Vino da Tavola. They run weekly wine tasting afternoons or book your own.

As well as the wines you are given their fabulous Tuscan olive oil, with which they create local foods to enjoy with your vino. Biggest bargain in Italy at just 25 euros a head.

We couldn’t eat anything all night after it!

To Tuscany (to-tuscany.com; 0121 286 7782) offers Annamaria 8, near Lecchi in Chianti. Sleeps eight in four bedrooms, has a private pool and costs from £1,304 per week.

The guided wine-tasting experience is at Casanuova di Ama (www.agrariacasanuovadiama.it).

A week’s car hire from Pisa Airport starts at £7 per day with Carrentals.co.uk

We flew from Newcastle with Jet2 (jet2.com/0800 408 5599), using their Meet & Greet service and Fast Track car park (newcastleairport.com/0191 2144341)

There’s so much to love about Tuscany, with stunning architecture and comfortable accommodation.